A Bollman For Your Thoughts? SOC 11/10/18

[ELA]

Whatever the system is, I want autobids.  The conference championship games have turned into glorified scrimmages because it's not clear whether they impact the playoffs or not.  Sucks all the wind out of them.  I never loved them in the first place, but they are here and they are staying so might as well make them mean something.

Because we've devalued conference championships.  Used to be you were playing for a championship and the right to go to the Rose, Sugar, Orange, whatever, and let the chips fall where they may.
Now, nobody seems to care.  Occasionally you have 2015 Michigan State-Iowa or 2017 Georgia-Auburn, that is a true play in game for the CFP, but usually it's one team playing for a CFP, and another team just playing spoiler, who, oh yeah, happens to be playing for a championship.  If it winds up being Michigan-Northwestern, Northwestern is playing for a BIG TEN TITLE AND A ROSE BOWL BIRTH(!!!), but all everyone will say is they are trying to play spoiler.

[ELA]

Your 8/9, 7/10, and 6/11 games this week would all be fascinating, ELA. I guess that's prob true every week and I hadn't noticed.

Yeah, usually the Go5 champs suck up the bottom 5 spots, but then 6-11, 7-10, 8-9 are fun.  With UCF up in the mix, it actually extends things out to 5-12.  It's a little jaded this week because Syracuse fills that 12 slot.  They finish against Notre Dame and then at Boston College, so they'll either plummet or prove they belong.  Right behind them are Florida, Penn State and Texas, who, while maybe not much better than Syracuse, add a lot of helmet value to the field.

[Entropy]

I'd be more likely support another split in Div 1 sports than an expansion to 8 teams in a playoff.     Ironically, I'd be in more support of a 16 team playoff and home games for the early rounds.   imo, historically, there is less separation between #8 and #16 than #1 and #8

[Anonymous Coward]

Play ins would have been more likely with the Leaders and Legends, but that sucked for other reasons, some of which also diminished the regular season.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nobody talks about a 5-team playoff, but if the P5 split off, that could be the dreamiest for its straightforward seeding.
The tourney itself might seem convoluted but not really:
First weekend:
4 versus 5
Second weekend:
1 victor versus 4/5 victor
2 versus 3
Then the national championship.
No at-larges. No Go5 jockeying.

[betarhoalphadelta]

It's simple. Pre-BCS, the MNC was entirely a beauty contest. It was almost impossible to "settle it on the field", so voters decided who the "best" team was, and that was your champion. 

BCS was a little better, but still a beauty contest. Voters and computers decided who the best team(s) were, and settled it on the field. 

CFP is a little better, but still a beauty contest. The committee decides who the best team(s) are, and settle it on the field. 

But in no way can you say the path to the championship is objective or earned. Teams can't figure out preseason what to do to maximize their odds. Is it limiting losses? Is it good OOC scheduling? Is it having a CCG or not having a CCG? 

The simple fact is that there is no one path to the championship. The path is highly different for an Alabama vs a Purdue. An 11-1 Alabama that doesn't even go to its CCG will have a good shot at getting in. An 11-1 Purdue who narrowly misses their CCG will not. Ever. An 11-2 Alabama that wins it's CCG might get into the championship. An 11-2 Purdue will not. Ever. Because Alabama is one of the "best" teams despite two losses, and Purdue is not. One passes the "eye test". The other does not. It's all subjective. 

If you want a "true" champion, you have to give teams a path to the championship. Win your conference, you're in. 

Yes, that might result in a year that a team that is not the "best" team actually winning the whole damn thing. But you'll never be able to say that they didn't earn the title of champion.

If you want to crown the "best" team the champion, go back to the pre-BCS system. If you want a true champion, settle it ON the field. 

[Anonymous Coward]

If you want to crown the "best" team the champion, go back to the pre-BCS system. 

Yes please!

[Anonymous Coward]

[OrangeAfroMan]

Well back in the day, we had 5th-ranked teams leapfrogging 4 teams, not all of which had lost their bowl games, and winning the mythical NC.  Imagine that today (pre-playoff).

[Cincydawg]

I always start the playoff "question" with trying to state my goals in any scheme.  Once I figure that out, the rest gets easier, I think.

My main goal is to be entertained.  One of the entertaining things to me in CFB is its messiness.  I'm fine with messy, lack of specificity, no clear champion, mythical creatures all of it, but I also like having "significant post season games" that mean something.

One dude on ESPN last night said Bama is IN even if they lose to Auburn AND Georgia.  I think he was trying to be, well ESPNish of course.

I occasionally channel surf to Feinbaum but I can't watch for more than 30-60 seconds especially if he has callers.

I once called a Cincy radio show, I forget who hosted it.  My point was to AGREE with a point the host had just made about UK basketball, and the host dude basically told me I was insane and ignorant and hung up and went on a tirade.  He pretty much told ever male caller they were idiots, and yet males would call him frequently.  It was his schtick of course.  He was nice to the ladies in the main.

He was a former Bengal TE I think.  Trumpy, was his name oddly enough now that it comes to me, Bob Trumpy.  Someone told me he was very different in real life.

[MrNubbz]

I occasionally channel surf to Feinbaum but I can't watch for more than 30-60 seconds especially if he has callers.

Me either,he resembles a bucket of chapped assholes

[Cincydawg]

A bucket full of warm camel spit.

A burlap bag full of bobcats.

[Brutus Buckeye]

Option B

[FearlessF]

The best team is Alabama.

If that's all you care about, don't have a playoff (which I'm also cool with).  Alabama may not wind up being the playoff winner, but there's no LIKELY outcome at this point that would make me think they aren't the best team.

if Georgia ins the SEC champ game over Bama, and then Clemson or Notre Dame beat Bama in the first round of the playoff, you would still consider Bama the best team?