AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2008 > April > 15 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USCollege football is healthy. Why change?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m going give you a heads up here. The commissioners of the 11 Division I-A conferences will gather in South Florida at the end of the month for their annual discussion of the BCS. You’ll be reading a lot more about the BCS meetings and what they could mean as we get closer to the date.
But during the weekend I saw some items that pointed out once again that college football, for all of its angst in the postseason, has never been healthier or more popular. Consider:
**—A total of 37,146,661 fans watched the 119 Division I-A teams play football in 2007, which is an all-time record. And it comes at a time when more games are on television than ever. And yes, the SEC led all conferences in attendance with 6,687,342 fans.
**—Over 78,000 fans showed up for last Saturday’s Alabama spring game after the Crimson Tide went 7-6 last season.
**—ESPN took several hours of its live programming on Saturday and spent it at the Florida spring game. It gave the Game Day boys a chance to give fans an early preview of the 2008 season. The TV folks don’t put stuff on just to be nice. There is a demand for this kind of programming and information about college football in the off-season.
**—Finally, here is my favorite tidbit and it proves again why college football is the best game in the world. Saturday’s Nebraska spring game, the first under new coach Bo Pelini, is sold out. No surprise there. But the demand to get into this game is so high that, according to media reports, $10 tickets are being sold through brokers for $95.
Think about that. There are people willing to play $95 to see a college football SCRIMMAGE. Is there an equivalent to that in any other sport?
So here is the question to ponder this morning. If you were in charge of college football, would you do ANYTHING that might harm the regular season, which is the best of any organized sport?
Many schools with full football stadiums during the regular season are having a tough time keeping their athletics budgets in the black. They don’t want to see any change that would de-emphasize a single game.
Or do you believe that no matter how you might change the post-season (playoff, etc.) the regular season would be just fine because the game is so popular?
That will be one of many arguments against change when the BCS meets.
Is it a good argument?
Services »
Comments
By quaildawg
April 15, 2008 9:13 AM | Link to this
One idea, crazy as this may sound, would be to do combo games during the early bowl games (ala a regional basketball playoff) For instance say at the Las Vegas Bowl conduct two games with four teams in a day-night doubleheader. Take the sponsor of another bowl (like the Emerald Bowl) that does not have great attendance and put together this format to boost ticket sales (you could buy a single game ticket or a two game ticket for a higher price)and generate more tourism while providing a better payout to the respective schools. Just a thought.
By MBurns87
April 15, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this
make a 16 team playoff field and shorten season by a couple of games, turn small bowls into playoff games and ultimately work your way to the championship game and GET RID OF BCS.
By Jack G
April 15, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this
Go back to the format of freshman inelgible for varsity teams. Have a seperate team and schedule for freshmen.
The Tech Georgia freshman games were classic.
By Dick Rod
April 15, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this
Put in a requirement that to be BCS bowl eligible at, least one (two would be better) non-conference games MUST be against other BCS teams. The “little 5” conferences may protest, but this will prevent anyone from fattening up on the Little Sisters of the Poor type schools. And may inspire some better OOC matchups. With a 12 game schedule, there is no excuse for teams not being able to “fit in” a home and home with a major OOC team.
And consider some kind of rating system for conferences where they have the chance to move up (or down) into the BCS auto-bid tier (say C-USA continually beats Big East teams and turns in higher ranked champions, they have the chance to get an auto bid to a BCS bowl).
By Roswell Ed
April 15, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this
I’ve got an idea!!!
Why not go to
12 minute half times like the pros?
Who the heck wants to watch one band much less two?
Does any body but the parents want to watch the band?
It’s why, even though I like college football infinitely more than pro, I’d rather go to a pro game.
We tailgate at AU, leave right before 1/2 time and still get back to Lake Martin with over 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
Its ridiculous.
By Brad Sexton
April 15, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this
A playoff would ruion the SEASON. Games would be boring like the NFL regular season. The NFL doesnt get exciting until the playoffs but in college every game counts.
By Richard
April 15, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this
When the champion of a sport is determined by people not on any of the teams and in most cases not even watching the games, it’s not the sign of a healthy sport.
How hard is this: 11 conference champions, 5 at-large teams, and an undisputed champion.
By Exley DAWG
April 15, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
Don’t change a thing. Even though its not perfect, one of the greatest things about college football is it forces you to route for a team that you could care less about because they can help your team improve its ranking. Long live the BCS. Go DAWGS!
By noname
April 15, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
Maybe it’s time for the fans to start boycotting some games, maybe even bowl games. Just because fans love their teams and college football does not mean the BCS is not broken. Don’t change a thing, give me a break. If we decide to boycott the BCS games just one season, things will change.
By quaildawg
April 15, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this
Roswell Ed you sound like a Dodger Fan..arrive late and leave early.
By noname
April 15, 2008 9:41 AM | Link to this
Maybe it’s time for the fans to start boycotting some games, maybe even bowl games. Just because fans love their teams and college football does not mean the BCS is not broken. Don’t change a thing, give me a break. If we decide to boycott the BCS games just one season, things will change.
By AGTfan
April 15, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this
As long as things stay the same, I will never watch another BCS bowl game. Even in the unlikely event that GT was playing for the mythical national championship.
By Pago Flyer
April 15, 2008 9:52 AM | Link to this
roswell ed….so you don’t think much of The Dixie Redcoat Band? Guess you’ve never been to a game in Athens? Sad….
By Jackets12
April 15, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this
Why does everyone say the regular season is meaningless if we have a playoff? If you have a bad regular season you’re not going to make the playoff…. And NFL regular season games are not boring. If you think they are go watch the NBA.
By KR
April 15, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this
The BCS is the only “system” I know of where an undefeated regular season record can be not good enough one year and a 2-loss regular season record can be good enough another year.
I’d scrap the BCS.
Failing that, I’d do away with the conference championship games. Let’s face it: if the SEC did not have a conference championship game, UGA would have had a better shot at getting into the NC game. (You have no idea how much it hurt for me to type that…)
The costs have gotten out of control and need to be reined in. I read somewhere that Auburn has to have 7 home games a year just to break even. I assume other schools have similar issues.
Last season I did not watch a single bowl game other than the one that Auburn played. It was my mini-protest against the BCS.
WAR EAGLE!
By Gene
April 15, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this
College football may be healthy, but academics really stink except for women’s basketball at UT and football at Penn State. The suggestion above that colleges return to freshman teams would be a good change that will never happen. It would improve academics and likely curb some of the criminal behavior that is the biggest threat to the sport. High school athletes are already thinking of big pro contracts before they play their first down of college football.
By Steeledawg
April 15, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
In my opinion, nothing about the regular season should change. Everything should be done to protect the best, most meaningful regular season in sports. It is the post season that needs changing. I think the plus one model is the option that will best preserve the regular season and give the fans that watch all season the biggest payoff.
I think the BCS needs to move forward without the Rose Bowl and seed teams 1-4 and play in Orange, teams 2-3 play in Fiesta on New Years Day. A week later the winners play in the Sugar. Obviously the championship game would rotate annually.
