Why are so many people crying about a playoff system in college football?

Question

There is a playoff system, its called the regular season. Its pretty simple really. If you're in a BCS conference, DON'T LOSE!!! If you do that, then you'll wind up playing in the national championship. If there were a playoff system, that loss Michigan suffered to Appalachian State in week one wouldn't have been that significant. Every week you need to win your game, how could it get more exciting than that. Sure Georgia and USC are playing better than anyone right now, but they messed up earlier and that is the way it is. The BCS tries to reward the teams entire body of work, not whoever is playing better at the end. And a playoff system wouldn't make sure the best team wins. In baseball a couple years ago, St Louis won the World Series. You can't tell me they were the best team in baseball. College football thrives on all of this debate, and that's the reason I love it so much. Who's with me?

Answer 1

The problem I have with a playoff system is the risk of injury and placing greater pressure on the athletes to perform in the classroom. Think about it in that these are young men who are not allowed to join the professional ranks until they have finshed their junior year. Why? Because the NFL realizes the brutality of the sport at the professional level and these young athletes need time to develop. Well by increasing the number of games against top notch opponents raises the risk of injury big-time. Also, so many of the players on top notch teams currently struggle in the classroom. Increasing the time on the field of play is not going to help these individuals. Keep in mind that the best thing for many of the athletes is getting a degree because not everybody gets to go to the pros.
The current system has flaws but what system doesn't. The one thing that I would like to see enforced is a championship game for all major conferences (i.e., they go to 12 teams). This move would stop a lot of the B.S. I agree with you in that Georgia and USC are playing great ball right now but I think you need to reward a team that takes care of business week-in and week-out.
As information, I have been a season ticket holder at LSU since 1972 and not all SEC fans are twits. Personally, I feel LSU has as much talent on their ball club as any team in the nation perhaps more. However, the coaching staff couldn't get the players fired up and sometimes the coaching staff's game plan was not all that great. They had their chance and blew it. Enough said!

Answer 2

I understand your point, but just because college football is like that now with the bcs system, does not mean that it is the right way. A playoff system would not be perfect, but at least in a playoff system who ever wins the last game is champion. In the mlb the year St.Louis won it all they were the best team because they were the last team to win that year. Part of the reason its not right is because of the way college football ends the season and the the people who rank the teams. Your right Georgia and USC may be playing better than anyone else right now, if so are they the best two teams in college football right now. Last year Florida beat Ohio st. and Boise st. beat oklahoma. Boise st. finished the season undefeated but they were not national champs. Most people said they would not beat oklahoma so who is to say they would not have beat Florida. You say there is a playoff system and that it is the regular season, so DONT LOSE. The point is to find a true national champion. And that DONT LOSE system has failed more than it has succeeded. A playoff system would work more than the current BCS and in a playoff system no can complain at the end of the season.

Answer 3

I find it so hilarious that sports fans (albeit SEC, Big 10, Pac 10, ACC, Big XII, Big East, Independents, etc) cry so hard about the "need" for a "playoff" system. They have no c lue about the business side of the BCS, and they're only concentrating on the football side of things! The BCS brings BILLIONS of dollars to not only the BCS, but to the conferences, athletic programs and college presidents. If you were a college president, and your school was receiving a nice little lump sum of cash not only due to the BCS, but your team was good enough to play in a bowl game, then that not only makes your football program look good, but you look good as well!

This is why people love college football so much! The debate over whether or not a playoff system should be instituted makes college football as great as it is now! The controversy.... Nowadays, controversy creates CASH! It's created billions of dollars for the BCS! Maybe the best team may not win the BCS title, however champions aren't always the best, they are the best when it matters the most! Take the authors St. Louis world series reference. The NL Central was probably the WORST division in baseball that year, and The Cardinals became the champs not by being the best team all year, but by being the best team when the situations mattered the most. The 2001 D-Backs and 2003 Florida Marlins are also perfect examples of this! College football HIGHLY thrives on us, the fans, talking and debating and arguing about the entire playoff system or lack thereof. Because while we are doing that, we are still paying money to go see our favorite college teams, we are turning on our TVs for bowl games, and etc. While we are doing that, Conference, and college presidents are filling their wallets from the payouts of the BCS.

