I didn’t think I’d see it, but here it is: A college football playoff!
These men look as if they'd just accomplished something historic. Which they had. (AP photo)
I’d given up. I’d gone from believing a college football playoff was inevitable to believing it was … the opposite of inevitable. The bowls were too powerful, I conceded. There was no belief among the movers and shakers that any moving and/or shaking was warranted. What we had was, give or take the occasional BCS tweak, all we’d ever get, and what we had was awful.
My surrender came in January 2008. The BCS had been more of a mess than usual — two-loss LSU wound up playing for (and winning) the national championship in a sport where every game was supposed to matter — and, bang on cue, the Georgia president Michael Adams went public with a plan that made sense: an eight-team playoff overseen by the NCAA.
I had some small part in this: I wrote the story for this newspaper that outlined Adams’ proposal and rationale. It appeared Jan. 8, hours after LSU had won the BCS title in New Orleans. I’d covered the game, and in the lobby of the Marriott the next morning I was approached by SEC officials and even some SEC-loving writers who were irate — irate, I tell you — over Adams’ gall. They questioned his timing and his motivation (LSU had bunny-hopped over Georgia in the final BCS standings), but mostly they were miffed because they thought: Why change what had, at least in their minds, just worked?
My thought, then as now: You call that working?
Let’s recall the date: Jan. 8, 2008 — roughly 4 1/2 years ago. Adams’ proposal died a quick death at the NCAA convention in Nashville the next week, and that, I figured, was that. If an insider like Adams could offer a reasoned alternative that gained no traction among his presidential peers, what chance was there?
Here, as reported in the AJC on Jan. 9, 2008, was Wisconsin chancellor John Wiley’s not-exactly-measured response to Adams: “Are you kidding me? Isn’t there anyone out there who cares more about the student-athletes than about the preferences of sportswriters? Playoffs are a sham/fiction, anyway. Look at the upset statistics. On any given day, there are probably dozens of teams that can beat any other team in the collection. What’s so special about winning once in a single matchup?”
So it is with equal parts surprise and satisfaction that I note: As of June 26, 2012, big-time college football has a playoff. It’s not the one Adams advocated — it’s only half as big, and the NCAA has no part in it — but it is a playoff. And not a sham/fiction. Cold reality.
I wish I could tell you what changed over those 4 1/2 years, but I honestly don’t know. To say the BCS kept getting worse was to ignore the obvious: The BCS was lousy from the start. Obviously the SEC’s dominance had something to do with it: With two teams from the same conference (guess which) playing for the 2011 national title, the marginalization of other leagues was complete. Surely in a four-team playoff, the Big Ten/Big 12/Pac-12/ACC had to think, there’ll be room for some of them … won’t there?
To say that conference commissioners were motivated more by the will of the people than by craven self-interest would be to disregard human nature. (Those same conference commissioners had gone decades ignoring the will of the people.) But the bowl system, which is the cash cow for all big-time conferences, had begun to buckle under its own weight. Only the BCS title game came to matter, which is a big deal when you note that 35 — yes, 35 — other postseason games exist.
Earlier this month, SEC commissioner Mike Slive told me, “We want to take back New Year’s.” And that’s what the playoff will do: The semifinals will be held on either Dec. 31 or Jan. 1, with the title tilt to come a week (or so) later.
Left unclear is … well, pretty much everything else. What will happen to the bowls that aren’t staging semifinals? Will the New Year’s Eve/Day schedule be big enough to accommodate non-playoff games? (The NIT doesn’t play its semifinals on the same day as the Final Four, does it?) Who’ll pick the four teams? How many of the four can come from one conference? How many league champions will be guaranteed playoff invites? Will a Boise State ever get a sniff?
But enough. I reserve my inalienable American right to gripe about process for another time. For now I’m content to be shocked and happy. (Yes, happy. Yes, me.) I thought the day would never come when I could type these words, but here they are:
We have a playoff.
By Mark Bradley
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201 comments Add your comment
Quagmire
June 27th, 2012
4:25 pm
This still stinks. Get rid of the bowl games, have a 16-team playoff that starts the week after the last regular-season game. Waiting until New Year’s Eve is stupid. No need to wait an entire month, perhaps more, after the regular-season games end. Imagine if the NFL waited a month after the regular season to start the playoffs.
Why division 1-A football can’t follow what 1-AA does is mind-boggling to me. And why Notre Dame gets to be a part of this crappy playoff stuff is also beyond my comprehension. Force them to join a conference for crying out loud!