I think a few years out of the mix, the Big 10 and Pac 10 would rethink their positon on the Rose. College football no longer needs the Rose to generate publicity. I am all for tradition, and belive that tradition is part of what make CF great, but the Rose should not be allowed to hold the college football world hostage.
On a unrelated topic, I wish that the networks would be forced to choose which games they are going to televise earlier. Not knowing when kickoff is going to be sometimes until 1 week before the game can make it difficult on the fans that actually attend the games.
By NYJacket
April 15, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this
If the ratings were accurate, any of the top 16 teams in the country could win a playoff.
On any given day, there simply isn’t much difference in a game between top teams.
A fumble, a breakdown in pass coverage, a holding call on a critical play can make the difference in a game.
College football is a great game and the fan interest is intense. So Tony Barnhart and the rest of the guys like him will leave it the way it is. And, we will continue to have a “national championship” that was not really decided on the field between all the teams with a shot at it.
Last year Georgia felt cheated. Could they have won it - maybe?
A few years ago Auburn got left out.
Next year it will be someone else.
By Adam
April 15, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this
The answer is so simple it’s frustrating that they haven’t done it yet. There are 11 conferences, 6 of them BCS conferences, in Div. 1-A (no, I’m still not calling it the “bowl subdivision”). Simply take the conference champs from the big 6 conferences and 10 at-large teams, seed them, and you have a 16-team playoff. There should be a clause in there though, that if a team from a non-BCS conference goes undefeated, they earn an automatic bid.
You could also do an 8-team playoff instead, with only 2 at-large teams, but a lot of people would be upset they got left out. But either way, a playoff with 16 or less teams will be exclusive enough to allow the regular season games to remain meaningful, so I don’t see a problem with it.
By Vol_Ball08
April 15, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this
It’s hard to argue w/ the logic that bc more people are tuning into college football now than ever before that you shouldn’t change it. However, it seems to me when most people talk about last season they only speak of the crazy and great regular season full of parody, with teams constantly changing order in the BCS. On the other hand, the post season was awful. There were only a handful of games that were even remotely good games. The BCS games were especially awful, the Big 11 and the PAC 10 have hamstrung College Football. The matchups we saw this year were pathetic and that was all their fault. The fact that they put Illinois in the Rose Bowl to prove a point to the rest of the BCS conferences was ridiculous. That should’ve been UGA vs. USC or Mizzou vs. USC. They had no business being in that game. I just think that it was ashame to have a lousy ending to one of the great years in College football
Something needs to be changed from a leadership perspective in those 2 conferences. I think they are holding the rest of college football back for their wonderful PAC 10 vs BIG 11 tradition. Especially when there is only one good team in each of those conferences
I think is a way to have an 8 team playoff and still keep the intensity and meaning of each regular season game intact. But I have vented enough for one post.
By Roswell Ed
April 15, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this
I’ve been to Athens several times.
I’ve been to USC.
I’ve been to Starkville.
I’ve been to UA.
I’ve been to Vandy.
I’ve been to UT.
They all have one thing in common.
Bands suck.
You know what? There are so many things that are wrong with dudes that are in the band or like the band that I don’t even
know where to start.
If I did I’d get censored!!
I bet you dig male cheerleaders too!!
As for going to a game, I love the tailgate, but the rest is ho hum.
I enjoy the game more on TV and just as much on the radio as in person.
TV timeouts and halftimes suck.
Waiting around for the sideline guy in white to start the play irks me to no end.
Sitting around with 90,000 other people crammed into a stadium, waiting in line to use the bathroom and paying $5 for a coke
or
watching the game in HD, walking 20 feet to a clean bathroom or to my own fridge to grab a $1 beer?
HMMMMMM let me think.
By m
April 15, 2008 11:22 AM | Link to this
The only thing dumber than the BCS was the hiring of Chan Gailey….they both suck. We need a playoff…NOW. So that NO ONES opinion matters. Only what happens on the field. And as far as Gailey is concerned…thank God and Greyhound that he is gone.
By KR
April 15, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this
Roswell Ed wrote: …watching the game in HD, walking 20 feet to a clean bathroom or to my own fridge to grab a $1 beer…
IF you have a DVR or TiVo, you can also:
pause the action while you take that 20 foot walk to the bathroom or the ‘fridge
replay the action if you question the ref’s call or just happened to miss something
When I go to a game in person, I end up recording the telecast so I can see the parts of the game that I miss by being in the stadium.
By joe
April 15, 2008 11:36 AM | Link to this
Get rid of the stupid games nobody wants to see…like UGA vs. Central Michigan, FL vs. The Citadel, Bama vs. Western KY, etc; shorten the season…place your conference games, take the top 2 out of the BCS conferences, put them in a 16 team playoff to determine the real NC ON THE FIELD…like all the other sports do. This won’t harm the game, it will improve it…
By ColoradoDawg
April 15, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this
One man’s take…
We shouldn’t give Roswell Ed a hard time. He has some valid points. Unless you’re over the age of 50, you should NEVER have on those goofy headphones to listen to the radio call while at a game (kind of like taking a glove to a baseball game if you’re over the age of 13). If someone told me they were torn about attending a game in person so they could watch the game in the comfort of their home while listening to Brother Larry, I’d be down with that.
Responding to the actual question TB raised, we should be careful what we wish for. I can easily sit here and back an argument for a 16-team playoff using our current bowl structure…
However…
You, me, and anyone else who regularly reads the CFB blogs on this website knows they care a heck of a lot about bragging rights. Even in Colorado, I run into people from GT and other SEC schools and it’s always fun to talk a little smack after your team handled their team in the one shot they got at each other the season before.
Is it just me or am I the only one that still cares A LOT about winning the SEC and beating the bugs (maybe even more than winning the convoluted mythical NC)?
By Paddy
April 15, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this
The Rose Bowl lost all luster with the college fan this past bowl season. What a bunch of pompas old turds. I don’t think I am alone in saying I will never watch another Rose Bowl again. Ah, Never say never…I would if UGA and Ga Tech would be playing. But thats as far as I would extend my viewing pleasure.
By shane #1
April 15, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this
Roswell Ed, I too hate the tv official, red cap and white uniform, he looks like a lawn jockey! The tv timeouts at the Sugar Bowl seemed never ending. I am afraid that will never change, tv pays for the party! As for the bands, You are watching on tv, what the hell do you care? Halftime is not going to be shortened, tv wants the time for Their ads. Besides, those of Us at the game need the long halftime to fight the lines at the concession stand and go to the restroom.
By Dixie Dawg
April 15, 2008 11:53 AM | Link to this
The “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality is usually the first in an organizations turn for the worse. The whole program doesn’t have to be scrapped but something has to change. While I’m a GA Dawg, Auburn’s situation a few years ago in being left out is one of the best examples of a broke program. At the very least College football has to determine and direct the voters if this is a season long vote or a vote of who is best at the end of the season. Right now you have different voters approaching the vote in at least two different ways that can negatively affect the outcome. At the very least 1) give direction on if the vote should be for the entire work of the season or who is the best team at the end of the year and 2) take the top four teams after the current system Bowl games into a playoff. As simple as this is it would avoid many of the end of the year problems that we currently have.
