CFP is Boring
I apologize for the added threads on this topic, but anyone else just bored of the CFP format? The redundancy of teams selected and the limitation of teams selected has clipped any interest I have in it. Do people seriously care to see another Bama/Clemson championship or any championship involving Bama???
The last 10 years of college football has been dry.
December 3rd, 2018 at 4:56 PM ^
Relevant article on the myth of CFB Parity: Link
We all know this to be true, but the playoff system confirms it further, while also cheapening the value of bowl games. March madness also has the same winners most years, but at least you have entertaining upsets mixed in.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:24 PM ^
Who in their right mind thinks there's parity in college football? No one thinks that. No one claims that. That's ridiculous.
Hey, here's a concept for an article. Let's propose a false premise and then debunk it by stating what everyone already knows.
December 3rd, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
I disagree.
Alabama, Oklahoma and Clemson are the top teams in college football right now. And Notre Dame finished unbeaten.
The rest of the teams out there had their shot and failed. This year there is no controversy regarding the entrants in the Final 4.
That's boring to some people I guess.
I look at it this way - It could be a helluva lot worse.
And so yes, we should probably all chip in to send Jeff Brohm and Nick Holt Christmas gift baskets.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:19 PM ^
That's not the issue. The issue is that this playoff format is simply a compromise to satisfy those who wanted something other than a poll ranking deciding championships from bowl matchups, which were conference tied and contractually binding. That method of crowning achievement left Michigan and Nebraska sharing a championship in 1997.
The current system is still a beauty contest that eliminates all contenders except the game's most elite which is decided by a committee which is biased by its very makeup. Why allow people to decide something that the game itself should decide by the players who play?
So, why are we playing meaningful conference championships to decide exhibition matchups if those games don't matter, even though the NCAA claims every game matters. Not really. The teams that the committee deems worthy of championship status matter, all the rest are playing for the exhibition season.
December 3rd, 2018 at 8:45 PM ^
The first five years of the CFP has really been all about the haves (Bama, Clemson, OSU, Oklahoma, Georgia) and the have nots (everyone else except for Mega Millions lottery winner ND).
December 4th, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
Where were you from 1998 to 2012? On the dark side of the Moon? So, just to fill you in...
There was this thing called the BCS that selected the top two rated teams using an algorithm that aggregated computer ratings and HUMINT-based polls. It did a decent job, but if that same system were used to populate a 4-team playoff, it would have been damn near perfect. It succeeded in capturing all teams that had a reasonable argument for playing in the championship final straight-away in 13 of 15 years.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:35 PM ^
I agree with your disagreement.
I think the any non-homer college football fan is very curious to see the Oklahoma's offense against an actual good defense. A top 10 unit this year and the gold standard of defense for the past decade in college football.
Notre Dame brings the kind of interest that the Yankees bring to any event: a big following themselves and a lot of haters that want to see Notre Dame get put in their place.
And while some may be getting tired of Clemson-Bama, there's no doubt that dynasties create interest, frequent meetings create rivalries and back stories and both teams have been so dominant, it's always satisfying if the two best teams in a sport that have been equally good, get to settle it in the title game.
I would argue this is FAR better than last years rendition which had two SEC teams (and you can't get more national apathy than two SEC teams in the final like last year because there wasn't even a team for everyone to root against).
The season before featured an OSU team that didn't deserve to be there, limped in, and got crushed.
December 3rd, 2018 at 4:58 PM ^
I have a complaint about the CFP, I hate the fact that the championship game is on a Monday night. Make it a Saturday like college football is meant to be played. I know that they don't want to go against NFL wild card games but figure something out.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:16 PM ^
I’m ok with it since I’m not going to bother getting shit-hammered watching Bama win another NC. If it were Michigan though, well, I’d definitely be taking Tuesday off...
December 3rd, 2018 at 4:58 PM ^
Yup. And I'm gonna start losing interest in this sport soon if things don't change.
There are 130 FBS teams. What are we doing here if only 4 of them get to play for the national title?
Let me ask you something. Out of all of the NCAA Tournaments, how many times has the national champion come from OUTSIDE the 1 seeds (which are the equivalent of the stupid ass CFP top-4)?
It's a joke.
Don't tell me about academics preventing a 32 team playoff when baseball and softball teams in the Midwest spend 2 months of the season on the road.
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:48 PM ^
That's a little disingenuous to count all 130 teams. Exactly half are P5 (including Notre Dame), so basically as soon as a G5 loses a game, they are out. So 35-40 teams are gone week one.
Greg McElroy was right on that nauseating ESPN show Saturday: The regular season is the expanded playoff. The 64 other G5 teams and all the 3+ loss P5 teams don't even factor in anyway, so there is nowhere near 130 teams vying for the title. More like 6 - 12.
