Why an eight, or more, team playoff?

By Jacob Sorenson

Every year we return to the same battle grounds in college football. The leaders in sports academia tell us that we have returned to another year on the gridiron and that a champion will be crowned, but of 120 or more FBS teams that compete each year for the title, what really makes one better than the other? There is no way to literally compete one for one to see who comes out on top with the best record. Many sports professionals even think that the college football season is too long as is, and the negative effects on the human body should call for fewer games and a more common ground in scheduling.

As the season reaches the final stretch, and 6 unbeaten teams remain, in my mind I am caused to beg the question. How can we really determine who the best is? I look toward college basketball. A money driven tournament in the month of March is what drives the airwaves and ignites passion for the sometimes the most improbable of teams. 

Rounds of 64, 32, 16, eight and so on teams lead to a national championship where the last man standing is crowned the best for the year. Obviously there is a qualifier, but the team who wins it all goes undefeated in the post season, sudden death. The team who does not bring their A game to every appearance is suddenly shell shocked, out dated, overrated, and must wait another year.

Back to college football. Only two years ago within college football there was a battle for the top two teams in the nation. The top 25 teams were systematically placed in a database with all of their information and statistics and two were automatically placed within that system, called the BCS, in the BCS national title game. The technology told us who should be the best two, using analytics. Outrage ensued, one bad game from an excellent team and a requirement to wait for the next year to play in such a game that could crown them national champ.

Again, we look back, this time to last year. College football was springing with excitement as the former BCS system was done away with. A new, four team college football playoff was created. A panel of sports analytics, government leaders, and non-biased leaders and coaches looked at the same information as the BCS system, and added more qualifying characteristics to choose the top four teams in the nation. 

The seeding of Ohio State & Alabama, Florida State & Oregon headlined the first year of playoff, but wait, what about an excellent TCU team, and the only team to beat TCU, a Baylor team who had risen from sports irrelevance. The Big 12, only consisting of 10 teams bypassed the expansion, a conference championship game, and the overall token for a playoff bid, as Ohio State jumped into the top 4. Ohio State as the fourth seed eventually went on to win, leaving TCU wondering if they could have really won it all.

In a sports world so driven by money and pleasing the fan base, the NCAA sure seems to know how to screw things up. Keeping a marginalized group of Elite teams within the bounds to crown them champion, and leaving the majority of the rest outside such bounds. The recruiting game then becomes skewed, and overall the competitive nature of college football is lost and its competitiveness.

In a day where sports dictate so much about our society, and the money from college sports and sponsorships drive the business, many sponsors and high money stake holders beg for leaders not to become too diverse in their expansion of college football playoffs. The more than 30 bowl games played each year become opportunities for advertising and consequentially, a reason to accept sports irrelevance. It is for this reason, which we need to expand the playoff.

I for one want to see the best of the best. I want to see the underdogs, the knock offs, the miracles, and the heroics. College basketball is laden with stunners so why not college football. Michigan’s last play flop to Michigan State seemed bone crushing, but then, the Spartans on Saturday took to Nebraska in an away game, a late game touchdown, some calls, and Nebraska had taken the one point lead over undefeated Michigan State. 

The Spartans were left with yet a few seconds to spare and the last second attempt by Connor Cook failed. The upset lit the news waves, and ignited the fire within a pesky Huskers team, one that had been stunned multiple times this year alone, including the Miracle at Memorial when BYU’s Tanner Mangum threw up a prayer and it was answered. Nebraska had finally come out on the winning end of a close one.

So I offer a few solutions to let maybe a few underdogs into the college football playoff scene:

The 8 Team playoff:

The conference champions from each of the Power five conferences and top three conference championship teams from the group of five conferences play one another in an all-out battle of the conferences. The only thing wrong with that, usually there are multiple excellent teams in the power five conferences and the idea just doesn’t jive. 

So, we stick with a similar system that we have now, BUT we add four more teams, making the playoff selection a little more relevant. Within the top eight, there is no way somebody who is out of the top 8 all year could argue they deserved a shot to beat the best, it is VERY attainable.

The eight team playoff would require the Champion to play 16 games in a season, which is the regular season amount in the NFL. But the top 25 rankings become a little more note worthy by this point, and save us some bickering.

The Ten Team Playoff:

Most intriguing would be the battle of the top 10. As a nation we glorify those top teams each year who are ranked as the ten best, so Why not see who can win between the best? Taking the big money sponsorships, each “Bowl Game” that is a playoff game will still get the trophy which coincides, in my opinion they are “Honorable Mention” trophies. Then following the wildcard playoff games the top eight, four, and two battle it out. 

The big money sponsors would still be allowed to title their bowl games and make the money they fear losing with a playoff system change. The other bowl game titles can then be transferred down the line to a systematic sponsorship battle which would include all of the conference champions.

Just like college basketball, this playoff system could include the top five from the power five and the top five from the group of five. That would allow more balance within the ranks, and equality in the recruiting. The change would also promote conferences like the AAC, Mountain west, Sun Belt, and others to improve their sponsorships and pay a little more money in the long run, in order to get a big return on investment. 

Programs that aren’t big money makers may struggle with this. In the case that there are issues, the conferences expand yet again to minimize all conference to 8 and from there two extra teams from the power five could get a bid and a chance to also win the title.

For the underdog to win the title, it would require 4 games rather than three, but that still only makes the season 17 games long. For a top seed to win it would only require 16 games though, just one more than the current system.

The Twelve Team playoff:

With a bye game for the top seeds and wildcard game for the bottom feeders. Just like basketball there is need for balance. An 18 game season is something only seen in the NFL, a league where these young men hope to one day play, and that is only if you reach the super bowl. Following a 12 Game regular season, and then a conference championship game, the 13 game season will then include a bracket similar to this one. which would elude that the winner would play a 17 game season when all is said and done.

The option of the 12 team playoff allows more "Condolence bowls" and sponsorships for those afraid to lose money. The extra game time will allow the athletes to be better prepared for the rigors of the NFL, and for those who do not make the NFL, they at least could say they played in the college football playoff. 

The 12 team playoff would offer even greater balance in assuring placement of power five teams and non power five teams. The play-in-games would be between group of five conference members and a couple power five teams in years that they were good enough to do so.

For people up in arms about bowl game money also, there could be winnings for each team that plays in the NIT of college football, the division where the lower leveled teams could play with still some excellent competition. The NIT would follow the same model as the College Football Playoff, and sponsors would still promote a bowl game. The season would be extended for all of these teams an extra amount and fans of these teams could prepare with extra excitement for the year to come.

Conclusion:

College football is the time of year that we all look forward to. It kicks off the school year and gets us through the winter months. While the extended season would continue into January still, and student athletes do need to focus on school as well, there are options for these athletes to impress and prepare for their future careers wether within the NFL or outside of the NFL in the workforce. 

The money that drives the sport as it is today would be much better put to use and there would only be greater revenue and viewership because the system is intriguing and exhilerating, just like March Madness.

Let the games begin, or at least another year of debate about the playoff & its validity.