By GT80
April 15, 2008 11:53 AM | Link to this
m, let it go, we know you hate Gailey, and he’s now gone. Stop posting.
There is nothing like being in the stadium watching in person.
There is no way the CFB commissioners are going to a playoff, at least not anytime soon. If they want to make the game better, force TV to run fewer commercials, or make them shorter. Waiting for the ‘fat man’ to let us play again after ANOTHER TV time out ruins the momemtum of the game.
But I still love going.
By DWG
April 15, 2008 12:05 PM | Link to this
Tony has a short memory. How can you say that college football is healthy when Auburn, the best team from probably the best conference, gets left out of the championship game 4 years ago? Regular season - great. Post season - one big political JOKE! Go Dawgs!
By Steeledawg
April 15, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
I am with you ColoradoDawg, I think winning the SEC and beating Tech should be UGA’s first priority. Do that and then see how things shake out on the national level. Most years the SEC champ will at least be in the conversation. I think to much emphasis is placed on winnnig the MNC vs. the conference.
By Bravesfan79
April 15, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this
It just dosent make sense for any team outside of Ohio State to want the BCS! The finish to the college football season is THE WORST POSTSEASON IN ALL OF SPORTS!!
Common man you write for a ACC football team, it really dosent make sense for a writer of a team that could go undefeated and STILL have NO shot at a title!?? Common Tony we all know USC, or Ohio State, or ANY SEC championship team would get “voted” into the championship game over a ACC champion GT.
Fans love college football but are dissapointed like me because it could be SO MUCH BETTER!!
The only solution to me is a 8 or 16 team playoff. AT LEAST a final 4!
Sorry mr college football but CF is the most pointless sport in the land. I mean even the WNBA gets it right and has a playoff system.
Go Braves and GT Basketball!!
By Roswell Ed
April 15, 2008 12:21 PM | Link to this
DVR- the single greatest TV advancement.
Better than even color.
I hate it when I’m somewhere without it.
By Miles
April 15, 2008 12:24 PM | Link to this
Without a doubt, Mr. Barnhart, college football is successful financially. However, the demand to which you allude in your comments relative to Bo Pelini’s situation at Nebraska is precisely what detracts from the game, i.e., the high cost! It’s virtually financially impossible for a family of four with modest means to attend an regular season NCAA college football game without taking out a second mortgage on their property. Moreover, mediums such as StubHub and eBay have provided an easy way for those that don’t attend games to profit from the fans that are truly interested in watching the games live. Changing the format of the post season is minor in comparison to attracting an exposing new fans to the game. Mr. Barnhart, the other day, you alluded to your memories of attending The Masters Golf Tournament for the first time as a young boy. Similarly, you noted in your book that the first college football game you attended while in seventh grade in 1965 (Georgia vs. Vanderbilt) “that something inside me changed forever.” Unfortunately, if things continue as they are, there won’t be an available seat in Sanford Stadium for that new fan such that a “love affair with college football” could begin. Without being condescending, because I have an immense respect for you, I sincerely ask how different your life would have been had you not had the opportunity as a young pupil of Ms. Lois Cheves to experience “Southern Fried Football?” The popularity of of college football is unquestioned, but it’s health merits an immediate bed in the emergency room.
By Gator Nation
April 15, 2008 12:30 PM | Link to this
A Playoff will not hurt the regular season!
The bulk of most schools regular season is their conference schedule. So here is what you do:
8 Team playoff comprised of the 6 BCS league champions and 2 at large teams. The 2 at large teams are determined by a BCS type of formula with strength of schedule factored in. If strength of schedule is factored in then schools will be encouraged to play better non-conference opponents.
This way the regular season (which is a mini-playoff in itself)is still the most important part of college football and a team’s schedule is also a major factor.
Good team’s will be left out, but they will be left out due to mistake/losses they had control of.
Example: Georgia does not win their conference last year. If their BCS ranking is high enough (top 2 of teams that are not already in the playoffs) they would go. But if they don’t make that top two, they aren’t like Auburn when they went undefeated and got shut out. They had their chance at Tennessee and lost. Thus the regular season game is still hugely important!
By Bravesfan79
April 15, 2008 12:41 PM | Link to this
Exley DAWG: I bet u wont be saying “dont change a thing” after UGA looses 2 games and are by-passed for a 1 loss Ohio State team. I think even a 3 loss UGA team would deserve a shot at the title (because of their brutal schedule), but thats not how this crap system works.
Man yall college football fans kill me, stuck in your old ways. How would a playoff system kill the regular season?? You would STILL have to win the confrence or be a top team to be in a 8 or 16 team playoff!
So what your really saying Mr (my team has no shot at getting “voted” into a title game) football, is that the fans will have to protest and just stop going to games to prove they want a change?? Thats not how it should be, common sense should avail without the fans having to fight about it. Just because people show up, dosent mean their happy with the system!
This is coming from a GT football fan.
By Bob Sacamano
April 15, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
Hey Roswell Ed, if we were like you and had a school with a marching band as putrid, we might feel the same way. As it is, The Redcoat Marching Band, The Huge Machine that’s Red and Black, is the best at what they do, and that includes that overrated Ohio band that dots a silly “i.” So, why don’t you do college football a favor, and just don’t watch anything. You’re obviously a pro-football fan who could care less about the awesome pageantry that is college football.
GO AWAY!!!
By wywalton
April 15, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this
Here’s a question: Aren’t parody and opinion the reason that everyone is so passionate about college football? If everything was cut and dry with a playoff system, I think the reverence for the sport would diminish, even if only a little. Isn’t it great to argue about who’s better than who? Isn’t it fun to listen to the pundits debate over #1? Isn’t it pure enjoyment to take jabs at your rival? Just take a look at any one of these blogs. Are we sure that we would be happier with a playoff system? Or would we find something else to complain about? Personally, I love college football, from top to bottom. Yeah, it’s not perfect, but it gives me something to talk about and even something to b*tch about. A playoff system would be nice, but it might make this amateur sport a lot more like the pros than it already has become. But for the sake of (political) correctness, in order to absolutely and unequivocally crown a champion, there has to be wholesale changes: ALL conferences would be stripped. New conferences would have to be formed with equality between each as the main objective. Geographic alignment would probably be the way to go. This could seriously hurt some traditional rivalries. And after the regular season, the champions duke it out in a playoff. This would basically make the regular season a de-facto part of the playoff. I don’t honestly think that anyone would go for that proposal: commissioners, presidents, ADs, coaches, or even FANS. So, where’s the middle ground, and will it appease the majority?
By gt in sc
April 15, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this
TIM WORLEY; THE FACE OF UGAG FOOTBALL@#$%^&
By CharlieFoxtrot
April 15, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this
What we need are eight 16-team super conferences. Each conference can have an upper and lower division. So non-BCS teams that join the SEC would be in the lower division and weaker BCS teams would be put into the lower division. The teams would be reorganized each year, so a team could go from lower division to upper division or vice versa. This shuffling would be based on previous year’s record or bcs ranking or something like that. So then in the conference championship, a lower division team will face a higher division team. The conference championships would give the non-BCS level teams a chance to prove they belong in the BCS or playoff.
