I'm a Frickin' Genius
Like I hinted at yesterday I have solved Division I-A College Football’s playoff formula. It’s pretty simple. I used the basic setup of the DI-AA playoff system since that along with the other college football playoffs seem to work so well.
Ok, we start with a 16 team field. This will include all 11 conference winners. That’s right Big XII all the way down to the Sun Belt. And then 5 wild card teams. These teams will be selected based on their BCS rank. In time a new system would be developed and the BCS would be gone. Something like the system that the Ohio High School football playoffs are based on. It heavily factors in strength of schedule which would force teams to play tougher schedules therefore making for more exciting games.
Now I know that one of the main hang ups with a playoff is the potential loss of the bowls. Well guess what, this system incorporates the bowls. The “Final Four” games will be played in the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl with the championship rotating between the three. The reason these three get the Final Four is because they are the major bowl games with the most history. Let’s face it, the Fiesta Bowl bought their way into the BCS, it’s a made up game.
Second round playoff games will be played at the Cotton, Fiesta, Citrus, and Gator Bowls. These bowls were chosen because I consider them to be second tier New Year’s Day bowls (sorry Outback Bowl). It also allows the system to be set up to accommodate high seeds geographically.
Some of you may be saying, for example, “What about my beloved Silicon Valley Classic?” And I say to you, no worries. These bowls will be able to pick from the numerous bowl eligible, non playoff teams. As well as first round losers.
And I guess we’ll have to add a Notre Dame rule. But wait, no we don’t. If they finish in the top 5 among non-conference winners they’ll get a spot. If not, too bad. No special consideration for a school that thinks it’s too good to join a conference.
Now, getting into the actual seeding. Teams will be seeded based on conference strength. This will be formulated by the number of teams from said conference ranked in the “BCS” top 25 at seasons end. If there is a tie then it will go to average rank. I know that there will be cases that people say that there are wild card teams that are better than conference champs. Well I have taken this into consideration. The top 5 conference champs will be guaranteed the top 5 seeds. So with this in mind let’s look at how this season would be set up.
Teams…
Auburn (SEC)
Oklahoma (Big 12)
Virginia Tech (ACC, if they beat Miami)
Michigan (Big 10)
USC (Pac 10)
Cal (wildcard)
Texas (wildcard)
Utah (MWC)
Georgia (wildcard)
Boise St. (WAC)
Louisville (C-USA)
Miami (wildcard)
LSU (wildcard)
Pitt (Big East)
Toledo (MAC, if they beat Miami, Oh)
North Texas (Sun Belt)
Now after the top five seeds are placed, the seedings are done by the “BCS” rankings. Auburn received the #1 spot because there are 5 SEC teams in the top 25 with an average rank of 11.6. Oklahoma gets #2 because the Big 12 has 5 teams in the top 25 with an average of 14.3. Virginia Tech is #3 with four ACC teams ranked with an average of 15.7. Michigan gets #4 because the Big Ten has 4 teams with an average of 18.9. And finally, USC gets the #5 spot even though they are ranked #1 because the conference sucks with only 3 teams ranked.
And here are the brackets…
Auburn
16. North Texas (at Auburn)
8. Utah
9. Georgia (at Utah)
5. USC
12. Miami (at USC)
4. Michigan
13. LSU (at Michigan)
Oklahoma
15. Toledo (at Oklahoma)
7. Texas
10. Boise St. (at Texas)
6. Cal
11. Louisville (at Cal)
Virginia Tech
14. Pitt (at Virginia Tech)
Now keeping in mind that the second round games will be played in Dallas (Cotton), Tempe (Fiesta), Orlando (Citrus), and Jacksonville (Gator) the top four seeds will receive a geographical “break” in their ranking order. Meaning that the second round game in the 1/16 & 8/9 slot will be played at the Gator Bowl because that is the closet game to Auburn. The 5/12 & 4/13 game will be played in the Fiesta Bowl because UM gets the left over spot as the #4 seed. The 2/15 & 7/10 spot will be played in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl. Yes there is potential for Red River Shootout II and I don’t think anyone (especially Texas) would complain about that. And finally the 6/11 & 3/14 game will be played in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. This is the closest remaining game to Virginia Tech.
Now the Final Four will be on a predetermined schedule. So just for kicks let’s say this season that the Sugar Bowl gets the potential 1&4 match up and the Rose gets the 2&3 match up. That leaves the title game to be played in the Orange Bowl.
