College Football Is Broken: How To Fix It

[DragonFire]

5 hours ago, Bert said:

If the majority of fans are in the same boat in that they are less invested in college football, the college playoffs are getting some pretty impressive ratings on just three fan bases (granted two of those fan bases I imagine are #2 and 3 in size of fan bases).

My guess is the fan bases of SEC, ACC and Big 10 conferences are very interested and the Big 12 to a somewhat lesser degree but most of those fan bases agree with the rest of college football fan bases that expanding the playoffs should be done.

Last season had the worst ratings of any of the CFP and not a single BCS title game had fewer viewers than last year’s final.

And it is amusing to note the interested fanbases of those conferences - which for starters not many outside the SEC play that weird “rah rah for my conference” game - they correspond to the three teams I said. Why do you think anyone in those other conferences care outside those fanbases? No ACC squad besides Clemson has made it since FSU the very first year. No Big Ten team has made it since Michigan State that next year. Heck, you mentioned the Big 12 - no one other than Oklahoma has made it at all. The CFP as it is set up has slammed the door on the PAC-12 almost entirely. Ten different teams made the BCS title game at least once in the final six years of the system. Only twelve have made the CFP in the seven years it’s existed and that’s with double the slots. The same six teams have held every slot the last three years. This particular expansion of the system has somehow created less opportunity, not more. 
 

And at the end of the day, I don’t know why people argue against an expansion here. Almost every time a playoff structure is expanded people talk about how that creates greater access to the game, more chances, more opportunities. What is it about college football making some say nah, we don’t need it? 

[ChiefSmoke]

Go back to old bowl system.

 

 

[futurecoach]

On 5/2/2021 at 2:31 PM, ChiefSmoke said:

Go back to old bowl system.

 

 

No thanks. 

[John Anthony]

On 4/28/2021 at 8:15 PM, Walter said:

Fair enough. 

I'm definitely interested to see the route they take. Could be a game changer for sure with talent being more evenly distributed across college football. 

The blue bloods will still land the 5* and high 4* kids but I think you would potentially see more kids opting to play for the "hometown team" since there would be a clearer path for a playoff spot and chance to play for a championship. 

Still the facilities/resources at the blue blood programs will always be miles ahead.  The #4 seed has struggled recently in the current format.  I’d like to see a +2 for a total of 6 teams.  The SEC with all of their recruiting capabilities is all but guaranteed at least, 2 teams annually.  Give a UC, UCF, or Coastal Carolina, a chance to be a Cinderella.  I don’t think we need many Cinderella’s because most would get blown out, but we need the strongest of the group in.

[CincySportsFan]

10 hours ago, John Anthony said:

Still the facilities/resources at the blue blood programs will always be miles ahead.  The #4 seed has struggled recently in the current format.  I’d like to see a +2 for a total of 6 teams.  The SEC with all of their recruiting capabilities is all but guaranteed at least, 2 teams annually.  Give a UC, UCF, or Coastal Carolina, a chance to be a Cinderella.  I don’t think we need many Cinderella’s because most would get blown out, but we need the strongest of the group in.

Facilities/resources are one thing...exposure is another.  To have the Cinderella's (as you put it) be able to get in front of a national audience is critical, in my opinion. 

If a coach has the ability to go into a recruit's home and say "hey, you can go to Bama and be the 9th or 10th best wide receiver and probably not sniff a starting lineup until your junior year...or you can come play with us, have a great chance of getting on the field as a freshman or sophomore...AND still get a chance to showcase your skills at the end of the year if/when we win our conference and get to the national tournament."  That's big.

It's not going to happen overnight, but as more and more of these "Cinderellas" get exposure (and especially repeated exposure), they'll be able to be considered "legitimate" options for a lot of kids.  

[John Anthony]

1 hour ago, CincySportsFan said:

Facilities/resources are one thing...exposure is another.  To have the Cinderella's (as you put it) be able to get in front of a national audience is critical, in my opinion. 

If a coach has the ability to go into a recruit's home and say "hey, you can go to Bama and be the 9th or 10th best wide receiver and probably not sniff a starting lineup until your junior year...or you can come play with us, have a great chance of getting on the field as a freshman or sophomore...AND still get a chance to showcase your skills at the end of the year if/when we win our conference and get to the national tournament."  That's big.

