I've been adamantly against a four team playoff in college football. I felt there was something truly special about basing it entirely on the regular season. I could go on, and I have in the past, but even when it looked like Alabama was going to be out of the championship picture I did not waver from my position. Quite simply, I believed if Alabama was out of the game it meant they were not good enough. Had Oregon won against Stanford, then Oregon St., and UCLA their body of work would have been (marginally) more impressive. Notre Dame didn't look pretty doing it, but they have navigated a fairly tough schedule and they haven't lost yet.
Alabama showed a lot of vulnerability in the LSU and A&M games and in order for them to win a championship they have to show an increased level of focus and prowess on the field. That's possible, and I hope for that, but had Oregon and Kansas St. not shown their own vulnerabilities, I do not believe Alabama deserved that chance. One reason the SEC is undefeated in the BCSCG is that they don't put undeserving teams in that game.
I do not know how a playoff will work out, but I know it will put a huge damper on the regular season. Alabama's loss to A&M? We could have walking away going, "well, Alabama just needs to be in the top 4". Oregon's loss to Stanford? "Well, Oregon just needs to stay ahead of Florida." I won't even rant about the conference champ criteria that could push an Oregon over a Florida anyway. Sure, games still matter, but it will alter everything about these regular season moments that mean so much to us. The new formula will be poisoned by including something that isn't reflected in the polls, or even in the computer formulas. It just won't be the same, it will be a lot more like everything else...
Football in general is changing, and college football is changing. Not all change is bad, but enjoy this because we'll have to tell future generations about what this was like since they'll never known for themselves.
Alabama showed a lot of vulnerability in the LSU and A&M games and in order for them to win a championship they have to show an increased level of focus and prowess on the field. That's possible, and I hope for that, but had Oregon and Kansas St. not shown their own vulnerabilities, I do not believe Alabama deserved that chance. One reason the SEC is undefeated in the BCSCG is that they don't put undeserving teams in that game.
I do not know how a playoff will work out, but I know it will put a huge damper on the regular season. Alabama's loss to A&M? We could have walking away going, "well, Alabama just needs to be in the top 4". Oregon's loss to Stanford? "Well, Oregon just needs to stay ahead of Florida." I won't even rant about the conference champ criteria that could push an Oregon over a Florida anyway. Sure, games still matter, but it will alter everything about these regular season moments that mean so much to us. The new formula will be poisoned by including something that isn't reflected in the polls, or even in the computer formulas. It just won't be the same, it will be a lot more like everything else...
Football in general is changing, and college football is changing. Not all change is bad, but enjoy this because we'll have to tell future generations about what this was like since they'll never known for themselves.