Another problem that is constantly brought up about a playoff is time. Well, problem solved. Teams will play a standard 10 game season that must be completed by the end of November because the playoffs will start the first weekend of December with the semifinals being played the weekend before Christmas (depending on the calendar). Leagues with Championship Games will be allowed an 11th game but must schedule accordingly.
So let’s use this year’s calendar. The playoff would start this weekend (Dec. 4). First round games would be played at campus sites. Now after the games have concluded this would give the other Bowls a chance to select their teams in time to start playing the week of the 13th. Second round games will be held at the allotted bowl sites on December 11th. And the semis will be played December 18. Then the Championship Game would be played New Years Day in traditional fashion. And it would give the teams two weeks to prepare.
So there it is NCAA. Problem solved and it wasn’t too difficult. Oh but wait that’s the problem. This scenario is too easy and that’s why it won’t get done. Idiots…
On a different note, I had one of the best Slurpees of my life today. Orange/Pineapple Freeze mixed with Slamin’ Blamin’ Cherry. It was awesome. Definitely the pick me up I needed to get through the rest of the day.
Has anyone noticed that the Clippers are off to a 9-6 start? That team has always had such great young talent. Maybe this is the year they finally put it together.
The Suns blew out the Cavs last night and LeBron only scored 15. Phoenix is good. I thought they were stupid at the beginning of the year for playing Stoudamire at center, but that “Fun and Gun” system is working. Every starter on that team can run and Steve Nash is the perfect point guard to get them the ball. But for some reason, to me at least, it feels like Nash moved the Mavs west with him. That team just doesn’t strike me as one that will be able to hang with San Antonio or Minnesota in the post season because of the lack of a true inside presence. But if anything they’re fun to watch.
The Cavs have the Nuggets tonight. ‘Bron vs. ‘Mello 3. On paper the Nuggets have a lot more talent than the Cavs. But the Cavs have been playing so well as a team. And you know LeBron will step up and have a big game after being off last night.
The MAC Championship is also tonight. It’s “The Team from Up North” vs. the “Team from Down South”, at least that’s what Urban Meyer used to call Toledo and Miami when he was at BG. This game matches BG’s biggest rival (UT) versus our oldest (Miami). I honestly don’t care who wins. I think Toledo has the best shot at beating UConn in the Motor City Bowl and they will sell more tickets for that game. So as much as it pains me, I’ll “root” for Toledo.
And I’m spent…
Ok, we start with a 16 team field. This will include all 11 conference winners. That’s right Big XII all the way down to the Sun Belt. And then 5 wild card teams. These teams will be selected based on their BCS rank. In time a new system would be developed and the BCS would be gone. Something like the system that the Ohio High School football playoffs are based on. It heavily factors in strength of schedule which would force teams to play tougher schedules therefore making for more exciting games.
Now I know that one of the main hang ups with a playoff is the potential loss of the bowls. Well guess what, this system incorporates the bowls. The “Final Four” games will be played in the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl with the championship rotating between the three. The reason these three get the Final Four is because they are the major bowl games with the most history. Let’s face it, the Fiesta Bowl bought their way into the BCS, it’s a made up game.
Second round playoff games will be played at the Cotton, Fiesta, Citrus, and Gator Bowls. These bowls were chosen because I consider them to be second tier New Year’s Day bowls (sorry Outback Bowl). It also allows the system to be set up to accommodate high seeds geographically.
Some of you may be saying, for example, “What about my beloved Silicon Valley Classic?” And I say to you, no worries. These bowls will be able to pick from the numerous bowl eligible, non playoff teams. As well as first round losers.
And I guess we’ll have to add a Notre Dame rule. But wait, no we don’t. If they finish in the top 5 among non-conference winners they’ll get a spot. If not, too bad. No special consideration for a school that thinks it’s too good to join a conference.
Now, getting into the actual seeding. Teams will be seeded based on conference strength. This will be formulated by the number of teams from said conference ranked in the “BCS” top 25 at seasons end. If there is a tie then it will go to average rank. I know that there will be cases that people say that there are wild card teams that are better than conference champs. Well I have taken this into consideration. The top 5 conference champs will be guaranteed the top 5 seeds. So with this in mind let’s look at how this season would be set up.
