Playoff Primer Preparation!

Photo by Herbert Gears 4-11-10

Collegiate Change You Want. Collegiate Change You Now Have!

For 16 years the way that it was determined who was the best college football team in the land was by placing value in a slew of bowl games (four usually) along with a championship game played between the two best teams where the champion site rotated between four BCS Bowl sites.

This was how business was done 1998-2014.

What can we now expect from 2014-2026?

Ask and you shall receive. Those of you who have spent year after year beseeching the powers that be to devise a playoff system in College Football. 2014 you now get your wish! In essence whosoever shall be deemed the top four teams in the country shall meet in a semi-final format. The #1 seed will face off against a #4 seed and the #2 seed will battle the #3 ranked team.

As Jim More might say, "Playoffs....Playoffs? Playoffs!"

There will be 13 people who shall rank the Top 25 teams in college football by committee at the start of midseason and then determine the Top Four seeds at seasons end.We all know how long and arduous the whole process of knocking out 34 bowl games in two and a half weeks. In prior years whoever the last two teams were to be determined to have the best record would meet in a BCS Championship game to determine a champion. 

Hosting Rotational Parties:

What if I were to tell you that the feature spots of the Semi Finals games were to be played on a rotational basis New Years Eve or New Years Day? That which you know as the Cotton, Peach, Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, or Orange Bowl will now be the site of these determining matchups.

This years Semi-Finals matchup shall be in Pasadena, Ca. and New Orleans on New Years Day before the National Championship shall be played January 12th 2015.

Each year the 4 team seedings and matches shall switch off amongst the Bowls mentioned to end or welcome a new year. The National Championship Game shall then be played one week after the semis. Interested parties wanting to host the national championship game can do by submitting a bid. After Texas 2015 Arizona will host the 2016 game followed by Tampa Bay in 2017.

In keeping with the rotation for each year's semifinals hosts think Rose and Sugar, Orange and Cotton, also Peach and Fiesta.

Of interest now with this new tradition within the college football genre. Each of these games shall be played within a 36 hour time period in back-to-back-to-back fashion.

We mentioned the Selection Committee of 13 a few moments ago. Some of these names you will indeed recognize:

Selection Committee:

1. Tyrone Willingham (former Coach)

2. Barry Alvarez (Wisconsin AD)

3. Archie Manning (former NFL QB)

4. Condoleeza Rice (former Secretary Of State)

5. Tom Osborne (former Coach/AD)

6. Jeff Long (Arkansas AD)

7. Pat Haden (USC AD)

8. Mike Tranghese (former Big East Commissioner)

9. Oliver Luck (West Virginia AD)

10. Steve Wieberg (former USA TODAY sportswriter)

11. Dan Radakovich (Clemson AD)

12. Lt. Gen Mike Gould (former Air Force Academy Superintendent)

13. Tom Jernstedt (former NCAA EVP)

People who serve on the committee will range from former players to former coaches, former Administrative Directors, student athletes for a duration of three years. Basis for consideration to serve on this board is to exhibit integrity and to not be involved in the college game in any capacity mentioned heretofore.

Objectives Of The Committee:

The group of thirteen shall meet during the season to track and rank the Top 25 teams in the land and ultimately work toward determining the four team playoff. They will also decide which teams will get to play in the bowl games where the semi-finals games will not be in play.

When Does The Fun/Rankings Begin?

Tuesday October 28th the the selection committee will release their first top 25 ranking. Throughout the season new rankings shall be released until the regular season has come to a close.  Once all conference championship games have come to pass the committee picks and seeds the teams who will play in the semifinals. We will all find out by the good people over at ESPN!

What will the Criteria be?

Conference champions, strength of schedule, win-loss records and head-to-head results, among other factors. You also will not have automatic qualifiers for a team to advance into the Final Four. Imagine if all of your top qualifying teams came from one conference. There is no cap or limit on the number of teams of one conference that partake in this.

Happy New Year Each Year?

Not exactly. Think of this rotation as follows. If the Rose Bowl is one of the hosts for semi-final play then indeed the New Year will begin with the lather of playoff football. Otherwise two out of every three years the elimination games will now take place on New Years Eve.

The Price Of Determining A Champion

ESPN forked out 7.2 billion dollars for the right to cover this tournament of champions. In the event the format stays at four teams in the current 12 year pact that equates to a cost of 200 million dollars per game! That in itself can lead to alot of hangovers before and after the year has begun!

Will This New Playoff Format Be A Windfall For The Networks/Universities?

It is being conjectured that the BCS format for the title game brought home 180 million dollars. The new playoff format is expected to generate in the neighborhood of 600 million dollars! Not exactly chump change and a heck of an economic benefit for the host cities of these events. I am already imagining all the headaches for proposed cities to host the championship game.

Is There A Benefit To Using A Selection Committee Compared To Previous Methods?

No more computers, no more coaches, no more polls. Good enough, I'd say!

Is There Anything Special About The Title Game We Need To Know?

In the BCS period a team in the championship game was required to account for 17,500 of the schools tickets. Now for a semi-finals game and title match the numbers a school needs to remember for representation are 12,500 and 20,000. Put another way 32,500 seats and you're set if you get to  the Finals.

What About The Rose Bowl? Will Its Luster Be Lost In Non Title Years?

Where there is no semi-final in Pasadena you can continue to enjoy the tradition of a Big Ten and Pac 12 matchup on New Years Day!

With So Many Games To Monitor In The Course Of The Fall How Do The Committee Track Each Game?

Each member of the Selection Committee will be fitted with Ipads and special software thus be able to watch any game at any time at their leisure.

Is There A Possibility Of 'Home Field Advantage' Within A Semi-Final Game?

If you are a team like LSU or USC there's always that possibility. This is not to say however that a #1 team won't be protected from a home game. This could fare well if you're a #4 so to speak.

Okay, But What About A Potential Conflict Of Interest? What If We See A Manning Or A Luck In These Games?

As stated in the rules any committee member who gets compensated from a school or has a family member who does then that member must remove themselves from voting/deliberating on said school.

What Will The Cost Of A Playoff Game Cost Me?

Lets see, if you include traveling expenses and wanting to attend the semi-finals ticket pricing will be more costly than the face value amount of 800 dollars you see for Super Bowl tickets. Invest in a piggy bank and rob tghe 401K.

Will It Make A Difference Which Conferences Get The Final Nod?

The likelihood that teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, or SEC will have the higher visibility when the rankings come out each week is possible. There is however no limit to the number of teams from a conference.

So what have we learned about the fall?

• An elimination round now exists in college football.

• A selection committee will pick the top 25 teams in the country and seed the playoff.

• Six prestigious bowls will take place on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, broadcasted by ESPN.

• This year, the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will host the semifinals on New Year's Day.

• This year's National Championship Game will take place in North Texas.

No more polls, no more computers, no more coaches with pull. Now its 13 people who were a part of the process, thus removed.

If you are the kind of person inclined to go out and ring in the New Year the good news is that you can get your Bowl game fix on New Years Eve before the buzz of forgetfulness kicks in two out of three years. The third year you can plan on awakening to a blitzkrieg of action as your mind tries to focus and sober up.

This indeed is a money grab. There will be controversies, there will be interest, there will be excitement, confusion, but in the end there will be a definitive winner to determine a champion in the world of college football.

For January 12th 2015 can we see Texas A&M battle LSU? Home field advantage will now take on new meaning.

This is going to be fun. Hope this answered a few questions/suggestions/complaints.

Over And Out in Big D.

Mr. Will