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 27th, 2012
4:31 pm
Thank God I will probably Die during this STUPID fake National Championship playoff.
It is a JOKE and will still not decide anything other than the Perception by ESPN & other media that the SEC is the best conference.
Delbert D.
June 27th, 2012
4:33 pm
That 1 month lag between games is ridiculous. There are too many examples of teams in bowl barely resembling the teams that played 1 month previously (LSU last year, for example. Possibly even Georgia). Cancel the meaningless CCGs, and schedule the semis no later than the 2nd weekend in December.
Brendan Murphy
June 27th, 2012
4:45 pm
And why do we need to further distance collegiate athletes from amateur status? With this change, the athletes should be paid. Stop the pretense that they are student-athletes.
GTBob
June 27th, 2012
4:45 pm
There are too many examples of teams in bowl barely resembling the teams that played 1 month previously
This is very true. The Auburn/Oregon game was the best example in my opinion. Both teams looked terrible in that game.
Why Stop There?
June 27th, 2012
4:54 pm
It’s a good thing to remove the two-faced NCAA from the selection process….but why stop there? Given that football has become a huge business, it’s time for the big guns to fire the NCAA altogether and run their businesses the way they see fit – it’s not about the books, folks, it’s the M-O-N-E-Y. Parity, how’s that working out for all y’all? If you can afford to dress out 399 people, go ahead! Let’s let the marketplace reign supreme and just kill those sanctimonious pretenders in the NCAA, who themselves get rich off making rules they selectively enforce while calling it an “amateur” sport. Ha. Ha. Ha.
stupid is as stupid does
June 27th, 2012
4:55 pm
There goes the final nail in the coffin of college football. Welcome to the NFL development league. Playoffs? Playoffs?! … Playoffs?! It’s out of control. We have systematically pushed the tradition out of college football. Super conferences, playoffs, calls for paying players, etc. Sounds like the pros to me. Sad. Mark you’re a jerk for being a part of the death panel for college football.
Why Stop There?
June 27th, 2012
4:56 pm
And that’s right – pay the players. They are NOT like other students. Other students can have a job and a life. These guys pretty much sharecrop for the man and are owned by the company store. Let those other 35 games, which are ridiculous in that most of them are staffed by people with losing records, die the death in this new money arena.
Joey
June 27th, 2012
4:57 pm
“And by the way, what’s that selection committee?”
*****************************************
Good question Alphare.
I think the answer is, whomever ESPN wants on it . . .
Why Stop There?
June 27th, 2012
4:59 pm
I worked for a major college athletic deparment covered up with trophies and tradition going back to the 1800s, Stupid Is As Stupid Does – in modern times, it’s always been about the proving grounds for the pros and about making bucks for the schools. Boo hoo the tradition. Wake up to the real world or go back to wearing a coonskin cap, driving a jalopy and waving a felt pennant. Should we go back to leather helmets, playing both ways, and the Notre Dame Box?
Why Stop There?
June 27th, 2012
5:01 pm
Yeah, the kids should be paid. They are to the universities what sharecroppers were to the Man – owned lock, stock and barrel by the company store, and the schools and the conferences and the NCAA rake in the big profits off the sweat of their brows and off the ruin of their bodies. Pay them. Bout time.
Why Stop There?
June 27th, 2012
5:03 pm
And, if any of you get all excited by keeping up with recruits and signing day and all that, you can’t holler about the death of tradition. New traditions arise, and have, ever since the inception of the sport. Times change, traditions change with the times. I can’t wait to see a woman coach somewhere. And yes, she can.
stupid is as stupid does
June 27th, 2012
5:12 pm
I’d never wear a coonskin cap, I hate Tennessee. My jalopy is running fine. And I mailed a letter to the pennant store, but never got the durn thing. I guess the store only responds to them e-letters that get mailed through the Interwebs. You’re right, change is inevitable, but these things are cyclical. Eventually what’s old becomes new again. Seen any kids wearing those hideous neon shirts, vans and wayfarers I used to wear as a kid? Yeah, I have a feeling that eventually people will want their rivalries and traditions to mean something again. You know what they say about opinions. But I like my opinion the best.
FMX
June 27th, 2012
5:21 pm
I call bs on this. This “playoff” is just a reaction to the SEC’s dominance over the past 6 years. You can bet your ass that there will never be 2 SEC teams in the top four.
unbiased committee
June 27th, 2012
5:29 pm
Rule #1 is
the team which comes in 2nd in the SEC West
is an automatic qualifier.