This year, it might have been Hawaii playing USC in the Pacific Conference Championship for example
By Bravesfan79
April 15, 2008 12:59 PM | Link to this
Bob: man you really hit it on the head when you compared College Football to a pagent! College football is like a beauty pagent, its all hype, and NO ACTION!!
I compare it to a body building competition were everyone gets on stage and flexes their muscles but dosent fight! haha…..WTF!! Keep prancin Bob, keep prancin..
Me, i like real sports with REAL CHAMPIONS, like College Basketball and the NFL and MLB.
I guess every other sport that has a playoff system must have a terrible regular season. I mean there was nothing exciting about the Rockies having to win 22 straight games last year to get in the playoffs. what a joke yall old school CF fans are. dont wanna change when reality is slapping you in the face!
By Atlanta Gator
April 15, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this
I endorse Gator Nation’s 8-team playoff formula, and Steeledawg’s 4-team mini-playoff plan as an intermediate next step to get us there. Good thinking, guys. After the NCAA/CFA/BCS implements an 8-game playoff, we can look forward to the unheralded demise of the Poulan Weedeater Bowl and its also-ran sisters which they so richly deserve. With an 8-game playoff, I can’t imagine that more than 10 or 12 non-playoff bowl games could survive for any length of time.
By quaildawg
April 15, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this
Roswell Ed appreciate the convenience apsect not to mention there wasn’t much reason to hang around after the half of the past two UGA-Aub games as it WAS over by half in Auburn and a can of Whoop was broke out after the half in Athens this year. One good thing is the Aubee games probably won’t last for more than 1.5 hrs. from what their new O coord. says. He said he was going to speed the game up!
By Dick Rod
April 15, 2008 1:17 PM | Link to this
PARODY - a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work. PARITY - a concept of equality of status or functional equivalence. Now you call tell everyone you learned something today.
Changing to a play off, plus one, plus three, or other system won’t change the arguing. Current two game system: Only works with two undefeated teams (a la Miami-OSU). Top four team playoff: (USC, Oklahoma, and Auburn 2004) - how do you decide on the 4th team? How do you arrange the seedings? Eight team playoff: (6 conf champs, two at large) - do you shaft an undefeated Hawaii in favor of a UGA that didn’t play in it’s own conference champ game? Do you automatically DQ the losers of the conf champ games? 16 team playoff: #17-20 will always cry about it (see NCAA tourney, Va Tech 2008). As someone mentioned, there isn’t usually a lot of difference between the #12th ranked team and the #19th ranked team, and in this case someone is still voting (or a selection committe is still selecting, based in large part on the polls, I’m sure).
Until you have something better, you don’t want to make wholesale changes.
By Denver Dawg
April 15, 2008 1:26 PM | Link to this
Are you freakin’ crazy?
Don’t change a thing?
This is my favorite sport in the world and many people agree, but it is not the best. Until there is a real playoff, I cannot consider it the best.
This mentality of ‘if if ain’t broke don’t fix it’ hurts the most diehard college fans and most importantly the sport of div-I college football.
‘If it ain’t broke - IMPROVE IT.’
By Bama Stan
April 15, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this
College Football is the best sport in the good ole US of A.
Here is my arguement for one tweak to improve current system:
Go with the PLUS ONE
Plus One - solves the arguement that Auburn went through. 1 vs 4 - 2 vs 3 - then a National Title game.
Keeps the focus and importance of the regular season and conference championship game.
3 Keeps the bowl system intact - which generates huge revenue for all the schools….and despite a few bad matchups - it also produces great matchups.
Speaking of matchups - USC vs UGA in Rose would have been great to see. USC vs ILL —- not so good.
However - UGA vs Hawaii was great!!!! Really peeked my interest to see what Hawaii could do against a traditional power. Boise nailed OK the year before. Huge interest across the country for this game.
UGA vs Hawaii benefitted the dogs. Why? - because so many were interested in this match up - the entire college football world tuned in …. and witnessed an excellent UGA team - that will now carry votes to a higher rating at the begginning of the 2008 season.
What I am saying is that by beating Hawaii so sound - in such an intriguing matchup - more poll voters actually paid attendtion to this game and will now place UGA higher at the start of the 2008 season - than if UGA had lost to USC - or played a tight game against … say a Texas or other national opponent.
Is being ranked high early important???….just ask Auburn!!!
By wywalton
April 15, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
Thanks for the word check. Always get that one wrong. Or did I? Maybe I meant parody (to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work). LOL
By In The Know
April 15, 2008 1:37 PM | Link to this
Do not mess with the regular season but eliminate about 15-20 bowl games. That would make the regular season even better. Quit worrying ourselves sick over the BCS or a playoff.
By Stingem05
April 15, 2008 1:37 PM | Link to this
Someone said before take the 11 conference champs and 5 at-large. I like the idea except take only 1 at-large and give the top 4 byes in the first round.
This would solve the main arguments for and against a play-off.
1) It would give a play-off where all of the now 120 D1 teams have a chance at the start of the season to be the champ.
2) It would still make every game in the regular season count just as much as it does now because there would only be 1 at-large.
As an extra bonus, top teams would be more likely to schedule tough out of conference games because they a loss wouldn’t hurt them as much as a win would help them.
By Roswell Ed
April 15, 2008 1:51 PM | Link to this
Are you people really taking up for
the band?
Is this some kind of bizarro world TB blog?
I could care less if the AU band was the best in the world or the worst.
Heck I wouldn’t know what to judge.
“I don’t know Billy Bob. I think there’s too much percussion in Flight of the Bumble Bee.”
“Hey Duke wasn’t that Flugal Horn a little off key in the Theme from Star Wars?
“Hey J.R. was it just me or was the second clarinet a step off in the turn on Eye of the Tiger?
“Laurence that big tall handsome fella down there sure plays a mean Herald Trumpet.
Give me a break.
Bob- I can watch any teams play college football.
In pro its sad to say but until the playoffs I only watch the Falcons.
By GT skcus
April 15, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this
GT in SC
it should be Tim Worly:
face of the:
Chicago Bears - how about
Pittsburg Steelers - how about
NFL
Just as GA Tech Football:
the face of losers
By Hoopie1
April 15, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this
Roswell Ed…….I with you dude!……Bands on the field suck!
WDE
By War Eagle
April 15, 2008 3:47 PM | Link to this
KR, you are loyal war eagle, hopefully this year Auburn will advance better than last year.. QB`s will be difference from last season. College football has climbed to the elite of entertainment which means high revenue status. I hope this does not damage college football, but NCAA seems to be $$$$ crazy. BCS will REMAIN status quote until college Presidents decide differently…They like REVENUE OFF BOWL GAMES AS ATHLETIC DIRECTORS.
