My Playoff Bracket. The Bowl Playoff Series (BPS)

[cajunjacket]

Bowl Playoff Series (BPS)

Here is my playoff bracket. The way it works:

1. Take the conference champion from all 11 conferences
2. Take the next 5 teams at-large based about BCS rankings.
3. Rank the teams according to the BCS rankings (http://www.bcsguru.com/2008_bcs_standings.htm). The only team not on that list was Troy, so they were 16.
4. Make the first two rounds a major Bowl region based upon the top team's conference bowl tie-ins. In this case, OU got Fiesta, Florida got sugar, Texas could not get Fiesta because it was already taken so they got Orange, and Alabama could not get sugar so they got Rose because USC was the next best team in that region.
5. The "Final Four" will be played in the National Championship location


Some positive observations:
1. The first team left out, BCS rankings wise, was Oklahoma State, a 3 loss team. Therefore, no one can really complain because everyone has a shot to win their conference championship. Even Troy and Buffalo.
2. It would make for some exciting match-ups. Look at the potential 2nd rounder between Texas Tech and Florida or USC and Alabama. I don't care who you are, that's exciting.
3. The champion would not be questioned.
4. The Buffalo vs. Ball State game would have been watched by many more fans to see who would fill that spot for the MAC.
5. You won't get sick of watching ESPN analyze 2 teams (OU and UF) until they are blue in the face. The analysts will actually have something to cover during December other than NFL, early NBA, and crappy bowl games that people only care about because of office pools.
6. Teams like Texas won't get jobbed out of a championship shot.

Some negative observations:
1. The $$ required by a fan to attend all of these games for a team that goes all the way would be quite expensive. Then again, the same can be said for college basketball.
2. The schedule will have to be changed so that the teams do not have to play too many games (this is not too negative, but it is a problem that must be solved).

 

[GTKyle]

Too many games. GT not included.

 

[gth816f]

Re: Bowl Playoff Series (BPS)

Some negative observations:
1. The $$ required by a fan to attend all of these games for a team that goes all the way would be quite expensive. Then again, the same can be said for college basketball.

I believe this is the main reason we do not have a playoff and will not see one for the foreseeable future. Most college basketball fans do not travel to anything except for the Final Four. All other games are hosted in arenas much smaller than football stadiums, and the earlier rounds are decided based on regional proximity to top seeds so that they can draw a crowd for those games. The unfortunate reality is that in a college football playoff system, any game played on a neutral site besides the championship game will likely not sell out unless there is regional proximity to one of the teams playing in the game. This is also bad for the fans, as instead of eight fanbases getting to take a nice BCS trip, only two will.

The only real solution, in my opinion, is to do it like the 1AA and NFL playoffs, with the higher seed being host up until a neutral site championship. This, of course, screws three BCS sites out of lots of money.

 

[nedleeds]

Troy = TC Fail

 

[GTSaxophone]

Troy = TC Fail

I know that everyone is pissing blood from their eyes when they see Troy or Buffalo, but keep in mind that the non-BCS schools are going to fight tooth and nail to get included in any playoff system. Do I think they should? Hell no. They aren't capable of competing on the same level as the BCS conf. with the exception of one or two big games (see Fiesta Bowl BSU/OU), or picking off bottom feeders (see Hawa'ii/UW). The solution is to drop some schools down a division or subdivision, and realign conferences, creating conferences that all get similar respect. Or have some kind of provision that gives the non-BCS schools and/or conferences something to point to to say that they deserve to play with the big boys.

 

[kevinw33]

Too many games, this would never work.

 

[cajunjacket]

I believe this is the main reason we do not have a playoff and will not see one for the foreseeable future. Most college basketball fans do not travel to anything except for the Final Four. All other games are hosted in arenas much smaller than football stadiums, and the earlier rounds are decided based on regional proximity to top seeds so that they can draw a crowd for those games. The unfortunate reality is that in a college football playoff system, any game played on a neutral site besides the championship game will likely not sell out unless there is regional proximity to one of the teams playing in the game. This is also bad for the fans, as instead of eight fanbases getting to take a nice BCS trip, only two will.

The only real solution, in my opinion, is to do it like the 1AA and NFL playoffs, with the higher seed being host up until a neutral site championship. This, of course, screws three BCS sites out of lots of money.

That is actually a decent idea, but the next question would be how to incorporate the 4 big time bowl games as well as the national championship game as part of the playoff system. People are way to sentimental in college football to not have the orange, rose, sugar, and fiesta be part of the deciding factor.

Troy = TC Fail

They were put in there to ensure that no conference can bitch about not getting a shot. You can look at it as an underhanded way of giving the top ranked team a bye and 2nd ranked team a semi-bye.

Too many games, this would never work.

I agree with the it will never work part, but not the too many games part. D I-AA does quite a few more games in the post season and they are doing just swell with it. The reason I agree with "it will never work" is because D I-A college football will never adopt the playoff system, be it a 4 team playoff or 16 team playoff.

 

[GTSaxophone]

That is actually a decent idea, but the next question would be how to incorporate the 4 big time bowl games as well as the national championship game as part of the playoff system. People are way to sentimental in college football to not have the orange, rose, sugar, and fiesta be part of the deciding factor.

I've always liked the idea of having the BCS Bowl sites host semifinal games or even quarterfinal games. You could even have it so that if at all possible, the Bowl sites get matchups as close as possible to their traditional matchups (i.e. the stuck up pricks from the Big/Pac-10)

 

[lonestarjacket]

Re: Bowl Playoff Series (BPS)

The only real solution, in my opinion, is to do it like the 1AA and NFL playoffs, with the higher seed being host up until a neutral site championship. This, of course, screws three BCS sites out of lots of money.

I don't see it as "screwing BCS sites." I see the BCS as independent PRIVATE bowls that are exploiting the NCAA schools for money. They are not entitled to perpetually cash in on amateur sports.

But I disagree that there would be no interest in the games for the final four. The matchups would be as good or better than the current bowl matchups. The semi-finals make room for two more bowls.

When GT went to the FF in 1990 I watched us win the Southeast Regional. I was not bitter because I could not also attend the FF in person. I would not suggest that GT not try to win a championship based on my ability to attend the game.

The stands would be filled by college football fans of some sort. And we may underestimate the rabid fans' willingness to travel to multiple games for a rare experience of a championship run.