Nothing beats this time of year. Stressing over what gifts
your loved ones and friends will accept/tolerate. Stocking up on a
"special" supply of eggnog, hot chocolate and cider. Listening to
endless number of covers of classic Christmas songs. Enduring bad Lifetime and
Hallmark holiday-themed movies. Commiserating over family dysfunction during a
time that's supposed to be filled with positive personal reflection and cheer.
When it comes to the NCAA Division I football national
championship, over the years the holidays collectively had been a time to
debate the fairness of the Bull Crap Series, errr, umm, Bowl Championship
Series or previous incarnations, or simply the Associated Press picking the No.
1 team. Now we’ve reached an era I never thought I’d see in my lifetime: a
semblance of a playoff. The four-team “tournament” is a starting point. It had
better be. Sure, the current weekly rankings appear to have been a red herring
before the playoff committee finally picked four schools it deemed worthy to duke
it out for a national title. But it’s got people talking, week to week, until
the end about who gets in and who’s left out.
Before the four-team system was created, I’ve played out in
my head a scenario. What if we go to the furthest extent possible and create a
16-team playoff system? Even better, no heavy drinking was required in the
making of this scenario in my head. Having such a tournament is a better way to
truly determine, on the field, a “one true champion” … to rule them all. (See
what I did there?) Way better than a computer helping to determine a No. 1 and
No. 2 team. You BCS apologists may call that fair, but IT’S A FREAKING
COMPUTER. I dunno but I like it when champions are crowned in a final game, on
a field. And we Americans, for the most part, love us some playoffs.
A championship tournament of some type exists for most every
other level of sport out there. Wow. What a startling concept. Even the
Kazahkistani kick-goathead league has a playoff. I’ve won some money there.
I've lost even more money there. Without the NCAA basketball tournament,
schools such as George Mason and Butler likely would have never made it to the
Final Four. You have seen Gonzagas and Marquettes make their mark on the
national scene. Without the College World Series, schools such as Cal
State-Fullerton and Long Beach State -- not so much a Texas or USC -- get to
shine and quite often.
My hypothetical 16-school playoff system would not mess with
the current bowl system. Well, not half of it. Such a system wouldn’t screw
with the “bowl games are a tradition” and “schools will lose money” and “you
can’t make the student-athletes play that long or late into January”
philosophies. Or that December playoffs would complicate things for students
studying for finals. Welp, a tournament hasn't hurt FCS or Division II or III
or NAIA schools. None of those arguments really work.
In most existing playoff systems/postseason tournaments, the
most "deserving" teams make the playoffs, not necessarily the ones
picked "the best." There's a difference. We can debate all we want
about good losses, bad losses, strength of schedule, etc., during the regular
season, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty to determine an absolute
champion, why not go the way of a full tournament?
This is what I'd do to create a 16-team tournament. You
start with automatic champions from FBS (Football Championship Series)
conferences, be it regular-season champs and/or championship game victors. Yes,
I know some of you have trouble with the existence of a conference title game.
I see both sides of the debate have valid points, but I’ll stick what exists
for the moment.
If there are co-champions, it’s up to the affected
conference to determine who gets what we’ll call an FBS bid. You could combine
the final regular season total average poll ranking with regular-season
head-to-head outcomes for a tie-breaker. (Sound unfair? Good. You get to retain
some semblance of unfairness in the process of arriving at a final national
champion).
You could average the rankings of the AP, ESPN power, USA
Today and Legends polls, emphasizing which schools get the most place votes,
add the Congrove computer rankings, and arrive at a final aggregate Top 25 poll
(a de facto old BCS-style ranking system, if you will, without the computer
interference). Those are arguably the strongest, long-standing, most popular
and credible of Division I polls.
Here’s what a final 2014 FBS aggregate poll would look like,
with current conference titleholder status and final regular season record:
1. Alabama (12-1 SEC champion, title game winner)
2. Florida State (13-0 ACC champion, title game winner)
3. Oregon (12-1 Pac-12 champion, title game winner)
4. Ohio State (12-1 Big 10 champion, title game winner)
5. Baylor (11-1 Big 12 “co-”champion, LOLz)
6. TCU (11-1 Big 12 “co-”champion, LOLz)
7. Michigan State (10-2 Big 10)
8. Mississippi State (10-2 SEC)
9. Georgia Tech (10-3 ACC title game runner-up)
10. Kansas State (9-3 Big 12)
11. Ole Miss (9-3 SEC)
12. Arizona (10-3 Pac-12 title game runner-up)
13. Georgia (9-3 SEC)
14. UCLA (9-3 Pac-12)
15. Missouri (10-3 SEC title game runner-up)
16. Arizona State (9-3 Pac-12)
17. Wisconsin (10-3 Big 10 title game runner-up)
18. Clemson (9-3ACC)
19. Auburn (8-4 SEC)
20. Louisville (9-3 ACC)
21. Boise State (11-2 Mountain West champion, title game
winner)
22. LSU (8-4 SEC)
23. USC (8-4 Pac-12)
24. Utah (8-4 Pac-12)
25. Nebraska (9-3 Big 10)
Marshall (12-1 Conference USA champion, title game winner)
Northern Illinois (11-2 Mid-American champion, title game
winner)
Georgia Southern (9-3 Sun Belt champion)
Memphis, Central Florida, Cincinnati, (9-3 each, co-American
Athletic champions)
Ultimately, FBS automatic bids would go to Alabama, Florida
State, Oregon, Ohio State, Boise State, Marshall, Northern Illinois, Georgia
Southern, Baylor (after winning the head to head with TCU), and Central
Florida, or UCF (having the stronger Congrove computer power ranking over
Cincinnati and Memphis).