By Redcoats Rock
April 15, 2008 3:47 PM | Link to this
I marched in the Redcoats in the mid 80’s. I know you weirdos don’t care, but back then Vince Dooley and the team always appreciated the band and considered us a part of the team. The annual VD speech was a meaningful part of band camp.
Roswell Ed, go back to New Mexico with your UFO buddies and stay off the blog if you don’t like college football.
By P Dawg
April 15, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this
What would poor old Ohio State do w/o the BCS throwing their overrated behinds into the ncg! The BCS is about as good as it’s gonna be w/o a playoff though. If we are gonna keep the BCS there should be some kind of regulation as to who gets invited to what bowl because, I don’t care who you are or who you pull for, everyone in the world knows that UGA should have played SoCal last year in the rose bowl. This is where the biggest flaw in the current system lies. These bowl committees and their buddie system. Eliminate that and your the next best thing to a playoff.
By dawgy
April 15, 2008 4:10 PM | Link to this
Reuben Houston: The face of GT football (sic)
By BCS Slave
April 15, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this
There is NO rhyme or reason to the BCS. It is idiotic to suggest that teams control their own destiny. All who argue that are at the very least blind.
As long as the fans support the bowl system, it will not change. If we have a playoff tied to the bowl system, then we will at least have teams ranked 1-4 competing for the NC on the field.
To give the NC credibility, we must first have at least this much of a playoff. Otherwise, the NC is a joke. It is not about competition…it is a beauty contest.
Second, the poll voting needs to change. News media and coaches should not be allowed to vote. People who are affiliated with Div. 1 universities as players, graduates, or otherwise, should not be allowed to vote. We should draw voters who graduated from small schools. Coaches of small school football programs could also vote. This would not eliminate bias completely, but it would help.
Third, it should be a requirement of the playoff system that only teams who won their conference champtionships would be allowed to be seeded 1-4. Then the teams who are nationally ranked who win their conference championships will be slotted according to their ranking going into the game. No CC could jump a higher ranked CC after the game.
Finally, rankings should not be published until the mid-point in the season. This would give voters the chance to evaulate a larger body of work for these teams.
There is no perfect system. Rankings are not exact science. At least this one would begin to eliminate some bias and provide for a CC based on COMPETITION instead of biased opinions.
By PTC DAWG
April 15, 2008 5:04 PM | Link to this
I read it above, I’ve been screaming it for years. 6 BCS Champs, and the NEXT 2 highest at large teams in an 8 team playoff. Use the same BCS polls we use now to determine the 2 highest at large teams.
What are we waiting for?
By Roswell Ed
April 15, 2008 5:06 PM | Link to this
What the heck does not liking the band have with not liking college football?
That’s like saying you don’t like PMS so you must not like the ladies.
Sir I luv the ladies I just don’t care for their half time show!!
And I don’t care 4 the RED coats either!!
By Sundevil
April 15, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this
Nothing wrong with the game. Saturday’s in the fall are still God’s gift to the true fan. The problem is the stuff that happens away from the game… The 17 year old kids at “hat ceremonies”,the “fireinsertcoachesnamehere.com sites that begin before a new coach has coached a single game,the greedy AD’s that require “donations” to buy tickets… 1) Eliminate freshman eligibility.Now. There is a real cancer on college football and it is the recruiting industry that exploits these kids and influences them unfairly.
2)Get control of the schedule back from ESPN. Tuesday night college football ? The Emerald Bowl ? C’mon. It cheapens the game.
3)Eliminate a LOT of second (and third) tier bowls.Nobody wants to be there and I am tired of reading the way teams dis the game before it is played.”Star” players suddenly discover an injury before a second rate bowl to stay healthy for the draft. Pathetic.
By Football Fan
April 15, 2008 5:28 PM | Link to this
Has anyone else noticed that Tech allowed Alabama and Clemson to run Tech out of its own town? Tech rescheduled its August 30th game with Jacksonville to August 28th so Tech would not have to compete with the Alabama-Clemson game at the Georgia Dome on August 30th. Now that is a sad indictment on the state of the Tech program. If Georgia State ever fields a D1 football team and joins Conference USA, the Tech program is history.*
By Pitbull
April 15, 2008 5:32 PM | Link to this
But if they eliminate the Emerald Nut Bowl and the Roady’s Truck Stop Bowl then where will Tech play?
By BCS Slave
April 15, 2008 5:49 PM | Link to this
Sundevil,
I agree with you on the recruiting cancer. Actually, I think the NC is a cancer as well. It cheapens the game because it’s a beauty contest more often than not. I too am sick of the commercialization. I’d rather go back to the bowls without a NC. If debate is good for the game, then let us debate on the mythical NC without the detrimental BCS.
By JOE DIRT
April 15, 2008 5:50 PM | Link to this
make a 8 team playoff field and shorten season by a couple of games, turn small bowls into playoff games and ultimately work your way to the championship game and GET RID OF BCS 8 TEAMS AN NEVER EXCEED THAT. NEVER
By Cuz
April 15, 2008 5:52 PM | Link to this
I think a great improvement would be a free slice of pizza and a coke for every ticket to the game. Oh darn, Tech thought of that already.
The Redcoat Bands halftime show is not nearly as good as their post game show. Now that is awesome and I stick around for it every home game I attend. Great concert, thanks Redcoats. yeah I would call them Dixie Redcoats but those kids have probably never even heard that name.
By SOS
April 15, 2008 6:17 PM | Link to this
SECCoachinDallas: I know high-speed internet hasn’t made it to Dallas, GA yet, but dial-up isn’t this slow…Care to elaborate on your illustrious non-career at UGAY???
South Carolina 16, Georgia 12
By Former Redcoat Drummer
April 15, 2008 6:21 PM | Link to this
It’s kinda sad that Roswell Ed’s holding back on why there are many things wrong with me (a male) being in the UGA drumline in the mid-to-late 90’s. I would love to hear it, honestly.
(And those ladies that he loved - who do you think they were with on the bus trips and other parties?)
As for the topic at hand, I’m not as upset over the BCS due to who played in the championship game. It’s more that we were robbed of what would have been a great UGA vs. USC matchup underneath that championship game.
By SamoanDawg
April 15, 2008 7:08 PM | Link to this
Bama Stan, nice post bra. I agree on the plus one deal. If we had it last season, it would look some’ like this:
OSU vs. 4. UGA
LSU vs. 3. OU
USC would’ve been left out, but who cares, nobody watches them anyway..: ) but there’s a possibility that two teams from the same conference could played for the national titles… hmmm, that might be a good thing or not. I’m sure the BCS will try to tweaked it to cover up their rears.
By OK Dogs
April 15, 2008 7:20 PM | Link to this
We’ll give you reuban… SEC championship ring fire-sale, Worley, Odell Thurman, your whole basketball team a few years back, Donavan Baldwin-DUI, Ian Smith, Muzanmeimer, Akeem Hebron, Caleb King, Barnes, and Chandler…those were off the top of my head. I’m sure some internet research would unearth some more. Listen, you guys have owned us on the field the last 7 years. But if you want to compare the players each program brings in by character, you are in short supply. Not to mention they major in underwater basket weaving
By OK dogs
April 15, 2008 7:23 PM | Link to this
Now go crank dat soulja boy…you bastion of high moral authority…Just don’t forget to superman that ho
By OK Jackets
April 15, 2008 7:53 PM | Link to this
Train any terrorists lately?????