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 27th, 2012
5:35 pm
If any of you actually think this will be better you are crazy. We are going to have 12 more years of BS and not a real champ that won it.
Stop the CUPCAKE games. Make the Conferences all equal in number of teams. Go with 8 teams playing 10 conference games. Divide ALL the TV money for the Playoff Equally among the Conferences.
This will be a BIG POLITICAL MESS and the RICH will just get richer buy avoiding to have to WIN the regular season.
Bama v LSU……….1-1
FSU V UF…………..1-1
The Champ was the team that won the last game on both 2nd meetings. Winning the LAST game shouldn’t matter more than winning the 1st game. We are going to see 2 SEC team in the 4 team mix that already lost to each other but they will not be FORCED to play in the 1st round of the playoffs. That means we could have 2 SEC teams playing for the CHAMPIONSHIP AGAIN. people will not watch it just like they didn’t watch the Bama v LSU rematch.
You people were just sold a pile of Cow Crap and told it was Rose Fertilizer.
Nothing was made better and it will still be a MNC…………too much guessing, opinion polls, & political maneuvering for selection committee member’s conference. Same JOKE for 12 more years.
1eyedJack
June 27th, 2012
5:37 pm
“Rule #1 is
the team which comes in 2nd in the SEC West
is an automatic qualifier.”
Only if said teams name starts with an A. Otherwise the team which comes in closest to 2nd in the SEC West whose name starts with an A will automatically qualify.
Joey
June 27th, 2012
5:38 pm
The “kids” do get paid. Do a little shopping to see what a 4 year, bachelor’s degree costs at these universities.
There you go . . .
wow !
June 27th, 2012
5:38 pm
But Alabama ” almost ” … won the SEC West last season.
1eyedJack
June 27th, 2012
5:42 pm
“The “kids” do get paid. Do a little shopping to see what a 4 year, bachelor’s degree costs at these universities.”
And check out how much grocerie$ these guys can eat. And free health care…and rent…and lights…
FootballTopFan
June 27th, 2012
5:59 pm
College football fans nationwide would like to CONGRATULATE The BCS on their decision to start a college football playoff system.
Fans believe that it will give us a true consensus national champion. The excitement has already started to build and grow. Fans love college football.
FootballTopFan and fans worldwide eagerly await the start of the college football playoffs.
FootballTopFan@yahoo.com
Joey
June 27th, 2012
6:02 pm
True, 1eyedJack. I’m not familiar with the legal doings of our wonderful Federal Govt, but I think the #1 reason the players don’t actually get some kind of cash payment monthly is Title IX.
I bet, under that law, the exact compensation to a star football player would have to be made to a 3rd string female softball player, whose “sport” is a money drain.
Not sure if that’s correct, but wouldn’t be suprised . . .
GaTruth
June 27th, 2012
6:04 pm
RATS! I’d rather have the old bowl system and alliances! While this format is better than an extensive playoff, I’d rather have arguement. Three words as to why an expanded playoff would suck – New York Giants. The whole season was meaningless! Same thing when Villanova won the NCAAs with eleven losses – please! Eventually this will make so much cash, they will expand it to eight teams, then 16, then the regular season will suck. Damn…
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 27th, 2012
6:41 pm
1.Clemson 6-2 10-4
2.Florida State 5-3 9-4
3.North Carolina State 4-4 8-5
4. Maryland 1-7 2-10
5. Virginia Tech 7-1 11-3
6. Virginia 5-3 8-5
7. Georgia Tech 5-3 8-5
8. Miami (FL) 3-5 6-6
9. North Carolina 3-5 7-6
10. Oklahoma State 8-1 12-1
11. Kansas State 7-2 10-3
12. Oklahoma 6-3 10-3
13. Missouri 5-4 8-5
14. Texas 4-5 8-5
15. Texas A&M 4-5 7-6
16. Texas Tech 2-7 5-7
17. Kansas 0-9 2-10
18. Cincinnati 5-2 10-3
19. West Virginia 5-2 10-3
20. Louisville 5-2 7-6
21. Pittsburgh 4-3 6-7
22. South Florida 1-6 5-7
23. Syracuse
24. Michigan State 7-1 11-3
25. Michigan 6-2 11-2
26. Nebraska 5-3 9-4
27. Wisconsin 6-2 11-3
28. Penn State 6-2 9-4
29. Purdue 4-4 7-6
30. Ohio State 3-5 6-7
31. Southern Miss 6-2
32. Houston 8-0 13-1
33. Brigham Young — 10-3
34. Notre Dame — 8-4
35. TCU 7-0 11-2
36. Boise State 6-1 12-1
37. Oregon 8-1 12-2
38. Stanford 8-1 11-2
39. Washington 5-4 7-6
40. California 4-5 7-6
41. Oregon State
42. USC 7-2 10-2
43. UCLA 5-4 6-8
44. Arizona State 4-5 6-7
45. Arizona
46. Georgia 7-1 10-4
47. South Carolina 6-2 11-2
48. Florida 3-5 7-6
49. Tennessee 1-7 5-7
50. LSU 8-0 13-1
51. Alabama 7-1 12-1
52. Arkansas 6-2 11-2
53. Auburn 4-4 8-5
I see about 53 teams that might actually ever have a shot at this 4 team Championship playoff.
