Fiesta Bowl sucks...bring back this Historical beauty
Everyone has one, so I might as well post mine in public, to be on the record.
First I will give the scenario, then the reasons behind it. Note: this is an all encompassing, cure-all scenario. Meaning, some parts might be unrealistic in terms of money (i.e. getting away from all conference title games).
16 teams, all 11 conference winners receive automatic bids, 5 at large bids, seeded according to BCS standings (computers only, no polls), and most importantly, home games for the higher seeds until the title game, which will be played on a rotating yearly basis at the Rose, Cotton, and Sugar Bowl sites. Bye bye Fiesta, bye bye Orange. If you don’t still play in your original site, we don’t want you. Conference title games are unnecessary and banned, as each team will play a round-robin conference schedule, a la Pac-10. All teams play 12 games, just like now, with the usual extra added in for the Hawaii game whenever it’s wanted.
This is, in my opinion, the closest NCAA D1 football can come to it’s basketball brethren, which is the only thing that will calm all the people disagreeing over everything. You give every team that wins it’s conference a bid. No arguments there. With the round robin schedule, it’s simply black and white.
Now, some round robin examples, because all is not fair, and this will most definitely be the biggest argument against my playoff version. For example, the Big East only has 7 conference games, so they get to schedule 5 out of conference games. The SEC however, would be playing 11 conference games, so they only get one out of conference game. MAC plays all conference games with 13 teams, etc. Now this is a win-win to me for both ends of the spectrum here. No team lucks out like Northwestern did during their mid-90s runs escaping OSU. In my scenario, with computers only BCS (Strength of Schedule, Margin of Victory, Road Wins bonus, all added in), every team will now know they need to have as strong a schedule as possible, in case for whatever reason they don’t win their conference. The SEC, however, will say their conference is the strongest. Ok, great. You can play your 1-AA team and get that free win for your 12th game. The Big East will want to play quality opponents out of conference, because they know they need at least one, if not two high quality wins to garner one of the 5 at large spots if they don’t win their conference. These two scenarios apply to all the conferences. This will encourage, and more importantly, indirectly force, teams to start playing harder schedules. Would, say, Florida be upset because their OoC game will most likely be FSU? Sure, but dem da breaks. They will be rewarded hansomly by the computers for a ridiculously hard schedule, and can probably lose one game a year, if not two, and still get an at large bid.
Now that the schedule is out of the way, we need to kill the argument about the regular season not being meaningful with a playoff. How do we do that? Simple. The home games to the higher seeds leading up to the title game. Perfect example used against the institution of a playoff was this year with Bama/UF, or 2006 with Michigan/OSU. In my 16 team playoff, we know, for a fact, that the loser of those games is going to get an at large bid. However, going from the number 1 overall seed, not having to play a game on the road, to perhaps falling all the way to 4 or even 5 seed, with probably only one guaranteed home game, you’re telling me that game will still be meaningless? Ha. Yeah right. In fact, it makes the regular season even more meaningful. You start right up in your conference schedule, at the latest in week two, and every game is an elimination for your conference crown.
Next point up, letting in a team like the Sun Belt conference champ in an auto bid over say the third place team in a BCS conference, who ended up sixth in the at large bids and is left out. Is the Sun Belt team better than said 3rd place BCS conference team? Of course not. But you know what? It’s the exact same as basketball, and people don’t complain about that, because it is the situation presented before them. They accept it. A fan can only argue so much that their UGA 3 loss team is out of the tourney and FAU is in, with four losses of their own. The only certainty is if you win your conference, you are in. After that, jigs up. You are leaving your fate in the hands of the computers, and you better have played a tough schedule. And an FAU is not going to win the title, but what makes March Madness so great is the possibility an FAU would beat a 2-seed. You have to let everyone have an “equal” chance of winning the (no longer mythical) national title. Things still aren’t equal, because 4 out of the 5 at large spots every year will come from the BCS conferences. The Sun Belt, WAC, MAC, C-USA, and in most years the Mountain West, will all put only one team in the 16 team tourney. Sounds exactly logical and fair to me.
That’s my pitch. In essence, what this does is create a year long playoff, not unlike NCAA Baseball. First, you are in your regular season conference playoff (the regionals), then the actual playoff (the World Series). There are 5 spots left open each year which leaves more than enough room available. No arguments on “just missed conference title” teams like Texas Tech this year being left out. Also, all 4 remaining Independent teams have to join a conference. In an extra perfect, I get to do anything I want scenario, Western Kentucky drops to D-1AA, Army and Navy join the Sun Belt (hey, close enough!), and Notre Dame joins the Big East, along with Penn State. Big 10 becomes the Big Ten again, and the Big East gains instant credibility with Louisville and soon to be West Virginia killing all their clout.
One last thing-Percentage of D1 teams allowed to win the national title:
Basketball: 65/334 = 19.46%
Football: 16/119= 13.45%
This creates an even more inclusive club.
Done and DONE.
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