By shane #1
April 15, 2008 8:09 PM | Link to this
Uh, Caleb king made a wrong turn on a mo-ped. No Tech students have traffic stops? Hebron, Chandler, and Muzzy were busted for drinking under age, I guess no Tech ballers drink either. Barnes was arrested for giving Chandler a beer. I guess it goes without saying that no twentyone year old at Tech would give His twenty yearold teamate a beer. No wonder You guys are lousy, You have a pre-teen Sunday school class over there. Your new qb shows promise though, arrested before He enrolled. Don’t talk about character untill Your teams actually finish a whole game. I saw Them quit on Chan in a bowl game! Teams with character may get beat on the field, but They don’t quit. When your team grows a pair and comes back the way UGA did against Virginia Tech in the dome, Alabama at Bama in overtime, and Auburn, then You can talk about character. BTW, Auburn and VT have defenses that are not easy to mount second half comebacks against.
By P Dawg
April 15, 2008 8:14 PM | Link to this
Has anyone checked to see if gt’s players are actually eligible lately? They seem to have a hard time keeping up with that arduous task. 0-8 in 08’ and beyond beeotches!
By P Dawg
April 15, 2008 8:18 PM | Link to this
Let’s talk about something that really matters. gt doesn’t. On our way to 8 in a row!
By NCAA Fan
April 15, 2008 8:30 PM | Link to this
I am not a PAC-10 or USC Trojan fan and I know that they are very, very over hyped by ESPN and the media. I know that the school is under investigation as regards Reggie Busch, but why all of the hatred and silly comments like “USC would be left out and no one watchesthem anyway? Southern California (the area from Santa Barbara down to San Diego) has close to 17 million people (more than the entire state of Georgia). Heck, L.A. alone has 10 million people alone (more than the entire population of most of the states in the south) and is the 2nd largest T.V. market next to New York. I travel all over the country (not just in the Southeast) and USC, Notre Dame (yeah I know the stink), Texas, Michigan and Miami (yeah I know they stink too) are some of the most followed teams (check the ratings). As far as SEC teams (Alabama and LSU) are thye most watched. So you can hate on the Trojans, but don’t just throw crap against a wall. Also, the last four times USC played against SCE teams they beat Auburn at home and away and absolutely destroyed Arkansas at home and away. Ooop’s I forgot, the Razorbacks didn’t have Petrino coaching them, if they did maybe they would have destroyed the Trojans. LOL.
By UNCHeel
April 15, 2008 8:34 PM | Link to this
Hey bulldog fans, don’t forget about Reggie Ball, the Al-Qaeda junior league, Stephon “Georgia Tech University” Marbury, George O’Liar, and the “tutoring” program at Tech that led to 15 players being ineligible. Oh, they still played, but who’s keeping track? Go Heels!
By Good question
April 15, 2008 8:36 PM | Link to this
Pdawg. Our guys actually have to attend class and earn their grade…we might lose a couple to academics..we have no Jim Harrick exams over here. Touche Shane… Most of those aren’t too bad..I’ll just stick with Worley, Odell, Quitsy and the players who sold their SEC-C rings. That should be enough. Chan sucked and by extension we didn’t play up to our potential. I never chime in because GA has whipped our arse for the past 7 on the field… but when you bring out Reuban, I take aim at your glass house.
By adawgfan
April 15, 2008 8:37 PM | Link to this
If the playoff system took the conference champions plus 5 at large teams with the best record / ranking how would the regular season be diminished? Use the established bowls for the playoffs and utilize a rotation similar to the one the BSC (BSChampionship) uses. The bowls could even retain their conference alliances except for when they were to be the national championship game. I just don’t understand why College Football, the best sport on the planet by far, doesn’t crown a true champion after every season. It’s a credit to the sport that it can remain so popular with all of the controversy over who is really the best every year.
By UNCWhat?
April 15, 2008 8:45 PM | Link to this
Do you guys still play football?
By NCAA Fan
April 15, 2008 8:48 PM | Link to this
Also, I do believe that the SEC is the best conference in college football, hands down! I just believe in giving credit were credit is do.
By GT96
April 15, 2008 8:59 PM | Link to this
I agree 100%. What schools really should do is stop scheduleing patsy opponents and bring back some rivalry games during the regular season. Lets see Clemson vs. UGA and Tech vs. Auburn every year. Why not? It would certainly improve each teams strength of schedule and most importantly it would give the fans what they want.
Did anyone watch much of the NCAA Basketball regular season? Probably not. Why? Because nothing really matters until the tournament.
NCAA football is the last U.S. sport where the regular season matters. Please don’t take that away from us. MLB took away pennent races and now a 4th place team after 162 games can eliminate a dominant team in three games. Complete BS.
What would the regular season be like if the fat and happy powers that be implement a playoff system in NCAA football??? One word: BORING
By marty614
April 15, 2008 9:03 PM | Link to this
First, I am adawg fan, and I do not want a playoff system.
Couple of points: Auburn who went undefeated a few years back played a pathetic out of conference schedule. That is why they did not get a shot.
Whomever said teams would be more apt to schedule tougher out of conf. games with a palyoff is crazy. Teams would play their conf. games and schdeule creampuffs for the rest of their schedule. See OSU last year.
I also think that most ADs and Pres. of major universities realize that tough out of conference games will impress the voters. Look at Ga/ASU or Bama/ Tech. Playoffs and none of these games happen.
By War Eagle
April 15, 2008 9:19 PM | Link to this
NCAA Fan, all that good information and you conclude it with SEC down play. What is your point, SEC not superb to Pac 10 or you just have a hard on for SEC? I am not a punch poster, but heavy type on SEC tells me you are not local or just trying to be cute.Did Stanford beat USC plus a Oregon team or UCLA? Are you the Neilson Report on who watches what SEC games? the only hate here is YOU toward SEC…Big Ten, Pac 10 is not conferences as SEC…Last BCS NC proves that point.
By Lance Goodthrust
April 15, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this
Barnhart your case is both stupid and gutless.So 80 % or whatever the number is of college football fans (not to mention most coaches) should live like cowards and keep the absurd bowl system because chicken little thinking people like you fear the sky will fall…what a pathetic argument.
By To: OK Jackets
April 15, 2008 9:45 PM | Link to this
Maybe you should ask Musa Smith’s dad if he’s trained any lately????
By NCAA Fan
April 15, 2008 9:46 PM | Link to this
By NCAA Fan
April 15, 2008 8:48 PM | Link to this
Also, I do believe that the SEC is the best conference in college football, hands down! I just believe in giving credit were credit is do.