The DEATH of College is starting and you people are cheering for it to start.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)(CMR fan for life)
June 27th, 2012
6:47 pm
@ Mark Bradley:
I believe UGA finished No. 2 in 2007. Am I wrong???????????????
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 27th, 2012
6:50 pm
Brainiac……………
AP Top 25
RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 LSU (60) 12-2 1620
2 Georgia (3) 11-2 1515
3 USC (1) 11-2 1500
4 Missouri 12-2 1347
5 Ohio State 11-2 1346
6 West Virginia 11-2 1342
7 Kansas (1) 12-1 1303
8 Oklahoma 11-3 1139
9 Virginia Tech 11-3 1096
10 Texas 10-3 962
10 Boston College
USA Today Poll
1 LSU (60) 12-2 1500
2 USC 11-2 1380
3 Georgia 11-2 1370
4 Ohio State 11-2 1287
5 Missouri 12-2 1241
6 West Virginia 11-2 1239
7 Kansas 12-1 1217
8 Oklahoma 11-3 1016
9 Virginia Tech 11-3 979
10 Texas 10-3 924
Brainiac(Dawg for life)(CMR fan for life)
June 27th, 2012
7:04 pm
In the event that there is more than one team in the West Div.whose name starts with an “A” the playoff team will be picked in alphabetical order.
EXAMPLE: 1) Alabama
2)Arkansas
3)Auburn
Brainiac(Dawg for life)(CMR fan for life)
June 27th, 2012
7:07 pm
Thanks Twinky Man!!!!!! Being a senior citizen I need all the help i can get.
Flounder
June 27th, 2012
7:23 pm
Who will be the members of the Selection Committee? And who will select the Members of the Selection Committee?? And who will select the people who will select the Members of the Selection Committee???
There’s gonna be a River of behind-the-scenes Propaganda, Payouts and Politics.
Flounder
June 27th, 2012
7:36 pm
… which is no different than what we currently have, I suppose
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 27th, 2012
7:44 pm
EXACTLY…………………..Flounder.
It will still be all Big Money Big Conference and Big Politics.
It will not be a real National Championship Still.
DogTheMan
June 27th, 2012
7:45 pm
@wes.. I would if those players got a chance to really go to class instead of taking classes that are designed to keep them eligible… Its all a sham!!!
Enemas for Easter
June 27th, 2012
8:31 pm
Yeah…..Most of you are excited now, but the very first year there will be a throng of fans bitching how their team was unfairly excluded from the play off.
This will never work. There will always be flaws. If you want an ideal play off situation, follow the NFL.
football final 4
June 27th, 2012
8:59 pm
… really looking forward to
what team comes in Second Place in the SEC West this season.
D man
June 27th, 2012
9:10 pm
It’s a step in the right direction to crown a true National Champion.
football final 4
June 27th, 2012
9:14 pm
No more boring re-matches.
OLD MAN
June 27th, 2012
9:46 pm
they should have 16 teams no play off with 4 the big teams are afraid some little team will whip their a55 if they have 16 teams WAKE UP
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 27th, 2012
9:50 pm
8 teams and 8 16 team conferences playing 10 conference games(no cupcake paid for wins) and then a Strong OOC schedule will not HURT and Conference Champs fight it out. 17 total games for the 2 in the Championship Game.
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 27th, 2012
10:05 pm
128 teams in DIV 1.
Divide into 8 conferences
8 16 team conferences
Play 10 conference games and a Championship game = 13 games
8 champions in playoff = 16 game season.
1 week off after the Conference Championship games(Dec 1 2012)
Playoff start…DEC 15th(8teams)
2nd round Championship games….Dec 22 2012 (4 teams)
3rd round Championship games…Dec 29 2012 (2 teams)
Championship Game Jan 5th 2013
All lil Bowls are played from Dec 26th to Jan 4th
It will change every year because the weekend days change, but All games end a week after Jan 1.
