May 5 2008
I do not believe a playoff will mean anything. You cheapen the bowl experience for dozens of colleges, thousands of athletes, millions of students AND tens of millions of alumni!
For what? So fans who do not CARE about the education of students and NEED their number one fix''?
Let's face it, with hundreds of colleges (why not give 1-AA a shot at the title?) a tournament of 64 teams in fairer but would require 6 games (half the schedule). That would end all conference play. Soa true champion is always a conceptual joke. Early losers would play a season of exhibition games.
So, you must go for much less than 64 teams. Now ALL the problems we have now return.
THERE WILL NEVER BE A TRUE CHAMP UNLESS YOU FORGET ABOUT SCHOOL ALTOGETHER OR REDUCE CONFERENCE PLAY DRASTICALLY. VOTERS WOULD HAVE TO DECIDE IN THE 1 + 1 proposal also.
If you want some hackneyed improvement in determining a champ without ruining kids schooling (I don't, I like the fact that several schools might have legitimate claims because you obtain more happy kids and alumni) here is how you do it:
A) DO NOT make all conferences into majors. That would just tend to drive teams out of 1A football and permanently end the opportunity for David to defeat Goliath (there would be no Davids).
B) Reduce out of conference games to TWO - 10 game schedules
C) Determine a conference champion with a championship game or a true league round robin (conferences are too large so this is not likely, though big 10 could play 9 conference games but that would ruin their entire out of conference schedule). Conference champions must be decided in late November.
D) In December, Play the first playoff game (a quarter final game) with the 6 Big Conference winners AND 1 small conference champion and 1 at large pick from the polls. Small Conferences can determine whether they have a playoff or some kind of poll determine their representative (a David EVERY YEAR). HOWEVER, small conference teams would be required to meet certain LIMITATION stipulations. You do not want some big school sliding in the back door to be a final 8 pick year in and year out.
E) On New Years or before a maximum date in January (say jan4) play the two big semi-final games. Rose Bowl always gets the Pac 10/Big 10 game if those two teams make the semis. I personally think the Cotton Bowl ought to be resurrected as a big time game. The Southwest conference should use this game as its home bowl. The Fiesta and Sugar and Orange will get home for their conference winners. A rotation would be set up. Similar to BCS games now. 5 big bowls.
F) The winners of the games play in an annual championship game at one of the rotation schools.
___________________________
NOTE: It would be possible to have 8 teams play on January 1 in 4 major bowl games, then have the semis on the following Saturday, Sunday or Monday (If the first is on tuesday, could be the 6th for the semis, but if it is on Wednesday, the semis would be on the 11th). The semis would be played between January 6 and January 11 each year. The final would be between the 13th and 16th. NOT MY CHOICE, BUT POSSIBLE
