Expanded CFP - will it ruin the regular season? from The Athletic

[CoalTrain]

I think it will make the regular season even better TBH. Too much parity/injury protocol/ inconsistent targeting ejections to require perfect seasons these days and this way the “bubble team” games will be far more interesting than they are now imo.

End of the day I think we’ll still see the same 2-5 brands winning it ALL but I think their paths will be a little more interesting.

 

[Thiefery]

Given the recruiting angles beating your rival (or losing to them has) the idea a team is resting starters late into the season makes no real sense to me. Ohio State is never resting their starters against Michigan or vice versa.

No one is going to rest their starters in an end of the season rivalry game.. now if they kick ass, they can pull them in the 3rd/4th quarter but to sit them out completely to get ready for a playoff game a week or so later? c'mon

 

[OregonDucks]

The question isn't whether the expanded playoff kills CFB, the biggest threat to CFB is the transfer portal and NIL.

 

[TaikoTiger]

I’m not a pro sports watcher…regular season OR playoffs. But, I’m in the minority because there are a shitload of people that do. Especially the NFL. No one cares if an 8-8 team makes the playoffs. They will watch it in masses.

There's also a good number of people who shows up just for playoff time. The beauty in CFB is that the regular season is the playoffs

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

I've dismissed the idea that it will change the regular season, but the more I think about it will. But to me that's a good thing. I think this writer said it best:

Schadenfreude is a key pillar in this sport. We love upsets because we love watching teams’ dreams be destroyed, especially the big-timers who make the Playoff every year. Now all we’ve done is make a scenario where every single season Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia and others in that realm — even in big-time down years — make the Playoff.

Yes, there will be more interest in teams who rank in the teens because getting the last spot in the Playoff will be the new debate we’re all having. But when teams make the Playoff for the first time as the No. 11 seed, it’s not going to feel quite as good as it did for Washington, Michigan and others who finally got over the hump and made the final four.

The regular season will never be meaningless. This is college football. There’s too much passion around it. But the high drama of the upset or the stakes that make this sport so compelling in the middle of the year no longer exist. And that stinks.

This will lead to two differences for me:

1. I used to always pull for tOSU, Clemson, ND, and OU to lose ... I would celebrate when that happened. Now, I always pull for AU, UF, and UTjr to lose, but that's just the SEC hate. Why would I always pull against those other teams, several or which I have a lot of respect for and I have friends that went to all of them? Because I needed them to lose in order for my Dawgs to get into the playoffs if we lost a game. I actually think that's kind of unhealthy. Now I can watch the games they are in for the goodness of the games, not because I need them to lose in order for me to win. As long as my team loses 0 or 1 games (maybe 2 in some years), we will get in anyway. Then we can prove it on the field. The writer is correct ... we love watching the other team's dreams getting destroyed but I think I'd rather pull for my team than pull against the others (Auburn excluded).

2. I can remember in the Richt days, especially in the 2 team BCS days, when we would lose to UF or UTjr and that meant we weren't going to win the SECE, which meant we had a loss, which meant we weren't going to get to the NC game. I can remember how I felt because the season was literally over. I watched the games still, but with somewhat less interest, and I know I stopped following some of the podcasts I listened to because it didn't really matter anymore. This new format will keep me engaged all season long.

So, I will change my tune a bit - yes, this will change the regular season, but in a good way, IMO.

 

[trojanfan12]

I've never understood the "it'll make the regular season meaningless/participation trophy" argument. Of the arguments against expanding the playoffs, that one is the dumbest and most easily debunked.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

There's also a good number of people who shows up just for playoff time. The beauty in CFB is that the regular season is the playoffs

Only someone in the ACC would say this. Sure, who wouldn't want to have their regular season be the playoffs when you are in a conference that provides little competition? Come play in the SEC and let's see you make this argument. Seriously, you might not even have made the CFP in the two years you won the NC. I am not saying that you wouldn't have won the SEC ... you might have, but your path would have been way more difficult.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

I've never understood the "it'll make the regular season meaningless/participation trophy" argument. Of the arguments against expanding the playoffs, that one is the dumbest and most easily debunked.

Agreed ... and my post above isn't that it will make it meaningless ... just it will change the way we feel about it. I just think that's a feature, not a bug.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

The question isn't whether the expanded playoff kills CFB, the biggest threat to CFB is the transfer portal and NIL.

How so? Every time a change has been made, people have said that's the end of CFB. Every time the sport simply continues to expand and get more popular. They will figure out some guardrails, I think the players will ultimately be paid - which is a good and right thing, and we will all continue to love the sport.

 

[trojanfan12]

The question isn't whether the expanded playoff kills CFB, the biggest threat to CFB is the transfer portal and NIL.

I disagree.

NIL allows the players to make some money off of their own talent just like regular students can.

The transfer portal is a good thing as well. Coaches can recruit a kid, make promises that he'll be there the whole time the player is, then leave for another program, the NFL if he decides that would be better for him or he can be fired if the school decides he's not getting the job done.

Why shouldn't a player (who can lose his scholarship if the coach decides he's not good enough) have the same option?