It's not going to happen overnight, but as more and more of these "Cinderellas" get exposure (and especially repeated exposure), they'll be able to be considered "legitimate" options for a lot of kids.  

It’s certainly possible.  If we’re talking about the Blue Bloods fighting with the Cinderella’s for a high 3 star kid, or a low 4 star, I could see the Cinderella’s winning more of those battles.  However, how long until a Luke Fickell is gobbled up by a Blue Blood if he’s having that kind of success?  I just don’t ever see true equality in terms of talent distribution in CFB.

[CincySportsFan]

34 minutes ago, John Anthony said:

I just don’t ever see true equality in terms of talent distribution in CFB.

True equality?  No.  But, more equitable than it is now?  Yes.

There will still be blue-bloods.  And they may still be the same blue-bloods that we've had for the past 50 years.  But, that doesn't mean that sharing the spotlight every now and then with these other schools isn't beneficial for the sport. 

[MBWC41]

On 5/11/2021 at 12:26 AM, John Anthony said:

Still the facilities/resources at the blue blood programs will always be miles ahead.  The #4 seed has struggled recently in the current format.  I’d like to see a +2 for a total of 6 teams.  The SEC with all of their recruiting capabilities is all but guaranteed at least, 2 teams annually.  Give a UC, UCF, or Coastal Carolina, a chance to be a Cinderella.  I don’t think we need many Cinderella’s because most would get blown out, but we need the strongest of the group in.

I agree.

6 teams is the perfect number. It allows for a stronger conference to have 2 teams in if needed and allows for the weaker conferences to get an undefeated team in.

[CincySportsFan]

1 hour ago, MBWC41 said:

I agree.

6 teams is the perfect number. It allows for a stronger conference to have 2 teams in if needed and allows for the weaker conferences to get an undefeated team in.

Won't happen.  Because someone somewhere will always say that so-and-so's 1 loss schedule is "tougher" than this undefeated team's.

Heck, even just this past year, you had Iowa State, Florida and Georgia all with TWO losses ranked higher than an undefeated Cincinnati team.  Going to 6 teams would've done absolutely nothing for the Bearcats.  And if you say it's because they only played 8 games, compared to the 9 or 10 the others played...then what about Coastal Carolina??  They played 11 games, and were also undefeated.  Yet, they were ranked 12th.

I'm sorry, but there is such a bias that completely disregards the "weaker" conferences.  These non-blueblood schools have no chance when you allow the human factor to make the decisions of who gets in and who doesn't.

[Walter]

From his article, he seems to think that the playoffs will expand to 8 starting in either 2023 or 2026. 

The timing of the change is easily explained. Each season two of the New Year’s Six bowls host CFP semifinals on a three-year rotating basis. The third rotation in the current 12-year contract will be completed after the 2022 season. So you make the change then or wait until the end of the contract after the 2025-26 season.

Don’t forget this: As the current television partner of the CFP, ESPN has an exclusive negotiating window through the end of this contract. After that it goes to the open market.

An 8 team playoff would still fit in the current CFB calendar, whereas a 12 team playoff would force the season to go a week or 2 later in January. 

[Walter]

 

[Walter]

 

[Walter]

Meetings in Chicago July 17th and 18th to talk a 12 team CFP Expansion.

Officials on campuses, in conference offices and in the television world have expressed an openness toward a 12-team playoff as the most likely result.

A 12-team version would answer a lot of the immediate looming issues with the College Football Playoff — lack of diversity of programs, access for Group of Five and the erosion of the importance of supposed top-tier bowl games outside the CFP thanks to player opt-outs.

How would 12 teams work? The basic thought is automatic bids for the five major conferences — which also juices up their league title games as play-in games — and one for the highest ranked Group of Five champion. The other six spots would be at-large bids. That gives automatic bids to some of the have-nots and more potential spots for the more powerful leagues

CFP Expansion Plan

 

[TheDeuce]

I like it. 

[theguru]

3 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

I like it. 

Me too, 12 teams would be great.

I do still prefer 16 but again 12 would be great.