By GT96
War Eagle, I respect your opinion of my comments and I was not picking on your team as regards them beating Auburn twice. Please read the attached post I have copied. Again, the SEC is the best conference (bar none) and it I believe that Auburn was jobed in 2004. It is amazing that SEC teams have run the guantlet of the SEC schedule, won their Conference championship game and won the SEC in the past two years. I am not disputing that,what I am disputing is SEC fans believing that because other conferences on a whole may be inferior, that they are other teams that could not compete, much less beat them. Ohio State has been soundly beaten in the past two years by SEC opponents, but I believe that Miami ‘00-‘03 (heck, they beat UF in the Sugar Bowl in 2000 by 17 points in what was really a UF home game and have taken the last 6 in a row from the Gators, even though I believe they will be handed their hat’s up in the Swamp this year). USC ‘02-Present and Texas ‘04-‘05 could compete well against any of the SEC teams of the past decade. Everytime SOuthern Cal is mentioned on this blog, it is in an inferior conotation. All I am saying is give a team credit, if they have earned it or deserve it.
By BCS Slave
April 15, 2008 10:04 PM | Link to this
There is no way the regular season would be boring if we had a playoff. You have to win the reg. season to make the playoff. The playoff is a national tournament. Only a small percentage of teams can get in, and with the ridiculous polls we have, you just don’t know from year to year who will be in (Unless you are Ohio State who always seems to get in the top two no matter how crappy a schedule they play).
With a playoff system, the games will matter just as much during the regular season as they do now.
By Zeb McKluskey
April 15, 2008 10:13 PM | Link to this
Marty…..uh……what???? Man I’m not callin you out or anything, but are you serious???????? Please post your thoughts again for me cause I don’t understand where the hell your comin from. You don’t want a playoff?? Okay…..the people who don’t want a college football playoff system are the same people that will vote for hillary or obama. Dam, I just had to bring politics into this. Sorry guys. Marty, are you a hillary girl??
By FLA DAWG
April 15, 2008 10:45 PM | Link to this
Tony, I’m not sure why you would cherry pick only the good things and ignore the fatal flaws of the current situation. It has proven itself to be a disaster - did you forget about the top teams at the end of last year and how poorly the BCS system provided for them regarding a fair shot at the NC? How anyone can argue against a playoff system is beyond me. High schools can handle it but colleges can’t? In South Florida we have 5 year olds playing ice hockey in leagues with playoffs. What the heck are you think’n man?
By marty614
April 15, 2008 11:20 PM | Link to this
zeb Please elaborate. I thought I made myself clear. While there is not a perfect system to cfb, it is the best sport. because the regular season matters.
In baseball, St. Louis goes 82-79 wins the world series. Last year Giants do not win their division, but win the Super Bowl.
My point is the regular season does not matter in those sports and it does in cfb.
If Georgia wants to play in the NC, beat EITHER SC or Tenn. end of discussion.
By the way Hillary would not have gotten us in this mess W has put us in.
By chemdawg
April 15, 2008 11:33 PM | Link to this
Roswell Ed: Go to the tate center and listen to the redcoat band play glory after the dawg walk.
By dawgy
April 15, 2008 11:48 PM | Link to this
Leave it to the techie to take cheap shots at Musa Smith, a college athlete WHO DID NOTHING WRONG. Worry about your own, nerds. Shouldn’t you be monitoring those swarthy math majors that infiltrate your campus? You know, the ones indicted by the FBI for conspiring to blow up federal buildings?? Oh yeah, almost forgot…
7.
By airduke
April 16, 2008 12:50 AM | Link to this
Quick, who did the Kansas basketball team lose to this season? Who did the NY Giants lose to this past year? Who won the NFC Wild Card games this past season? Who cares?
College football will never ruin its advantage (meaningful games every week) over all other sports.
And One. Top 4 teams in BCS play it out using current bowl set up. It’s coming in ‘10. And it’s never going to include more than 4 teams, thank God!
By TJ
April 16, 2008 6:55 AM | Link to this
Forbid the publishing of rankings until the end of October.
By GTsince62
April 16, 2008 7:54 AM | Link to this
Hey Exley DAWG good comment. Blog again and give me you intials. i think I know you.
TA
By P Dawg
April 16, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this
Rundown of Southern football:
GT: Been irrelevant for eons.
AU: Got screwed a few years ago but other than that ho-hum. Keep on beating UF though!
UT: Beat UGA twice in a row but woke up a beast in 07’.
UF: On a downward spiral until they find a bonafide RB and a defense.
LSU: Gotta give respect to the defending champs. Thanks for showing how overrated OSU always is!
Alabama: We’ll see. Saban is a great coach but he might get tired of dealing with the demands of the fans if he doesn’t deliver a nc in 1 or 2 yrs.
Arkansas: Petrino. We’ll see how long he stays.
Clemson: Always recruits well but never quite gets there. Serious coaching meltdowns with the talent there.
Vanderbilt: Outstanding coaching for considerably less talent. Not a team to overlook anymore. They can bite you.
Ole miss: Two yards and a cloud of dust under Nutt. Outdated offense will never get far.
Miss State: Hard nosed coaching under Croom will get them another bowl game.
North Caroilina: Butch Davis will challenge VT to win the ACC.
South Carolina: Luck has run out. Spurrier will be turning things over to his son soon (unless the Holtz father/son hex still looms in columbia).
Kentucky: Rich Brooks built this program to a new high (for Kentucky football) but lost a ton of players. Look for Brooks to turn it over after this year.
FSU: Don’t really know what happened in Tallahassee. Top 5 recruiting classes every year but still losing 4-5 games/year.
UGA: Complete and total domination. The toughest schedule in all the land will not be enough for the level of talent on the field and on the sidelines. First team in a while to go undefeated to the title.
By GwinnettJacket
April 16, 2008 8:14 AM | Link to this
Has any changes been made this season by the rules committee? The worst rule change in the history of college football was the timing rules in 2006; thank God they reversed their mistake. However, I heard there still is an interest to shorten games. To real college football fans, this is ridicullous. I want no part of shortening an experience. My 6-7 homes games are the best days of the year!
By GT skcus
April 16, 2008 9:26 AM | Link to this
Good Question and other jacket fans;
I’m sure ga tech ballers would pawn championship rings - but you have to win a championship to get a ring - and ga tech is not even close
gt96 -
ga tech is one of those pasty schools you want good teams to get off their schedule.
By JK
April 16, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this
This is a Crazy Idea:
Acknowledge one ranking system (like the AP) and have #1 play #2 at the end of the season. Eliminate the BCS.
By VolFan
April 16, 2008 9:49 AM | Link to this
Two ways to improve college football:
1.Eliminate games between BCS teams and non-BCS teams. Too many teams, SEC included, schedule cream puffs instead of legitimate teams. I’d rather see UGLY schedule UCLA, CAL, Ohio State, etc. more often. Some SEC teams do it much more often than others.
On a personal note, folks that cannot spell or use good grammar torpedo their own arguments in postings. Proofread, people!!
By dawgy
April 16, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this
Jesus. A Tennessee fan scolding others for poor grammar. The apocalypse is near, indeed. Think I just saw a locust fly by my window.