Answer 4

Brutus... I was with you until a few years ago. I have changed my mind on this issue.

Please consider these points... NCAA Div 1A football is about the ONLY sport that doesn't have a true playoff system. I agree with your point about winning your conference... but that doesn't stop someone from getting to the Sweet 16 in NCAA basketball.

NCAA Div 1AA, II, and III have had a playoff system that has worked for years.

We have too many bowls that don't mean anything. Fewer bowls or a real playoff would mean something. The money will go where it needs to. NCAA Basketball playoffs are the most watched of any playoff. I think NCAA FB could beat that.

I don't think that a playoff changes a teams mentality in terms of winning games during regular season. In fact, if one or two losses didn't kill you in terms of making it to the NC, then we might see better non-conference games.

And yes... even a playoff system doesn't assure the two "best" teams as you say get there, but at least it is decided on the field instead of in a ballot box and on a computer.

So... I am not crying about it. The BCS is what it is. But for those of us that remember when the BCS wasn't around, it can be different and it can be better.

Answer 5

Your thinking about it the wrong way. College football has no pre-season games only practices and workouts. So why should the BCS look at the whole body of work. Some of these teams are just getting the kinks worked out in the first few weeks.

A playoff system will eventually happen because it is what the fans want to see. Too many teams from too many conferences think they should be in the title game. A playoff system gives everyone a chance at the title. Plus, going into the playoffs, they would be ranked on their "whole body of work."

Even golf and NASCAR are moving to a playoff. Bowl games are only for the the $$$.

Answer 6

Yeah because it was Matthew Stafford in tears after losing to Ole Miss during the press conference? Oh wait, that was Tebow. Sorry, but our team are men and our fans do not cry after we lose. Don't be an a s s. As for your system, so many playoff games would make the regular season just about worthless. No more than an 8 team playoff I say.

Answer 7

A playoff season would be based on the regular season performance. You have to win during the season to make the playoffs. Playoffs give teams a chance to compete and settle on the field who is best. You are then not penalized so much by one or maybe 2 loses. Rankings in the playoff system will be determined by season rankings. This means, the better your season, the better your position in the brackets. It works great for Division 1AA, II, and III. This season, there are not clear cut #1, 2, or 3. There are several teams with a legitimate argument as to who is deserving of the chance to compete for #1.

Answer 8

If they only invited 4 teams to the playoffs, the regular season would still be important. You say the Michigan-App State game wouldn't have mattered much if there were a playoff - but Michigan wouldn't get into a 4 team playoff this year anyway. There would still be controversy over who gets the 4th spot so there would still be something to debate.

How much better would it be if instead of Mizzou/WV in the title game, you had Mizzou/Georgia in one semifinal and WV/Ohio State in the other. All 4 of those teams are more than deserving of a shot at the title.

Answer 9

Because the bowl system rewards weaker conferences (Big 10) and punishes strong conferences (SEC, Big 12). A decent team can play in the Big 10 against one, MAYBE two decent teams, go undefeated, and play in the National Title game. But a great team can play in the SEC or Big 12 against five or six, sometimes even seven (10 bowl eligible teams in the SEC this year), lose one or two naturally, and never get to look at the Title game. It's unfair, and EVERYONE knows it. You just may choose to not believe it if you are a fan of a weaker conference.

The regular season is not like a playoff system. If that's the way it is, then the Big 10 is only playing low seeded teams all year while the SEC is playing high seeded teams all year. Even then it's not fair.

Answer 10

They would also cry if their team was the only one in the country to be 12-0, and then STILL had to beat 2 or 3 more teams to be considered the best, with one upset there erasing the whole rest of the season. They would also cry if the playoffs included the top 8 teams and theirs was ranked 9th, so why change it? I'd like to keep the bowl games, but just allow more variety of strong interconference matchups in them, and allowing unimpressive conference champs to be bumped down to other matchups.