Just to Point out the obvious, we're in a 3 game playoff.

Ole Man Dan

Hall of Fame
Apr 21, 2008
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It's sad that the NCAA is bowing to society's pressure of what a "Champion" should be, decided by a bunch of morons (in general) who don't really know anything about the real sport of football, or who are so busy whining about "their" little team not getting any of the big $$$, but worse yet, the NCAA had no choice due to the possibility of getting sued by the US Government under antitrust laws. I seriously believe that was the main impetus of this whole thing.
Unfortunately, college football's success (and the money it brought) is what is leading to its very demise---and it WILL decline in quality as these "WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC, STELLAR, JUST WHAT WE NEEDED" "playoffs" (sarcasm intended) expand---and they WILL expand just as RedStar said, because they WILL make money, and we WILL watch them...it really is the beginning of the end.

I agree with REDSTAR.
Either thru political correctness or thru financial greed,
the likelihood of playoffs expanding is more than 100%.
At that point all of the games diminish in importance.
Soon each game has the importance of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'.
(No offense intended toward kids everywhere...)

Our goal should be to work hard to prevent future expansion of playoffs.
 
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BamaAlum97

1st Team
Dec 13, 2002
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With only FOUR teams in the playoff, the excitement isn't going away.

There are 120 teams in the "league." It will be very tough to make the top four.
Approximately half of those 120 teams have no shot to make the playoffs from day 1. It's the top tier teams from the major conferences and small handful of independents/mid-major teams competing for 4 spots...

I personally am anti-playoff. Expanding the field is just a way to appease the teams and conferences who were not good enough to get a spot under the old system...instead of playing better football, they found it easier to change the system.
 

DrollTide

All-SEC
Oct 18, 2008
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Fascinating thread. I would add that not every structure is best in every dimension, so it is worth considering which areas are improved by a playoff and if/where the costs fall.

In which structure does Alabama win the most championships? I'm inclined to say that the larger the playoff, the more it benefits the "smaller" programs with the easiest schedule. I'm not sure where the inflection point is, probably a 4-team playoff is sufficiently exclusive of small programs.

Which structure offers the most regular season excitement? Probably, the setup with the smallest playoff. But there is always a "cusp", and on the cusp there is excitement as the season closes out. However, for the elite programs with championship hopes, currently the early games are just as exciting and deadly as any playoff game.

Which structure offers the most post-season excitement? Well, obviously, a larger playoff. Seems like the trade-off between regular season and playoff is a bit of a zero-sum game. My preference is for regular season, but I will enjoy playoffs if/when they arrive in force.

Which structure is the most unique in all of sports? That would be the current system. A 4-team playoff stays fairly close to the formula. In this I agree strongly with RedStar that playoffs always expand. At some scale, a large playoff absolutely must impact regular season excitement.
 

Bamaro

TideFans Legend
Oct 19, 2001
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Who cares who wins those games? Remember how exciting last saturday was? That excitement all goes away with a playoff.
Last Saturday was exciting but I would rather the excitement include our team. We were on the outside looking in. And last Saturdays excitement could still happen in the run up to the playoff when teams would still be competing for the select 4.
 

bamatex82

All-SEC
Oct 5, 2001
1,769
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The problem is, it wont be 4. By 2030, I can almost guarantee you that it will be 16+. Name me one sport that hasn't expanded it's playoff format since it began. Please. I'm seriously asking. I've yet to find one.

My problem isn't the 4 team playoff. Honestly, a 4 team playoff is better than what we've got, and teams 5-8 shouldn't have a horse in the race. Playoffs ALWAYS expand. Always.
Bingo!
 

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