December 3rd, 2018 at 7:35 PM ^
I'm fine with it being a small playoff compared to the other sports. Face it, expanding the basketball tournament has basically made the regular season meaningless. Especially with 20-10 teams able to play like crap for most of the season and then win it all. So why did we just play all those games? Football should at least be 6 teams, 8 is too many as you're basically guaranteeing teams with 2 losses will make it. The gap between 4 and 6 isn't much but 4 to 8 is big.
December 3rd, 2018 at 7:45 PM ^
Maybe to you, but not to all of us who love Michigan Basketball and watch every game and go to the games.
College basketball is great all season and it least this notion of the regular season apparently not mattering keeps the hot take artists away that show up during the tournament who haven't watched all year.
December 3rd, 2018 at 8:49 PM ^
A 32 team football playoff would indeed be fun. But think about the children, WD! /partial s
December 3rd, 2018 at 10:10 PM ^
At least 70 of the 130 teams should be kicked out of Division 1-A and should be in a new division.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:00 PM ^
I can agree , it is boring. If Michigan had beat OSU and then beat Northwestern and made it into the Playoff , would we still think this ?
Probably not. Its all perspective . Losing to the bucks killed the season for most of us .
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:05 PM ^
Yes, I would.
From day 1 of this thing I said all they're doing is replacing the BCS computers that had no biases with old people who do have biases.
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:05 PM ^
Be kind - I resemble your remark.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:07 PM ^
I do have to say I find myself watching fewer games that don't involve the few teams I root for. I enjoy watching Michigan (obviously) and Stanford or Wazzou at night. I used to watch all the marquee matchups but it has become too predictable. Now there is an occasional intriguing game. I haven't watched anything to do with the playoff since Oregon got knocked out. Same teams, different year.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:09 PM ^
The question of who the national champion is just doesn't interest me that much if Michigan isn't involved. Even then, beating OSU and winning the Big Ten is more important. The national championship is inherently somewhat absurd.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:10 PM ^
OU Bama could be one hell of a game
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:24 PM ^
If Oklahoma scores all TDs and 1 field goal on every drive they lose by 4.
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:40 PM ^
That's what makes it interesting.
Did you see the Pac 12 championship game? Now that's boring.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:17 PM ^
I don't fault the system for the teams that have made it. What I don't like are two things:
1. Players with high draft grades have less to prove and more to lose in non-CFP bowls. This is not just injury risk but also that they can recover and train for the combine rather than play ball or risk putting something bad on tape. It is hard to fault the players here as it is their choice.
2. Four spots with five major conferences won't work every year and there is not room for smaller schools. It has to go to eight teams or else it risks having the same problem of previous championship formats: It does not guarantee the top teams will make it. What does UCF have to do? If their game against Georgia Tech isn't cancelled last year and they win, are they in over bama?
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:01 PM ^
One thing the NFL gets right is its postseason. Every game counts in the league because your record decides whether you get to play in January. It doesn't matter whether you have a perfect season or not, because the teams with the best records get to participate and demonstrate whether they belong in the final competition.
The NCAA does this at all levels of its competition except one, Division 1 college football. And the reason is tradition and bowl history. And we are so ingrained in that system that the idea of changing it, defies imagination.
I mean the NCAA collects all its money every year from which sport? Football or basketball? Basketball. And guess what, in that tournament system, conference championships gain you entry into the playoff tournament, automatically. And the rights fee for CBS televising the basketball tournament is in the billions.
Which explains why the NCAA doesn't need to collect money from football or change its championship format. But actually, the NCAA isn't a bunch of bureaucrats, it's a colloquy of college presidents. And because they are so invested in the bowl system, the issue of changing the format of college football remains it ain't broke, so don't fix it question.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:20 PM ^
Only Boring cause M not in it.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:25 PM ^
I agree - the fact that Bama got in last year when they didn't win their division and that people were arguing that a 2-loss Georgia team that didn't win their conference should be in makes me think this whole format has jumped the shark.
I think we should move to a 12-team playoff. The P-5 champs (as long as they are Top-25), the top Group of 5 team (as long as they are Top-20), and 6 at-large teams. The top 4 (current playoff teams) get a bye while the other teams play home and road games (12@5, 11@6, etc.). Then use the current NY6 bowls for the remainder of the playoffs. It gives the home teams an advantage in the opening games, but at least the road teams get a chance to prove they're deserving.