Skeezix
June 27th, 2012
10:50 pm
All one can say is that it’s about damn time.
MoneyTR
June 27th, 2012
11:19 pm
billions more in revenue and the players get nothing except some chump change education costs. They should get $2,000 per month for all the money they bring in these big dollar schools—if not, they need to form a union and go on strike!
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 28th, 2012
12:26 am
Don’t get drunk and stupid on the Marketing pitch. If Arty Blank wants to put his Money and Butt on the line fo a Superbowl or College Championship Game then he can do it. If it makes KILLER money then it is his but if it DON’T then the loss is his too. TAXPAYERS that will never get a TICKET to these games don’t need to pay the bill.
MARK RICHT CANNOT BEAT THE TOP TEAMS
June 28th, 2012
12:55 am
Mark Richt era Record vs Top 5 Year End Rankings :
6-7 LSU Mark Richt era vs Top 5 YER
5-10 Florida Mark Richt era vs Top 5 YER
4-10 Auburn Mark Richt era vs Top 5 YER
4-14 Alabama Mark Richt era vs Top 5 YER
3-14 vols Mark Richt era vs Top 5 YER
1-10 Georgia Mark Richt era vs Top 5 YER
BridgesOverTroubledDawgH2O's
June 28th, 2012
12:58 am
Its all about the Benjamins and the best SEC team!!! Sic em!
i dropped my fried spam
June 28th, 2012
1:04 am
lmao, boy…TBROWN incarnate! Gotta start somewhere! NCAA BBALL does it right and its the BEST Tourney in sports!
SmokinStokin
June 28th, 2012
1:06 am
We’ll get our Natl Champ in the GA Dome! Bama loves us!
thwg
June 28th, 2012
1:08 am
Yet one more thing a group of old white guys can screw up – politics and college football. This is no playoff rather only a money grab. College football has become nothing more than a minor league for the NFL. For my money, I’d rather go back to UPI and AP polls. Sad day for college football.
tevin
June 28th, 2012
1:09 am
thwg: I agree with the UPI and AP part 100%!!! No need to get into race.
MARK RICHT CANNOT BEAT THE TOP TEAMS
June 28th, 2012
1:11 am
Oh, he is whining about 2007 is all in this blog. 2007 LSU beat 2 teams listed in that AP Poll Top 10, while Mark Richt not only beat none. But, lost to 6-6 South Carolina who did not even play in a bowl game. And, was wiped from the planet by the lowly vols. Clearly, LSU was the better team.
As for your list of Alabama, LSU and Arkansas – yes, those would have been 3 of the 4 were it implemented already. This Plus One +1. You might recall Plus One +1. I have said for 10 years on these blogs every single time the topic was brought up : Plus One +1.
You’ll kept up your posts about 8-team play-off. 16-team play-off. 120-team play-off. You tried all this time to prevent Plus One +1. I told you so.
Others whined about mythical nc and stated, we need a play-off. To which I replied, we have a 2-team play-off now, what we need is a 4-team play-off.
Is there a team such as Arkansas at # 5 for the season just ended, who has a legitimate beef being left out ? I don’t think so. Seems clear to me that Alabama and LSU proved it on the field that Alabama beat 2 and LSU beat 3 teams who finished in the AP Poll Top 10.
While you ponder your navel, might I point out that the direct correlation of national champions is, the pollsters voted for the teams who actually beat teams who actually did end up in the AP Poll Top 10. Forget that the AP Poll removed itself from BCS Rankings, as the facts are the AP Poll actually is the basis of all the other 25 polls every year. Kenneth Massey, for example. Jeff Sagarin. Coaches’ Poll. Richard Billingsley. They all, and all the rest of them, all base their poll on the AP Poll.
And, just what does the AP Poll base itself on ?
Pollsters right now look at UGA’s schedule 2012 and say ok, UGA will win them all. Truthfully, we play 1 team who made any top 25 poll and 11 opponents who have an average of 4.8 wins.
Sure, we will go 13-1. The question remains will Mark Richt remain 3 wins out of 16 games against teams who actually earn AP Poll Top 10 all 11 years ? I firmly believe he will. I do not see him beating the top teams. He’s incapable of it.
It’s his offense, which has all 11 years since being hired here because of his offense, which has averaged the NCAA # 51 Total Offense.
DieHardDawglikeme
June 28th, 2012
1:12 am
POLLS rarely ever got it wrong thwg except in ‘90 with the Buffaloes clearly better than the Jakerts!