Four-team playoff in college football is set

So it’s official: There will be a playoff in college football.

But can you call four teams a playoff? What other sport — at any level — has just a four-team playoff? Four out of 124 teams make it. Granted, not all 124 FBS teams are worthy of making the playoffs, but you get my drift.

Does this make things any easier/better for the smaller guys, like in the Mountain West? Doesn’t appear so. Perhaps an eight-team or larger field would have helped.

I will say this is better than the old format, and it should mean more money for everyone in college football in terms of revenue sharing. But like always, the rich will get richer and the little guy hopefully gets a little bigger piece of the pie — whatever that may be.

One thing about this four-team playoff that I’m not sure I like is the rotating of the bowl games. I’m afraid that is going to take a lot of fans out of it. Let’s say you are an Oklahoma fan. Your team is playing in the Orange Bowl in a semifinal game and the winner goes to the championship game in the Rose Bowl the next week. Will fans go to both? Can they afford to go to both? I know there are rabid fans every where, but that is a strain in a lot of ways no matter how die-hard you are.

I’m afraid that this new format will make determining college football’s national champion kind of like the Super Bowl: The elite go to the games. It will become more corporate. Will you see games where half the stadium is full of one team’s fans and the other half of the other team’s fans? Maybe, but it is leaning towards not. That’s one of the many things that makes college football so fun, in my opinion.

Below are some links to some stories on the new playoff format. I want to hear what you think. I also posted a new poll question to get your thoughts.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/19426629/bcs-presidential-oversight-committee-approves-four-team-playoff-chosen-by-selection-committee

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/19392962/whatever-comes-next-playoff-consensus-is-one-great-leap-for-college-football

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/jerry-palm/19427910

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/19427810/new-playoff-setup-eliminates-havenots-doesnt-quite-solve-the-problem

Josh

Gonna be hard to give up calling the conferences AQs and non-AQs. The extra money will be nice, but I don’t think it will be any easier for our teams to potentially make a top 4 appearance. I think the only way that would happen is if a team were to somehow get to play a Nebraska and Texas in the same year, beat them, and then those teams go on to win the B1G and Big-12 respectively. Some pretty long odds there.

At least it is a step in the right direction, and it might not just be 4 teams until 2025. Just as the BCS changed throughout the years, I would expect this format to change as well. It does make me angry that the bowls are still doing the semi-finals. I really do not expect many fans to travel to both bowls if their team wins. That is a serious outlay of cash. Strange world we live in…
John Romanovich Your New York Cowboy

After five years of seeing Wyoming Cowboy football in the “East”, I am more concerned about no MAC football game this fall in Ohio and limited availability of Cowboy TV. We saw Wyoming in Akron, Bowling Green, Athens, all very exciting almost nail biter games. We saw the Polks at Florida Atlantic and YES we witnessed Wyoming beat Tennessee. A shocker to say the least. So being “East Coast Challenged”, my concern is more with our Pokes and not a bunch of top ten echelon football programs that have no importance or meaning to me. Oh also was at Air Force in both Colorado Springs & Laramie. That great win over Virginia in Laramie and that rediculious event in Bolder a few years ago. My regret missing that game in Syracuse which technically we actually won. My job is supporting & rooting Coach Christiansen to a bowl commensurent to where Wyoming is and the talent we have can take us. I’m just saying…If we make the top 50 that would be terrific and the bowls will come to us!
Brian

The 4 team “playoff” is a step in the right direction, but there is no way that a MWC team would ever make it to the top four. There will be some excuse like “strength of schedule” or the MWC team won’t draw enough fans, etc, etc, etc. The Mountain West was denied AQ status but have allowed the ACC and Big East the AQ exemption. It’s a sham plain and simple. If the BCS just admits that its about the $$ rather than fairness, then okay let’s move on, but the BCS pretends to host a fair and honest sporting events (ala Bowl games). If I were C. Thompson, MW commish, I would probably start talking to lawyers right about now.

In the meantime, the only thing that Wyoming can do is win. Continue to improve in Mountain West Conference play (winning the conference should be the goal every year), beating out-of-conference teams that we’re not expected to, getting to post season play and win those bowl games. Wyoming has a pretty decent fan base given the distances a number of fans have to travel often in poor weather. The fans will follow especially if Wyoming continues to get and pushes for the front range (Denver, Colo Springs) coverage. Last season Channel 4 Sportscasters and the Denver Post sports writers all gave Wyoming great coverage and you can’t beat statements like “Wyoming is the best FB team on the front range”…

Point is take care of what you can control and let this other nonsense sort itself out.
- rgagliardi
  
  Good points, Brian!
  
  RG
robert

RG,
I met Roy Kramer (Commish of the SEC) in a private suite in the Sugar Bowl in 1988 while living in New Orleans. All that he told me that night has come to fruition. He was the father of the BCS and now the weak 4 team playoff. He was adamant about the SEC controlling the money because in his opinion the SEC was college football. Deloss Dodds the AD at Texas is on record as saying if Delaney & the Big 10 teams want to play in the Rose Bowl every year, let them…..once we have a playoff they will beg to join us. Thus the Champions Bowl between the Big 12/SEC to compete with the Rose Bowl. I agree with most that this is a step in the right direction. It will expand in time, but a 12 yr committment is absurd. When starting something new wouldn’t a 3-6 yr contract seem more in line? Limited to 4 teams assures Big 10, Big 12, SEC & PAC 12 are most likely in with all others on the outside looking in. It surprises me some of the smaller venue college Presidents on the Committee supported this.(Maybe a threat by the bigger schools to go it alone?). Playoffs should be on college stadiums based on seeding & the big game at a neutral site, then the fans are involved, but this new proposal not so much. It is about money & nothing else. I hate to say it, but maybe the courts need to have a say.
- rgagliardi
  
  Hope the courts don’t get involved, but I can see how they might. Thanks for the comment. Good stuff.
  
  RG
Nick

The only way there can be fairness it seems is to get the courts and/or congress involved IMO. The MW not getting an exemption should be screaming this loud and clear to all of us. I would be open to the MW champion and ACC champion (big east is dying/walking dead) having a ‘play in game’ if needs be. As long as it’s fair and can be played on the field. Accepting this abuse from “the big boys” as some call them, is un-American and against what Wyoming has stood for since Jim Bridger tried to tame the toughest state in the country. It’s like some rich pretty boy from the city is telling your wife how beautiful she is, and why is she with you, while your sitting next to her, and you are “forced” to just sit there and take it. The only talk on this subject from anyone who understands what is at stake should be creating fairness at all costs…..end of story!!
RKR

Robert-

What is your take on Boise State and the deadline approching the Deadline to leave the Mountain West?
- rgagliardi
  
  It’s a little odd but I still think Boise will go even if their other sports are left hanging for a while. Hope I’m wrong. Mountain West is more viable and valuable to future TV networks.