It would set up exactly like the NFL with the exception of using bowl sites instead of home stadiums. It would also allow teams like UM, OSU, and Washington to get those pussy SEC teams to play in the north in cold weather and I think this would be a fantastic way to see 4 weeks of great games. Lastly, this would assure the world that the best and most deserving team is the truly the national champion.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:29 PM ^
My wish list:
- get rid of conference divisions
- limit non-conference patsies to one "warm-up" game
- play everyone in your conference
- kill the conference title games
- expand the playoffs to 16 teams
December 3rd, 2018 at 10:47 PM ^
You're most of the way there. Reduce the regular season schedule to 11 games-10 in conference. Get rid of the damn divisions. The top 8 schools from the previous year (in conference) have to play each other. Each P5 conference selects one entry into the tournament (16 teams). A committee selects the other 11 entrees and seeds them. The first two rounds are played at the higher seeds home. The pairings remain the highest seed playing the lowest seed. Games begin two weeks post regular season...two weeks between each game.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:30 PM ^
I used to think an 8 team playoff was the answer but I’ve come around on the 4 team format. The 4 team playoff ensures that the regular season and conference championship games maintain their importance. The intensity of the games being played by playoff contenders was awesome. I think some of that would be lost with an 8 team playoff. I also think the committee has generally gotten final 4 teams right.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:56 PM ^
Were the ACC and B10 really playing true Conference “Championship” Games this year though? At least admit the current divisions in most conferences are a joke.
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:32 PM ^
Once upon a time, though, the SEC was pretty much the same way...you had Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia in the East and the West was really a joke...now the East, with the exception of Georgia, is mostly a joke...Divisions change although...the first B10 divisions were better balancced than now.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^
Like a lot of issues in society, we are gonna have issues until the baby boomer generation finally gives up power and younger, progressive people a put into those spots of power. These old men (there are a few expections) are stuck on the idea that less is more and the money they have tied into these SEC schools keeps them that way. Until we can get them out of the discussion, expect the same old same old. Unpopular opinion, old people hate change, it was hard enough to get a playoff forgodsakes! 12 teams (BCS style), top 4 get a bye seems like a quality way get things right.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^
What Mike Leach said:
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^
Wow, that is glorious from Mike Leach. Absolutely great.
He IS right --- EVERY damn state in the country, they have a system for their high school playoffs and they have an algorithm that determines who qualifies for the tournament. One can perhaps argue with the algorithm (e.g., in Michigan should beating a Class C team get you 32 points or 40?). But at least there is a set algorithm and everyone knows the formula.
Division 3 and Division 2? Same thing. Teams are split into various regions, you get various points for winning games as the season goes on, and the teams with the most points advance to a knock-out tournament.
Division 1 however? To hell with an algorithm! Instead, we have adopted a mindset of "things are better in life when they are foggy and unclear." So we came up with a bunch of nebulous "guidelines", and then have a committee of 12 people who are accountable to nobody meet behind closed doors to come up with the 4 teams that qualify for the playoffs.
It's really nonsense. I preferred the BCS days. Yes, it was only 2 teams that played for the title. But at least it was significantly more transparent. People knew the formula, people knew how the teams were going to be chosen.
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:51 PM ^
I think that is where the fixed costs of major college football stadiums, staffs, facilities, scholarships, etc. so far exceed a school like Northwood or North Dakota State that lucrative bowls, licensing, tv deals, and cupcake games are necessary to maintain those high expenses. Without bowl purses and conference tie-ins, a lot of that money dries up and some athletic departments would be in trouble.
December 5th, 2018 at 9:50 AM ^
I preferred the old bowl system compared to either of BCS or CFP. What we have now is how (including Rutgers) is a big mess that has watered down what was.
So how do we fix it - I think Leach is correct, and ten games into 64 or 11 into 32 would go a long way. The old bowls are dead, hollow, and meaningless at this point anyway. The Rose Bowl used to be a place to complete a national championship worthy season, now it's the also ran bowl - so why play if you're going to the NFL?
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:45 PM ^
The man is an institution.
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:47 PM ^
Exactly ... youth football is more competitive and ultimately more fun than D1 college football.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:34 PM ^
The unstated purpose of the CFP - at it's core - is to collect all of the teams with a reasonable argument to be considered one of the top two teams in the nation - and that's it. Computer ratings systems combined with a clear, rule-based process of elimination are all that is required to make this happen. Any other teams among the four selected are just filler to make the bracket balance. The task of the wishy-washy committee is to throw a bone to the team or teams deserving a chance to upset the apple cart - without upsetting the apple cart themselves - so it's probably better left to the algorithm. Some years, there might be only one clear-cut team above all others; another year (such as this year) there might be three with a demonstrable argument. Since the inception of the CFP, there have never been more that four teams with a plausible argument for being one of top two teams. If one or more conferences, or an entire segment, of the FBS division gets left out, then the answer is simple: stop losing so many games.
