Sources: SEC, Big Ten building momentum to further expand College Football Playoff to 14 or 16 teams

[Richie O]

Sources: SEC, Big Ten building momentum to further expand College Football Playoff to 14 or 16 teams

The conferences are pushing to assign multiple automatic qualifiers per league, with as many as four each for themselves. In short, a plethora of changes are on the table.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[mdk01]

Welcome to the D1 Super A division

 

[DJ Spanky]

Dear god. Milk the cow until it's white.

 

[WhiteBus]

Great more blowouts in the early rounds 🙄

 

[Plum Street]

Great more blowouts in the early rounds 🙄

Not if there are more BIG or SEC teams in.

 

[WhiteBus]

Not if there are more BIG or SEC teams in.

Plum is dumb. Did you watch the early rounds???

 

[RUGuitarMan]

Think the conf champ games are going to go away if they expand the playoff. Regular season champs will be determined. It’s good if all conferences go to to 9 conf games.

 

[Plum Street]

Plum is dumb. Did you watch the early rounds???

Yes. Crappy acc and boise getting byes

Indy ran into a juggernaut

 

[Plum Street]

Think the conf champ games are going to go away if they expand the playoff. Regular season champs will be determined. It’s good if all conferences go to to 9 conf games.

Conference championship games won’t go away. Too much $

 

[WhiteBus]

Yes. Crappy acc and boise getting byes

Indy ran into a juggernaut

Huh?? Umm you giving credit for the SEC? I'm pretty sure it was Ohio State and Notre Dame. Plum is clearly dumb!

 

[RUGuitarMan]

Conference championship games won’t go away. Too much $

If the playoff gets expanded to 14 or 16 teams, I think the conf champ games will go away, the additional $$$ generated from the playoff will offset the champ games. Also , the number of games played in a season will become a major issue.

 

[Plum Street]

If the playoff gets expanded to 14 or 16 teams, I think the conf champ games will go away, the additional $$$ generated from the playoff will offset the champ games. Also , the number of games played in a season will become a major issue.

I don’t think so. It’s free and easy money to the conference. Now maybe it could change and be a like a play in game to the playoffs.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Plum is dumb. Did you watch the early rounds???

Every year is different. More teams means games are meaningful longer for more teams. That translates into more interest from fans and more $$ with little downside. There’s actually no good reason to have byes.

 

[Joey Bags]

This is stupid, no one outside of 12 is a Natty contender and all this does is risk injury for no reason.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

This is stupid, no one outside of 12 is a Natty contender and all this does is risk injury for no reason.

That’s ridiculous. If it’s such a “tune up” game the risk involved with practicing during the bye week is the same as the risk of playing the game. The season isn’t “over” for the teams with the byes. They are practicing full on. Any added risk is marginal.

 

[WhiteBus]

Every year is different. More teams means games are meaningful longer for more teams. That translates into more interest from fans and more $$ with little downside. There’s actually no good reason to have byes.

The answer isn't more. Going from 4 to 12 wasn't a great idea. If it's just about the money then why does anyone care if there are byes. There is a huge difference between a top 4 team and the back end of the top 16.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

The answer isn't more. Going from 4 to 12 wasn't a great idea. If it's just about the money then why does anyone care if there are byes. There is a huge difference between a top 4 team and the back end of the top 16.

The move from 4 to 12 is a different debate. My point is once your at 12 it may as well be 16 to keep the interest level up for more fan bases longer. It’s the same number of rounds and such.

 

[WhiteBus]

The move from 4 to 12 is a different debate. My point is once your at 12 it may as well be 16 to keep the interest level up for more fan bases longer. It’s the same number of rounds and such.

Agree the math is better but competitive games are unlikely. This is college football not college basketball where there is more parity because of the small team size.

 

[koleszar]

Need to hold the 1st two rounds at home sites of higher seeds. Even though they were blowouts I thought that was the coolest part of the playoffs. If not, fans will be hard pressed to make later rounds.

 

[mosito]

With 4 Auto Bids for the SEC and B10,

They will have 1v2 for the conference champion.
3v6 for the 3rd spot
4v5 for the 4th spot

They will not do 1v8 and risk the top team losing
Likewise a 2v7.

3 final games ensuring your top 2 teams make it in as opposed to 1 extra 4th game where you can lose your top teams is not worth it


...........

On the other hand, the ACC and Big12 are screwed. If they do 1v4 and 2v3, they risk having a 12-0 or 11-1 regular season champion out of the playoffs.

If they only do a 2v3 and let the top team in, they only end up with 1 post season game vs B10 and SEC having 3

 

[Panthergrowl13]

Every year is different. More teams means games are meaningful longer for more teams. That translates into more interest from fans and more $$ with little downside. There’s actually no good reason to have byes.

Agree, the more teams IN generates more national interest.

Remember, the National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame had a 12.1 % decline in TV viewership.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

 

[MCRU93]

Great more blowouts in the early rounds 🙄

Agreed. We never saw a ton of blowouts pre playoff...teams like ND always came to play when the lights were the brightest....oh wait

Listen, there were always blow outs regardless of the format. If we give an opportunity for other teams to make a run every few years then I am all for it. Makes it more fun IMO

 

[rrdd2021]

The answer isn't more. Going from 4 to 12 wasn't a great idea. If it's just about the money then why does anyone care if there are byes. There is a huge difference between a top 4 team and the back end of the top 16.

Disagree. OSU wouldn't have been in the 4-team Playoff and they were obviously the best team in the country at the end of the season and proved it on the field.

 

[WhiteBus]

Disagree. OSU wouldn't have been in the 4-team Playoff and they were obviously the best team in the country at the end of the season and proved it on the field.

