Coaches at golf tournament endorse college playoff system
GREENSBORO — Some of college football’s bigger names endorsed the impending four-team playoff system to determine future national champions Tuesday.
“My opinion is people want to see the best four teams play,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said after playing in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge celebrity golf tournament.
“I don’t think we need to be watering it down with ‘You need to win a [conference] championship’ ... they want to see the best four teams play.”
Last week, conference commissioners huddled with Notre Dame’s athletic director and other college officials to make changes to the current BCS system. The group left the meeting with several proposals — all involving four-team formats — to discuss with their conference’s coaches, athletic directors and school presidents.
Officials are scheduled to meet again in June to possibly finalize a plan that would take effect for the 2014 season. There are many issues to be resolved, such as the process of selecting four teams and the dates and sites of the semifinals and the championship game.
“I have always been for a plus-one, but I think it’s important to keep the integrity of the bowls because I think they provide a lot of positive self-gratification for the kids in college,” Saban said. “I’d like to see [the playoffs] incorporated into the bowl system some kind of way.
“Why don’t we play [the semifinals] in the those Jan. 1 bowls? And on Jan. 9 play the next game? It’s not as complicated as we’re trying to make. It’s one game.”
Ohio State’s Urban Meyer has some reservations about playoffs, but conceded that he hasn’t followed it closely enough to formulate a true opinion.
“Here’s my experience: We had two real nice runs [at Florida] when we played for national championships,” Meyer said. “And if I had told our team that we had to play one more game, I’m not sure we could’ve gotten another game out of them.
“I always think about those darn students, or student-athletes. Can we play 15 games? That would be a 15-game season now. I don’t know the whole story. Do they give us a few more scholarships because we’re going to deal with injuries? There’s a lot of planning involved.
“You say 15 games. Imagine that year we beat Alabama that was No. 1, and then we beat Oklahoma that was No. 1. Then it’s like ‘OK, by the way, you’ve got one more.’ You’re down to nothing left.”
Meyer was in the minority. Here’s what others had to say:
Clemson's Dabo Swinney: "I've always kind of been on record for the plus-one model. ... I think it would work well and salvage the bowl system the way it is. And also maybe give a little bit more definitive answer to who the national champion is and satisfy that side of the ledge. But we'll see what happens."
Florida State's Jimbo Fisher: "I have no problem with [playoffs]. I just want to make sure we don't change for [the sake of] change. We have a good plan on how we're going to do it, and everybody is on equal footing. You know what I mean? I think that's what we've got to be careful of. ... I think it has got to be the four best teams. You can't get into conference champions. I think the best four football teams need to be in if you're going to try to find the true champion."
Tennessee's Derek Dooley: "This is something that has been talked about for over 20 years. I've always been in favor of the plus-one model. I think it's a great way to preserve the one thing that makes college football special, and that's the regular season, but still polish up the postseason to get that national championship right. I think it will be a good thing."
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