VOTE - 1999 College Football Playoff

[OrangeAfroMan]

Explain that to the people wanting to expand the playoff.  It mathematically guarantees the better teams don't win the NC as often (think #1/#2 vs #7/#8, not that 1-8 is in the actual order of how good they are).

[ELA]

Explain that to the people wanting to expand the playoff.  It mathematically guarantees the better teams don't win the NC as often (think #1/#2 vs #7/#8, not that 1-8 is in the actual order of how good they are).

Does anyone advocating for an expanded tournament say they want it to the ensure the best team wins it?

[FearlessF]

most advocating for an expanded tournament simply want a piece of the $$$ pie

UCF and the P5 conference champ(s) that get left out

[OrangeAfroMan]

Does anyone advocating for an expanded tournament say they want it to the ensure the best team wins it?

If the sliding scale strays too far from the middle between competition and entertainment, the regular season is ruined and the sport has a low ceiling on how big it can be.
Not caring if the champion is the best or one of the best teams is skewing way too close to entertainment and way too far from competition.

[OrangeAfroMan]

most advocating for an expanded tournament simply want a piece of the $$$ pie

UCF and the P5 conference champ(s) that get left out

Well then build a program over a number of years and win the beauty contest.  It's what everyone else had to do, too.  

[FearlessF]

Well then build a program over a number of years and win the beauty contest.  It's what everyone else had to do, too.  

yes, but that is difficult and takes time
I want my money NOW!!!

[ELA]

If the sliding scale strays too far from the middle between competition and entertainment, the regular season is ruined and the sport has a low ceiling on how big it can be.
Not caring if the champion is the best or one of the best teams is skewing way too close to entertainment and way too far from competition.

I think they've already done that.  95% of the games during the regular season are meaningless.  I'd rather be entertained at this point, we aren't solving world hunger, we are providing a form of entertainment.

People keep talking about protecting the "best" regular season.  Meh.  It's the regular season where a loss is the most harmful, but it might actually be the worst regular season.  It's the only one where half the teams are irrelevant before a game is even played, and by the halfway point of the season about 90% are.

[medinabuckeye1]

The fact that Ohio State wasn't very good in 1999 makes it even more amazing that the Big11Ten was so deep.  It is a weird year in Ohio State history.  For one thing it was the last time that the Buckeyes finished .500 or better and missed a bowl.  They went 6-6 but the losses were:

• By 25 at home to a Wisconsin team that finished 10-2 and #4.  
• By 7 on the road to a Michigan team that finished 10-2 and #5.  
• By 16 on the road to a Michigan State team that finished 10-2 and #7.  
• By 13 on the road to a Penn State team that finished 10-3 and #11.  
• By 11 at a neutral site to a Miami, FL team that finished 9-4 and #15
• By 26 at home to an Illinois team that finished 8-4 and #24.  

Six losses sucks but that Ohio State team would have been at least 8-4 against most normal schedules.  In addition to those six ranked teams the Buckeyes won at Minnesota and the Gophers finished 8-4 and #18 and beat a Purdue team that finished 7-5 and #25.  All told, the Buckeyes went 2-6 against eight teams that finished ranked.  That isn't great but it really isn't bad either.  A lot of teams play half that many ranked teams, go 1-3 and finish in the top-15.  If the Buckeyes had played (and beaten) Northwestern instead of losing to one of the five league teams that beat Ohio State and finished ranked then the 7-5 Buckeyes would probably have gone bowling, won their bowl and finished ranked at 8-5.  

The Big11Ten in bowls that year:

• #4 Wisconsin beat #22 Stanford 17-9 in the Rose.  
• #8 Michigan beat #5 Bama 35-34 in the Orange.  
• #9 Michigan State beat #10 Florida 37-34 in the Citrus.  
• #12 Minnesota lost 24-20 to nr Oregon in the Sun.  
• #13 Penn State beat #18 aTm 24-0 in the Alamo.  
• #19 Purdue lost 28-25 to #21 UGA in the Outback.  
• nr Illinois beat nr UVA 63-21 in the Micron PC.  

[ELA]

I believe they didn't make 6-6 bowl eligible until they went to 12 games for everyone.

[medinabuckeye1]

I think they've already done that.  95% of the games during the regular season are meaningless.  I'd rather be entertained at this point, we aren't solving world hunger, we are providing a form of entertainment.

People keep talking about protecting the "best" regular season.  Meh.  It's the regular season where a loss is the most harmful, but it might actually be the worst regular season.  It's the only one where half the teams are irrelevant before a game is even played, and by the halfway point of the season about 90% are.

I guess it depends on who you root for.  As a fan of a team that has been in the NC race more often than not over the past ~20 years, it is BY FAR the best regular season because every game matters.  

[ELA]

Every game for your team, if you root for certain teams.  Overall like maybe 2-3 out of 60 in a given week.

The ones that matter matter A LOT, but most don't matter.  As opposed to other sports where most matter, but few matter very much.

[Cincydawg]

I think more than 1 game in 20 is meaningful in FBS.  A lot of teams are on the cusp of a bowl bid, or a better bowl bid.  Nearly every regional FBS game OOC is interesting and meaningful.  Well, if Vandy plays Notre Dame, it might not be, unless Vandy wins.

UGA this year has two pastries, two meaningful OOC games, and 8 conference games, all of which I consider meaningful, even if they are heavy favorites in a couple.  That;s 10 out of 12, which is pretty good.

[ELA]

I think more than 1 game in 20 is meaningful in FBS.  A lot of teams are on the cusp of a bowl bid, or a better bowl bid.  

How is that meaningful?  First, we've basically decided bowl games are meaningless, and they more or less are.  Second, we've basically eliminated merit based selection to move teams around, so I don't think another win has any sort of bearing on what bowl you go to.  7-5 vs. 8-4 doesn't impact anything with bowl selection, and even if it did, who cares?  Is the Gator Bowl better or worse than the Outback Bowl?  Who knows?  Will your guys even play in it?

[Cincydawg]

I missed where anyone established that bowl games are meaningless, and if so, I disagree rather strongly, not that it matters.

Vandy played Tennessee last year when both were 5-6, I viewed that as meaningful.  

Maybe I am too much of a fan, but I see most games played by FBS teams as meaningful.  It's subjective anyway.  If the only thing meaningful relates to who wins the NC, then I would agree that few are meaningful, but I don't agree with that assertion.