Ramblings of one guy after this weekend

[Timonen]

College football is the major American sport with the least competitive balance. It really isn't even close and it's getting worse. It's basically the antithesis of what every other sport is trying to achieve,

Building on what some others have said, Baylor and Stanford are top tier. Vandy is respectable. UCF and Duke are in the top 25. Florida and Tennessee stink. Texas and Oklahoma and LSU are all pretty pedestrian. USC is a complete wild card and they will be underdogs against a good UCLA team. Who knows what's happening at Michigan? Isn't all that reflective of some type of balance?

Having four *real* undefeated teams this late in the year and a number of real good one-loss teams is reflective of some degree of balance. It's also important to note that these four teams are across four conferences/regions. This isn't super top heavy SEC. Isn't that a type of balance?

 

[Crusty]

Football has changed dramatically over the years and it will change again. It seems not that long ago that Bear Bryant had a national championship team on the field and the second best team in the country sitting on the bench. Nebraska suited up 150 for a home game.

If the NCAA farms out compliance, which I think they will do, teams will be more likely to criticize the compliance contractor and force performance than if it were the NCAA themselves. It is also easier for the NCAA to demand better performance from a contractor than from its own staff, which would be tantamount to self-criticism. Just a small improvement in compliance would help substantially. It is the certainty of punishment not the severity of punishment that works best as a deterrent.

More and more, Florida, Georgia and Texas players are traveling in order to get playing time. This trend will probably accelerate and the talent will dissipate over time. I might be dead by the time it happens, but it will happen!

Once everyone has all the facilities that matter, playing time will become the most important element in many players recruiting decision.

The key for us is to get our share of the FL, GA and to a lesser degree TX players to compliment our NE recruiting base. It stands to reason that we have been recruiting in an inferior talent pool and the results have been predictable. We are now recruiting effectively in GA and Coach GMac is highly respected in FL. Can you imagine where we would be without out FL and GA players?

We are on the right track and I expect to see steady progress and come 2015 or 2016 we can be in a position to be a top 25 team.

We are not Rutgers or UConn. We have always had more to build (rebuild) on they they did and I think we are now headed upward. I will feel the same way regardless of the outcome of our last two games.

Go Orange!

 

[TexanMark]

I think an 8 team playoff and about 72-80 teams in the top tier is about right for now. If we went to 16 teams I think something would have to give: Conference championships, 12 games in a 14 week period, starting Saturday before Labor Day.

Eventually if a Super Division was formed with 72-80 teams: a 16 team playoff bracket would work. Like the NFL/NBA, etc...rules would have to be put in place to enhance parity among the teams. I would favor Hoops including more teams...maybe up to 150-200 teams. However, some of these Div 1 hoops teams do not belong.

 

[TBCuse11]

This years Cuse team is a prime example of why the Bowl system is a joke. We are a bad team. We will probably be 6-6. We will be playing another bad team in a Bowl. No one cares. If they cut down the Bowls by 10 or so, then maybe there would start being some meaning to making a bowl.

Outside of the top handful of Bowls, everything is basically like the NIT.

 

[SmilinBob]

A bad team is 2-8. Semantics maybe but 5-5 is not a "bad" team, it's average.

 

[Full_Rebar]

The argument that I hear from college admins is that a playoff would make the season too long. The other night during one of the games, the announcers stated that there will be nearly 7 weeks from the SEC title game to the BCS Championship. That's crazy.

Drop the games against FCS games, play 11 regular season games like Marsh said. Play the 1st two rounds of the playoffs at the home of the higher-rated team, semis and title games at neutral sites.

Allow all schools to have 15 practice days between the completion of final exams in the Fall semester/quarter and the end of January. I'd even let schools/promoters arrange an exhibition game after exams. Go ahead and play in Florida, etc., but don't require schools to lose more money selling tickets.

 

[Alsacs]

Easiest way to fix college football 8 team playoff. Automatic bids to the SEC, ACC, B1G, Pac-12, Big XII champs. Selection Committee selects the 3 at-large teams and seeds the teams 1-8. (This conference championship game Dec. 7)

Quarterfinals 2 weeks after conference championships(This year would be Dec.21) At the Home Field of the higher seeds,

Semi-Finals( January 1st between the winners) rotated between Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Cotton Bowl

Final- the 2nd Monday after January 1st this year it would be January 13th) wherever the committee sold the game.

Each kid in the playoffs walk-on or scholarship would receive a 1,000 dollar travel stipend to allow their guardians/parents to attend the games.

 

[SmilinBob]

Easiest way to fix college football 8 team playoff. Automatic bids to the SEC, ACC, B1G, Pac-12, Big XII champs. Selection Committee selects the 3 at-large teams and seeds the teams 1-8. (This conference championship game Dec. 7)

Quarterfinals 2 weeks after conference championships(This year would be Dec.21) At the Home Field of the higher seeds,

Semi-Finals( January 1st between the winners) rotated between Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Cotton Bowl

Final- the 2nd Monday after January 1st this year it would be January 13th) wherever the committee sold the game.

Each kid in the playoffs walk-on or scholarship would receive a 1,000 dollar travel stipend to allow their guardians/parents to attend the games.

That could work but lets change the players family getting tickets to NCAA officials getting trips to Europe and we have ourselves a deal.

 

[TheCusian]

This years Cuse team is a prime example of why the Bowl system is a joke. We are a bad team. We will probably be 6-6. We will be playing another bad team in a Bowl. No one cares. If they cut down the Bowls by 10 or so, then maybe there would start being some meaning to making a bowl.

Outside of the top handful of Bowls, everything is basically like the NIT.

No one cares - except for us, players, coaches, recruits, local media, etc. I agree that it should be cut down by a few bowls - but these lower tier bowls do help the schools that go to them. Syracuse fans have a reason to go the last two games.

Look at the Rutger Paper Tigers - they go to crappy bowl games by beating crappy OOC teams and the national perception is that they are better than us.

 

[CuseIsGodsTeam]

I agree with the dream playoff scenario. It should be obvious.

Knock a game or two of the regular season and have a 16 team playoff throughout december then polish it off with the title game on New Year's weekend.

All the conference champs and a bunch of solid at large teams, incorporate some home field advantage for the better seeds, and enjoy what could be the greatest tournament of all.

A playoff system is the only system where 'Cuse could ever sniff at another NC in football.