An eight game playoff would only erode the value of the playoff by drowning the field with also-rans. It would also devalue games played during the regular season. The BCS, despite only selecting 2 teams each year, worked as a means toward that end. If the top 4 teams from the BCS system were taken, it would have been damn near perfect.
December 3rd, 2018 at 7:16 PM ^
Broadening the playoffs to 8 or 16 teams doesn't dilute the regular season. I don't buy that argument as the qualification will always be Wins - who has the most W's against the best teams. Every win matters the same.
The assumption that some committe or computer can pick the top 4 teams is flawed and just not any fun. Competition on the field is what is exciting. Emotions matter, effort matters ... to have any fun with this an "underdog" (Mike Leach / UCF) has to matter. If Alabama and Clemson are so good make them prove it in a 16 team playoff against the nations top competition. The gauntlet is exciting and a much richer story line.
Watching some 8 hour selection show on ESPN instead of real football action is just no fun.
December 4th, 2018 at 1:17 PM ^
With an 8-team playoff, teams with as many as 2 losses would make it into the bracket. With a 16-team playoff, teams with as many as 3 losses would make it into the bracket. On that basis alone, the diminished importance of the regular season is pretty clear. M could lose to the Irish, the Nits and the Buckeyes every year, then avoid an extra game and potential loss by not being selected for the B1G championship game, and slide into the playoff, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezie. And on top of that, probably never play in the Rose Bowl again. Ever. Because it would cease to exist.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:36 PM ^
What if these were the first round of the playoffs and the top 4 (Bama, Clemson, ND, and Oklahoma) got a bye?
SEC vs. Big 12
Georgia vs. Texas
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Ohio State vs. Washington
At-large vs. At-large
LSU vs. UCF
At-large vs. At-large
Florida vs. Michigan
Then the next round these winners played the top 4 like our NY6 is this year. That's a sweet playoff if you ask me. Beat Florida and advance.
Problem solved!
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:42 PM ^
It's boring because we're not in it.
That's the long and short of it.
December 3rd, 2018 at 5:43 PM ^
You are only saying that because we aren't in it. I love college football, and the main reason is because every game matters. Unless one of the top 4 teams has 2 loses, 2 lose teams don't deserve to be in it. It's fine, just get in it by beating our hated rival. It will mean more and you'll love it.
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:39 PM ^
Yet a zero loss team is left out
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:03 PM ^
Clemson and ND should have been playing for a conference championship. That would shake things up enough for me
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:06 PM ^
We should go back to the old bowl system. This new system is a band aid on a wound that never existed. The original system was not broken. Yeah once in a while two of the best teams did not face off and a split NC (e.g. 97) happened. Who cares! In a sport like CF it will never be possible to have the sport play out on the field. To many teams. The old system allowed for meaningful matchups that mattered to the fan bases of each team. It used to be the Rose Bowl was an honor and a sign of a great season, now its a consolation prize for the Big Ten Champ that don't make the CFP. (Tuff luck OSU) In the old system OSU fans would be ecstatic to go to the the rose, now they're angry because they feel disrespected by the CFP committee. Systems like this are designed in professional leagues because the leagues can dictate fairness and equality in all things across the board. Things like schedule, draft order (Recruiting) salary caps, etc... CF doesn't have any of this so the big winners get the spoils every year and each year they get more bloated with talent an wealth. Thats why its the same teams over and over in the CFP. HS kids then see these teams produce the wins and the draft picks and think I'm going to them. I want to win it all, "Bama gives me almost a guarantee that I will get a championship in at least one of my 3 years". Why go anywhere else. As long as you can't play it out on the field, the old system was far better for both CF, the fans, and ultimately the TV ratings (Money!!!!!). Go back to the old system, NOW
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:41 PM ^
Old system sucked. Kids went to all the good schools back them just like they do now so not sure what that has to do with anything.
December 3rd, 2018 at 6:32 PM ^
- 8 teams get in.
- Power 5 champs all get in.
- Every conference is required to play 9 conference games with a conference championship, 2 non-Power 5 games, and one Power 5 from out of conference.
- No divisions in conferences, everyone plays rotating schedules for fairness.
- Conference championship game is between two top teams, ie UM vs OSU this year.
- There are no protected games or protected slots, ie we don't play OSU every year and it's not the last game of the year any longer.
- Then, top 3 ranked teams after that get in to get your 8.
Everything is equitable and every conference is represented, but it throws out all the traditional rivalries, protected games, etc. out the window.
Then, 8 wins are required for the other bowls and they are matched up by playing the next available team in the rankings ie Fiesta gets #9 vs #10 as long as they aren't in the same conference, Sugar gets #11 vs #12, and you work your way down the NY6 and rotate who gets the higher seeds each year. Then we get rid of all the 6 and 7-win bowl games that no one cares about. This will never happen, but it would be what I'd like to see.