By dawgsrule
April 16, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this
Hey Vol Fan before you throw UGA under the bus about non conference games look at what they have done and scheduled. Oklahoma state, Colorado, Arizona St., Oregon, Loiusville, GT every year, Clemson and others. I know the Vols have been scheduling big OCG but UGA has been right there with you if not ahead of you.
By BCS Slave
April 16, 2008 4:02 PM | Link to this
Marty614,
In baseball, the regular season matters. How ridiculous. Just because a team that wins the WS flirts with a .500 record doesn’t mean the season doesn’t matter. How many teams finished below them in the standings? Only a SMALL percentage of teams make it to the playoffs. While I think wildcards cheapen the regular season, most of the playoff teams had to WIN THEIR DIVISION. I watched a lot of classic baseball games at the end of the season when the division was still up in the air. So don’t try to say the regular season doesn’t matter. What a crock.
As for you comment that Georgia beating TN and SC would have put them in the NC…another crock. Why? Because the BCS is not objective. Other undefeated teams have been shutout for NC’s before (can you say “Auburn”?) and you can bet it will happen again. Going undefeated is no guarantee of be crowned the beauty of the BCS ball.
Get rid of biased voters and maybe the fantasy you believe will actually come true.
By paulwesterdawg
April 16, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this
Cut the # of Div I-A teams down to 100 from 119.
Only allow Div I teams to play Div I-AA teams once every 4 years for bowl eligibility.
Put all 6 major conferences at 12 members.
These three changes would make for about 100-120 better games a year. They would cause a trickle up of quality match-ups, and set us up to have a better idea for which teams are truly better than others.
Right now, a Playoff system is a waste of time because there’s no way to seed it in any sort of credible fashion. There are too many teams playing too few games against quality opposition to really know who the Top 8 teams (in order) really are.
By marty614
April 16, 2008 9:13 PM | Link to this
Slave, You have got to be kidding me. If ga beats either tn. or sc, they play in the SEC championship game. LSU won and went to the NCG. Get your facts straight before you call someone out.
By BCS Slave
April 16, 2008 10:21 PM | Link to this
Marty614,
LOL…you don’t pay attention. The BCS, just like the poll system before it, has always been biased. Sorry, but the facts are in. Going undefeated doesn’t guarantee a slot in the NC. Winning the SEC doesn’t either. To say “UGA would have been in the NC if they won the SEC” is ridiculous. Just because LSU got in (Jumping several poll spots to do it) doesn’t mean Georgia would, or Missouri, or any other team. I’m calling you out because your conclusion is pure speculation.
You didn’t pay attention to the coronation that took place after the SEC championship. LSU was coronated by the media. The stupid refrain, “They lost close games in overtime” was a good example of how biased the media is. A loss is a loss. If a team was good enough to the voters to be ranked higher than LSU before the SEC Championship (See Ohio State) then they should have been good enough after the game. Ohio State was not adversely affected by not playing a conference championship game. But it seems LSU needed the extra game to vault over other teams. Why should Ohio State not get bumped down by teams who played and won conference championship games? It is one word: bias.
I’m calling you out because your conclusions about a team controlling it’s own destiny is crap. It is pure speculation that you cannot prove. Bias however, is part of the voting process. It is inherent in it. Strength of schedule determinations are not exact science (see the debate around Ohio State’s schedule each year). Conference strength is debatable. When you look at the way various coaches vote…you can see clear bias.
I’m calling you out based on facts and logic…two things you clearly lack.
By marty614
April 16, 2008 11:25 PM | Link to this
Slave Help me out here. On one point you say Auburn got jobbed by the BCS, but the next you say LSU got there because of a bias?
I’m confused. You complain that Auburn got left out, but whine that LSU got in.(NC game)
If you want a playoff go watch the NFL, MLB, NBA. Want it in college go to CBB, or what ever sport you want.
Point is CFB is great because the regular season matters.
By BCS Slave
April 17, 2008 8:15 AM | Link to this
Marty614,
You still don’t get it. It is ALL BIAS. Read carefully the explanation of BCS bias in my post above. Bias works both ways…for and against your team. It doesn’t have to always work for a particular team. In human systems, you can’t escape some level of bias, and in sports, homers and regional supporters are a given. If you can’t see the difference between what happened to Auburn and what happened to LSU, then no one can help you understand. The bottom line is that given what happened to Auburn, there is no way LSU should have gotten in. Auburn plays an SEC schedule, supposedly one of the toughest given the level of competition in the conference. But teams like Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Notre Dame (when they can manage to win their patsy games) are always ranked highly. The bias around certain teams is clear because it is based on past glories and national prominence of a program…not on objective measures.
Again, in reference to you comment about the regular season, LOL. The regular season matters. It matters in every sport. The only time it doesn’t is when there are so many playoff spots that most of the league gets in. LOL. Ask the Braves and Dodgers in ‘91 and ‘92 if it matters. Ask the Reds. Ask the Giants. In pro football, classic regular season games have determined divisions and playoff spots. There is no pro sport that ignores performance in the regular season. The reason you think pro sports regular season don’t matter is probably that you don’t care much for watching those sports. That would explain your clear bias.
A playoff is what we have now, in a lame, beauty contest sort of way. All people seem to care about is rankings and seeding in the bowls so they can argue that their team is best. The beauty of a playoff is that at least among those favored teams in the top 4 or 8, there will be a chance to prove you are the best team through competition. That is what sport is all about.
By Andrew O'Connell
April 17, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this
CAN I GET AN AMEN FROM THE CONGREGATION! Tony, you have hit the nail on the head - why mess with perfection. College football is the greatest sport in the U.S., and people who want to turn it into the NFL can, well, stick with the NFL. I will take Ohio State v. LSU every time over Giants v. Patriots.
By BCS Slave
April 17, 2008 6:11 PM | Link to this
Please Andrew! College football already has a playoff system that works quite well. The reason DIv I-A does not is money. People are lining their pockets with money so we get stuck with a beauty contest to establish the NC.
By James Hague
April 17, 2008 8:50 PM | Link to this
The BCS is a monopoly! Plain and simple. It was designed and put into place by the six major football confrences, therefore the agenda is simple, major confrences dictate who plays in the higher profile bowl games therefore allowing those same higher profile conference teams the bigger bowl payouts. The spirit of it is to completely penalize smaller conferences and smaller schools and profit from it. I find it odd how any of this factors into a playoff system. I do not agree with a playoff either. It completely undermines and cheapens the regular season. The coolest part about college football is that every game is a playoff game. The entire month of November and first week of December in college football is the most exciting and interesting thing in any sport including the NCAA Basketball tournament. That is precisely why college football is more popular than ever before. The biggest problem seems to be the out of control money from the TV industry. ESPN/ABC have almost every bowl game with the exception of FOX which outbid everyone else for the BCS Bowls. When no one else can compete, that is a monopoly. I imagine thats why NBC and CBS have no more bowl games on television anymore. Why is it everybody gets so unnerved when there is more than one national champion. That is a good thing. It promotes parity and sparks debate. Which is great. The debates in college football help make it as popular as it is today, NOT the BCS or a playoff.