 

[Red_Alert]

The best thing about an expanded play-off is it'll justify the SEC 'do-overs'.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

The best thing about an expanded play-off is it'll justify the SEC 'do-overs'.

So what you are saying is that you don't want the best teams to actually play for the NC?

Does it bother you when NFL teams meet for a second or third time in the playoffs? Same with every other sport in the world?

 

[DayButtAssMans’s]

I disagree.

NIL allows the players to make some money off of their own talent just like regular students can.

The transfer portal is a good thing as well. Coaches can recruit a kid, make promises that he'll be there the whole time the player is, then leave for another program, the NFL if he decides that would be better for him or he can be fired if the school decides he's not getting the job done.

Why shouldn't a player (who can lose his scholarship if the coach decides he's not good enough) have the same option?

I agree about NIL, disagree about the portal. But it’ll all be worked out. Think the biggest problem with both is the NCAA resisted these kinds of concepts so long they now have to play catch-up to make it not a complete lawless mess. They should have been figuring out how to get players paid 20 years ago.

 

[Red_Alert]

So what you are saying is that you don't want the best teams to actually play for the NC?

Does it bother you when NFL teams meet for a second or third time in the playoffs? Same with every other sport in the world.

No need to get defensive...

I'm saying the justification for the bowl system was always "The regular season IS the play-off".

If CCG's are "Post Season" then a loss there should have been an elimination game for the natty.

With 12 teams instead of 4, the SEC 'do-overs' will now be justified.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

No need to get defensive...

I'm saying the justification for the bowl system was always "The regular season IS the play-off".

If CCG's are "Post Season" then a loss there should have been an elimination game for the natty.

With 12 teams instead of 4, the SEC 'do-overs' will now be justified.

I wasn't being defensive. What you said didn't make sense to me. What you posted again doesn't make sense to me. There has never been any official edict that says the regular season is the playoffs, or that a conference championship game is an elimination game. On the contrary, CCG's aren't even considered by the CFP committee in the selection of the 4 teams unless there is a tie-breaker scenario. The CFP is expressly charged in their charter with "selecting the 4 best teams" to play each other to determine the NC. Do-overs of any type, SEC or otherwise, were always anticipated and allowed in the CFP governing documents. If 2 of the 4 best teams had already played each other, who cares. Best 4.

 

[Kburjr]

The college football that I was a fan of has been dead for years. The only games I look forward to are Wisconsin games. Now, it is all about making the CFP and soon, the 12 team playoffs. If Wisconsin makes it, another opportunity to watch them. Otherwise, meh.

 

[Collegefbfan]

I’m not a pro sports watcher…regular season OR playoffs. But, I’m in the minority because there are a shitload of people that do. Especially the NFL. No one cares if an 8-8 team makes the playoffs. They will watch it in masses.

Same here. A lot of people ask me why, just why do you keep up with only college football. I am not sure. I just feel it has "more" to offer. It is a sport that we can dispute and twist numbers, stats, SOS, etc. and that makes it more intriguing. Your team has to go through the season with one loss or less to reach the CFP (current format). I was talking to a co-worker today about the 2011 NY Giants team. They barely finish 0.500 and make the playoffs. Then, the NFL champions are a mediocre team because of a hot run. I just don't want to follow a sport where you need to win half your games for a playoff spot, and half the league receives a playoff spot.

 

[Red_Alert]

I wasn't being defensive. What you said didn't make sense to me. What you posted again doesn't make sense to me. There has never been any official edict that says the regular season is the playoffs, or that a conference championship game is an elimination game. On the contrary, CCG's aren't even considered by the CFP committee in the selection of the 4 teams unless there is a tie-breaker scenario. The CFP is expressly charged in their charter with "selecting the 4 best teams" to play each other to determine the NC. Do-overs of any type, SEC or otherwise, were always anticipated and allowed in the CFP governing documents. If 2 of the 4 best teams had already played each other, who cares. Best 4.

Yeah, you're defensive.

Pre-CFP the regular season being a "play-off" has always been "unofficial" rhetoric by those in control to defend the bowl system.

CCG's are officially classified as "Post Season".

They want it both ways.

Now with an expansion they can have it "both ways".

In 2006 Michigan and Ohio St both went went into their rivalry game undefeated. Ohio St won 42-39, but there was media push for a rematch in a NCG. The SEC screamed bloody murder which sent (11-1) Florida to the NCG against Ohio St.
Florida had lost to Auburn 27-17 in October.

From the onset of the Saban/Alabama run, the SEC has screamed "Do-Over".

 

[NewPhoneWhoDis]

i'm excited about the playoff expansion because there will be upsets.. we'll have schools that have turned the corner after 2 losses and will give a one loss or even undefeated team a run for their money

I think the opposite. I think the play in games will have some good games, but the talent differential between the top 3-4 schools and everyone else is vast -- if say, a #12 team upsets the #5 team and then have to face whoever the #1 team is -- They are going to be 3-4 touchdown underdogs.

Reality is -- only 4 out of 16 CFP semifinal games have even been remotely close. 12 of the 16 games have been decided by 14 or more points. The average margin of victory in the CFP semi finals is over 21 ppg. Adding more teams isn't going to change that.

 

[Red_Alert]

^^^^^