Who said keep it at 4?? Weren't they seeded #8. That's the number it should have gone to not 12. Same results without the first round blowouts!

 

[TRU2RU]

There were plenty of blowouts when there were just 4 teams

 

[MADHAT1]

> The 14- or 16-team model would grant four automatic qualifiers each to the SEC and Big Ten; two each to the ACC and Big 12; and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. It includes one or three at-large spots, one of those intended for Notre Dame if it finishes ranked inside the top 14 — a guarantee specifically designated for the Irish that is part of the CFP memorandum.<
Sounds like 13 of the 14 guaranteed spots are taken by the P-4 giving the G-5 only one assured spot
I expect ND to be a top 14 program and made one if they have just earned to be close to that ranking, but don't deserve to be it . Being a #17 realistically will be changed to a deserving 14.
Ending byes is probably the real reason for change along with e B1G/SEC getting 4 apiece even in years they don't deserve that many..
I like ending the byes, think B1G/SEC should only have 3 each the little 2 stay the same giving 2 G-5 spots guaranteed, leaving 3 open for any program and ND (unless they suck that year and replaced)

 

[lloyde dobler]

The trouble would happen down the road if this goes on for a few years and no early round upsets take place. They are ultimately going to need a couple of upsets to legitimize the expansion, otherwise interest will decline.

 

[TRU2RU]

The trouble would happen down the road if this goes on for a few years and no early round upsets take place. They are ultimately going to need a couple of upsets to legitimize the expansion, otherwise interest will decline.

OSU was a 8 seed

 

[lloyde dobler]

OSU was a 8 seed

But they were home in the first round. The early rounds at campus sites are what I mean. Once you get into the neutral site bowl games, people will watch like they always have.

 

[koleszar]

But they were home in the first round. The early rounds at campus sites are what I mean. Once you get into the neutral site bowl games, people will watch like they always have.

No, I like that southern teams are finally being forced out of their comfort zone. I also think people will enjoy seeing football in nonoptimal settings. Sorry but the sun glazed open stadiums and domes have gotten boring during bowl season.

 

[lloyde dobler]

No, I like that southern teams are finally being forced out of their comfort zone. I also think people will enjoy seeing football in nonoptimal settings. Sorry but the sun glazed open stadiums and domes have gotten boring during bowl season.

I do too, but imagine public opinion five years from now if none of those teams ever win as the lower seeds.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Who said keep it at 4?? Weren't they seeded #8. That's the number it should have gone to not 12. Same results without the first round blowouts!

Yeah I agree - I think 8 would’ve been the best number. Still small enough where the other top tier bowls wouldn’t be complete afterthoughts like they are now.

But once a decision was made to expand beyond that it may as well be 16 rather than 12. There’s already a 4th round, so there’s no downside in maxing out content for it, even if the added games aren’t that competitive.

 

[WhiteBus]

Yeah I agree - I think 8 would’ve been the best number. Still small enough where the other top tier bowls wouldn’t be complete afterthoughts like they are now.

But once a decision was made to expand beyond that it may as well be 16 rather than 12. There’s already a 4th round, so there’s no downside in maxing out content for it, even if the added games aren’t that competitive.

Blowouts in playoffs is bad business. They happen occasionally in the NFL but not a complete round. Wasted weekend.
Look what is happening or happened in sports.

 

[Plum Street]

Blowouts in playoffs is bad business. They happen occasionally in the NFL but not a complete round. Wasted weekend.
Look what is happening or happened in sports.

It happens. The NFL first round (wildcard round) absolutely stunk this year . 5 of the 6 games were awful. The Tampa- Washington game was the only decent one

 

[WhiteBus]

It happens. The NFL first round (wildcard round) absolutely stunk this year . 5 of the 6 games were awful. The Tampa- Washington game was the only decent one

They had a decent one. College didn't, second round wasn't all that great. I'm not watching crap whether it's the NFL or college. I'm not alone.

 

[Mufasa94]

An expansion will further water down the meaning of the results of regular season games. One good thing about this season was 3-loss Bama and Ole Miss type teams were not rewarded for their far from stellar seasons. Congrats to tOSU for a great Dec/Jan run.

TV windows for the first round would also need to be figured out. An expansion would require 2-4 more games times. Overlapping/late night (assume multiple MST/PST home teams is risky)/Thursday games?

Pre-set quota bids per conference are another bad idea. It Ignores the ups/down performances from year to year. If invites were based on conference standings it would make OOC games almost meaningless.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Anything over 8 is way too many. The four conference champions get in. Any non P4 undefeated teams get in. Fill in the remaining spots with the highest ranked available teams. The end.

You want to get in from a non-P4 conference? Go undefeated or be ranked in the Top 5-8.

Play the first round on December 22nd and 23rd. Play the second round on New Years Day. Play the third round a week later. No dragging it out until February.

 

[NickRU714]

So no more At-Large (since it’s guaranteed to ND)?

What if the 5th best Big Ten team is better than the 2nd best ACC?

How about a 2nd G5 team better than the 2nd Big 12 team?

Also - no more committee?
How are they judging the teams - conference record?
What about the G5 teams?
We’re back to the AP Poll deciding?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Blowouts in playoffs is bad business. They happen occasionally in the NFL but not a complete round. Wasted weekend.
Look what is happening or happened in sports.

Nah - I don’t think it will be that bad on average. The gap isn’t to the extent of a 1/16 game in March Madness. Upsets will be pretty rare but it won’t be that often that you get games like this years Super Bowl. Most of the time the better team will pull away down the stretch. But there will be a good number more late regular season games that will have bubble implications that draw more viewer interest than they otherwise would.

 

[Salvi's Headband]

It's amazing how much worse the sport of college football is compared to 25 years ago.