Teams…
Auburn (SEC)
Oklahoma (Big 12)
Virginia Tech (ACC, if they beat Miami)
Michigan (Big 10)
USC (Pac 10)
Cal (wildcard)
Texas (wildcard)
Utah (MWC)
Georgia (wildcard)
Boise St. (WAC)
Louisville (C-USA)
Miami (wildcard)
LSU (wildcard)
Pitt (Big East)
Toledo (MAC, if they beat Miami, Oh)
North Texas (Sun Belt)
Now after the top five seeds are placed, the seedings are done by the “BCS” rankings. Auburn received the #1 spot because there are 5 SEC teams in the top 25 with an average rank of 11.6. Oklahoma gets #2 because the Big 12 has 5 teams in the top 25 with an average of 14.3. Virginia Tech is #3 with four ACC teams ranked with an average of 15.7. Michigan gets #4 because the Big Ten has 4 teams with an average of 18.9. And finally, USC gets the #5 spot even though they are ranked #1 because the conference sucks with only 3 teams ranked.
And here are the brackets…
Auburn
16. North Texas (at Auburn)
8. Utah
9. Georgia (at Utah)
5. USC
12. Miami (at USC)
4. Michigan
13. LSU (at Michigan)
Oklahoma
15. Toledo (at Oklahoma)
7. Texas
10. Boise St. (at Texas)
6. Cal
11. Louisville (at Cal)
Virginia Tech
14. Pitt (at Virginia Tech)
Now keeping in mind that the second round games will be played in Dallas (Cotton), Tempe (Fiesta), Orlando (Citrus), and Jacksonville (Gator) the top four seeds will receive a geographical “break” in their ranking order. Meaning that the second round game in the 1/16 & 8/9 slot will be played at the Gator Bowl because that is the closet game to Auburn. The 5/12 & 4/13 game will be played in the Fiesta Bowl because UM gets the left over spot as the #4 seed. The 2/15 & 7/10 spot will be played in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl. Yes there is potential for Red River Shootout II and I don’t think anyone (especially Texas) would complain about that. And finally the 6/11 & 3/14 game will be played in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. This is the closest remaining game to Virginia Tech.
Now the Final Four will be on a predetermined schedule. So just for kicks let’s say this season that the Sugar Bowl gets the potential 1&4 match up and the Rose gets the 2&3 match up. That leaves the title game to be played in the Orange Bowl.
Another problem that is constantly brought up about a playoff is time. Well, problem solved. Teams will play a standard 10 game season that must be completed by the end of November because the playoffs will start the first weekend of December with the semifinals being played the weekend before Christmas (depending on the calendar). Leagues with Championship Games will be allowed an 11th game but must schedule accordingly.
So let’s use this year’s calendar. The playoff would start this weekend (Dec. 4). First round games would be played at campus sites. Now after the games have concluded this would give the other Bowls a chance to select their teams in time to start playing the week of the 13th. Second round games will be held at the allotted bowl sites on December 11th. And the semis will be played December 18. Then the Championship Game would be played New Years Day in traditional fashion. And it would give the teams two weeks to prepare.
So there it is NCAA. Problem solved and it wasn’t too difficult. Oh but wait that’s the problem. This scenario is too easy and that’s why it won’t get done. Idiots…
On a different note, I had one of the best Slurpees of my life today. Orange/Pineapple Freeze mixed with Slamin’ Blamin’ Cherry. It was awesome. Definitely the pick me up I needed to get through the rest of the day.
Has anyone noticed that the Clippers are off to a 9-6 start? That team has always had such great young talent. Maybe this is the year they finally put it together.
The Suns blew out the Cavs last night and LeBron only scored 15. Phoenix is good. I thought they were stupid at the beginning of the year for playing Stoudamire at center, but that “Fun and Gun” system is working. Every starter on that team can run and Steve Nash is the perfect point guard to get them the ball. But for some reason, to me at least, it feels like Nash moved the Mavs west with him. That team just doesn’t strike me as one that will be able to hang with San Antonio or Minnesota in the post season because of the lack of a true inside presence. But if anything they’re fun to watch.
The Cavs have the Nuggets tonight. ‘Bron vs. ‘Mello 3. On paper the Nuggets have a lot more talent than the Cavs. But the Cavs have been playing so well as a team. And you know LeBron will step up and have a big game after being off last night.
The MAC Championship is also tonight. It’s “The Team from Up North” vs. the “Team from Down South”, at least that’s what Urban Meyer used to call Toledo and Miami when he was at BG. This game matches BG’s biggest rival (UT) versus our oldest (Miami). I honestly don’t care who wins. I think Toledo has the best shot at beating UConn in the Motor City Bowl and they will sell more tickets for that game. So as much as it pains me, I’ll “root” for Toledo.
And I’m spent…
posted by CFunk28 at 2:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home