B1G Uglies: Big Ten Reaction To The Playoff

The B1G Uglies: Reaction to The Four Team Playoff Model

Welcome to a new era. Typically we take a look at hot topics and other questions to debate in the Big Ten, but today Phil Harrison, Bart Doan, and Terry Johnson open things up on a national scale to react to the news of how the approval of a four-team playoff in college football might change the game.

Phil Harrison:

Okay, time to step away from the ledge. We were all excited about the possibilities of a plus one initially, then we got down-right giddy over the talk of an actual playoff. Then, on a bizarre, late- spring press conference, the Big Ten decided to give the college football world an opportunity to grab a fist full of Xanex to curb their nerves--re-introducing the plus-one, and even--gasp--a bombshell mention of the putting the “status quo” back on the old raggedy table.

Take a deep breath and relax.

We can now officially react to news that there will indeed be a college football playoff. And there will be many people complaining that it doesn’t go far enough, that it still lets the rich get richer, and is not inclusive of enough teams.

Put down the pitchfork folks, and remember that this is a good thing.

Sure there will still be controversy. There always will be unless you let every team with a winning record in. Heck, there’s wringing of hands today with the NCAA basketball tournament that does its own impression of Ellis Island by letting almost everyone in--only to be crucified for not considering the sixty-ninth team’s resume. And surely, in 2014 when the “selection committee” makes it picks utilizing all of the data an on the field performance it has its its disposal, team No. 5 and 6 will be ready to launch MX missiles and destroy the new world order that we all live in.

But that’s okay.

The reality is that now, finally--there is an opportunity for teams to win it on the field and take the best of the best teams (it’s hard to fathom a deserving undefeated team left out of this model), and play it off without trying to figure out some inspector gadget-gone-rogue computer-model.

Of course there are still details to iron out, like what other two bowls will enter the six-bowl rotation for the semi-finals (welcome Jerry Jones to the college football universe), how the revenue--surely a substantial increase--will be divided, and how exactly the bidding process for the championship game will work.

But those are minor details. The bound and priced version of this novel will be a much better read than the torn and tattered BCS novel that was the only book on a bookshelf collecting cobwebs for years.

In the end, this version of an actual playoff is not THE version that any one conference commissioner, school president, media mogul, or coach would have hand picked, but it’s the one that works and can finally be implemented. It’s a compromise in every sense of the word, but one that we can all live with because it got everyone playing nice in the sandbox together.

At least until the next conference commissioner or coach dumps sand over the head of its neighbor and the controversy edges its way towards the edge of the cliff yet again.

Bart Doan:

Phil apparently isn’t speaking for me when he says “everyone.” This playoff is the most abhorrent abomination to hit the American public since Gigli. As I said before, be careful what you wish for. It was 15 years ago we wanted something, ANYTHING better than split titles. Fourteen years later, the BCS was visibly corrupt, the game was more exclusive than ever, and the NCAA still doesn’t officially recognize a champion. Think about that...football, its most major sport, and because of the system in place, they don’t recognize a champion officially. That’s how much of a ruse this new system is.

The lunacy of it is that people see the black and white of “four instead of two” and assume it’s more inclusive and gives more teams a chance. Au contraire. In fact, college football dumped the Big East like every girl in Seinfeld did to George Costanza and made the game even MORE exclusive. Now, there are five conferences that have a chance, not six, and the mid majors are still squeezed out. By not restricting it to conference champs, you allow another cloak and dagger selection committee using human opinion to squeeze out the little guy. Think they’re voting Hawai’i over LSU into a playoff? College football failed to address both of its chief problems: Transparency and scheduling. Because of this, it’s easier than ever to ride a weak OOC schedule to a nice looking record that gets you in the top four.

Criteria are a part of every life, be it needing a degree to get a job, needing a certification to get a promotion, needing a venue to open your own business...whatever. Not in college football. All you need...still...is a nice preseason ranking (polls shouldn’t start until October to be fair) and some votes and boom...you’re playing for a title. Human opinion has never solved anything in the history of the world, yet college football will count on it more than ever.

So ostensibly, the rich get richer, the poor still are saddled with less of a chance, and some people are calling that “progression.” Plus, you’ve somewhat cheapened the regular season. Until college football addresses its root problems...transparency and rewarding poor out of conference scheduling...we’ll be back here in another 10-15 years, assuming the next best thing is the better thing, and probably being totally wrong.

Terry Johnson:

Immediately after the conference commissioners agreed on a four-team playoff proposal last week, all of the talking heads praised the new postseason format. They stated that every college football fan (except Bart, of course) would finally get what he or she has always wanted – a playoff system that would crown a legitimate national champion.

Make no mistake about it, the four-team playoff system is far from perfect. With only four bids available, at least one of the five power conference champions will miss the playoffs every year. In addition, the new system may have some credibility problems depending on how transparent the selection committee is with the public.

Let’s call the new postseason what it really is: an upgrade.

Ever since its inception in 1998, the BCS operated under the faulty assumption that two teams would stand out from all the others. However, this was almost never the case under the BCS system, as the margin between the second-best team and the third-best team was usually razor-thin. Instead of producing a legitimate national champion, the BCS poured gasoline on an open flame, and created the type of chaos that it sought to prevent.

The four-team playoff system is an upgrade over the current system because it will eliminate all of the madness that plagued the BCS.

A closer look at the 2011 season will demonstrate this point. Both Oklahoma State and Alabama had impressive resumes, but only one could play against LSU for the national championship. Ultimately, the Coaches Poll, Harris Poll and computer polls picked the Crimson Tide, even though the Cowboys defeated more ranked opponents and won the Big 12 Championship.

This would never happen under a four-team playoff. By adding two teams to the field, the playoff system would have allowed Alabama and Oklahoma State to settle this issue on the gridiron. College football fans would know at the conclusion of the game which team belonged in the national title game.

That’s quite an upgrade from the current postseason format, where voters and algorithms decide a team’s fate.

It will be interesting to see whether the four-team model continues after the 2025 season. Several coaches, including NC State’s Tom O’Brien, have said that if the postseason wanted to reward excellence, it needs to include every power conference champion.

In other words, it will need another upgrade.


Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHarrisonCFN, Bart @Bart_CFN, and Terry @TPJCollFootball