You add any top independent team ranked high enough overall
in polls for an FBS bid and/or four (or five) other highest-ranked schools,
overall in polls. So this year these schools get an at-large bid: TCU, Michigan
State, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Ole Miss
The ultimate FBS tournament seedings in a 16 vs. 1, 15 vs.
2, 14, vs. 3, etc. format would be:
1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Oregon
4. Ohio State
5. Baylor
6. TCU
7. Michigan State
8. Mississippi State
9. Georgia Tech
10. Kansas State
11. Ole Miss
12. Boise State
13. Marshall
14. Northern Illinois
15. UCF
16. Georgia Southern
Take into account the oldest, popular, most lucrative,
traditional bowls and mix in some regional flair and considerate schedules. (I
still await the Roady's Truck Stops FreeCreditReport.com Pomegranate Cherry
Salad Bowl presented by Franklin American Mortgage Company, but I digress.)
All joking aside, use 15 of those prestigious, richest, most
famous (i.e. powerful, established) bowls as the FBS bowl matches. All other
bowls, may remain independent and ongoing aside from the FBS contests, some may
provide comedic fodder to those of us snarkiest bunches on Twitter. No changes
needed there.
Rotate the FBS bowls as quarterfinal, semifinal and final
games, all of which could retain and maybe even increase the number of ticket-buyers,
TV viewers and payouts. One reason? There’s even greater incentive to play in
such a bowl. Not just one bowl. But a series of true head-to-head games where
all the conference champions (not just the typical, known powerhouses) and
other top-ranked squads have a genuine (and fair) shot at an undisputed
national title. Throw in serious regional, tie-in considerations and, voila.
Imagine that!
The younger, Decemberish bowls host quarterfinals on
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, given this year’s calendar: 1 vs. 16,
2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, 4 vs. 13, 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9.
Tuesday, Dec. 16
Boise State vs. Baylor
-- TicketCity Catcus (formerly Copper, Insight, Buffalo Wild Wings); Tempe
Georgia Southern vs. Alabama -- TaxSlayer (formerly Gator); Jacksonville
Wednesday, Dec. 17
Georgia Tech vs. Mississippi State -- Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus (formerly Tangerine,
Capital One); Orlando
Northern Illinois vs. Oregon -- National University Holiday; San Diego
Thursday, Dec. 18
Marshall vs. Ohio State
-- Outback (formerly Hall of Fame); Tampa
Kansas State vs. Michigan State -- Valero Alamo;
Friday, Dec. 19
Ole Miss vs. TCU --
AutoZone Liberty; Memphis
UCF vs. Florida State
-- Duck Commander Independence; Shreveport
Probable winners?
Baylor, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Ohio State, Kansas
State, Ole Miss, Florida State
More bowls in following week's semifinals involve 1-16 vs.
8-9; 5-12 vs. 4-13; 6-11 vs. 3-14; 7-10 vs. 2-15.
Friday, Dec. 26
Kansas State vs. Florida State -- Goodyear Cotton; Dallas
Baylor vs. Ohio State
-- Allstate Sugar; New Orleans
Saturday, Dec. 27
Georgia Tech vs. Alabama -- Chick-fil-A Peach; Atlanta
Ole Miss vs. Oregon
-- Hyundai Sun; El Paso
Probable winners?
Florida State, Baylor, Alabama, Oregon
Final Four of sorts/Friday, Jan. 1
Baylor vs. Alabama
-- Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Oregon vs. Florida State -- Fiesta Bowl, Tempe
Probable winners?
Baylor, Oregon (haha)
Championship game, Tuesday, Jan. 12
Baylor vs. Oregon --
Orange Bowl, Miami
Who wins? Forget all your worries about health care,
immigration, ISIS, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Kardashians. Well, let this
unfold in reality.
