No more auto bids? And more info on playoffs

[andrew]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...nces-bcs-bowls

Surprised there isn't a thread on this.

FBS conference commissioners have decided to eliminate designating conferences as "AQ" or "non-AQ" leagues, meaning any team in the top 10 of the final BCS standings would be eligible to play in a BCS bowl game, regardless of its conference affiliation.

In the ten years that the ACC has sent teams to the BCS Orange Bowl, five of those years the team was ranked outside of the top 10.

More highlights:

• Semifinal games would be determined by bowl affiliation of the top two teams (BCS bowls would be semifinal games)
• No special considerations for Rose Bowl
• National championship game would be given to the highest bidding city
• Chick-fil-a bowl may become a BCS bowl.

[olgoldandwhite]

+ If we go to a 4 team play off, they would probably take the top 4 bowl game winners. This could play into conferences getting multiple teams in the play offs.

[andrew]

Originally Posted by olgoldandwhite

+ If we go to a 4 team play off, they would probably take the top 4 bowl game winners. This could play into conferences getting multiple teams in the play offs.

No, the semifinals would be the top 4 BCS ranked teams and the BCS bowls would be the semifinal games.

[thwg]

Originally Posted by olgoldandwhite

+ If we go to a 4 team play off, they would probably take the top 4 bowl game winners. This could play into conferences getting multiple teams in the play offs.

If you had read the link, there will be two teams coming from two bowl games. Pac 12 wants conference winners only in the 4-team playoff. SEC doesn't want this for obvious reasons. Hopefully the other conferences side with the Pac 12.

[GTsapper]

All part of the master plan to let the SEC have 4 teams competing in a "playoff." Just let them turn semi-pro already.

[AE 87]

Originally Posted by GTsapper

All part of the master plan to let the SEC have 4 teams competing in a "playoff." Just let them turn semi-pro already.

Seriously. If the playoff isn't based, in part, on conference championships, then who cares?

Does anyone really think that MNC game settled Bama as the best team because they beat LSU last?

[GTCrew4b]

well I think Alabama was the best team last year, but I don't think they deserved to be called national champion.

[andrew]

Originally Posted by AE 87

Seriously. If the playoff isn't based, in part, on conference championships, then who cares?

Does anyone really think that MNC game settled Bama as the best team because they beat LSU last?

A champion isn't necessarily supposed to be the best team. The best team rarely wins in playoffs either. It's about crowning a champion. The MNC game did settle the question of the college football champion because that's the system we have right now. Fortunately it will be getting better.

[ThisIsAtlanta]

None of this is anything close to final yet. Conference commissioners took "two to seven" plans back to their conferences on friday, so there's still going to be a lot of debate and negotiation. This is just ONE of those plans.

[TechPreacher]

Originally Posted by andrew

A champion isn't necessarily supposed to be the best team. The best team rarely wins in playoffs either. It's about crowning a champion. The MNC game did settle the question of the college football champion because that's the system we have right now. Fortunately it will be getting better.

Exactly. That is the essence of this whole discussion. FBS is the only sport that tries to find the "best" team, instead of a champion. No other sport cares who the best team was; the champion is crowned on the field. Sometimes, "better" teams get left out of contention (ie. in MLB, when the 3rd place team in the AL East has a better record in a better division than the AL West division winner), yet there is never the controversy that exists in FBS. The only way this system will truly be fixed is if this great paradigm shift occurs with the fans and powers-that-be of FBS.