Two Ways to Improve College Football Playoffs and the Pac-12

Pac-12 College Football Playoff

Recently, Larry Scott said it was “painful” that the Pac-12 once again missed College Football Playoffs. It’s a regular lament because it seems like the Pac-12 is always left out. Every college football fan, athlete or staffer knows that the Pac-12 is the odd one out. Washington and Oregon are the only teams from the Pac-12 to make it. Just 2 out of 24. Not good for the Pac-12.

So, the idea of expanding the college playoffs or bringing more parity to the selection process sounds perfect. First off, College Football Playoffs are a huge success. It was a long time coming and fans of all programs and divisions love it. With a four-team playoff, rather than selecting just two teams, college football moved to greater competition. From that, it was easier to conclude with the rightful champion.

Now, in its sixth year of success playoffs, the FBS needs to evolve further. For the sake of fans, collegiate programs and football itself.

Expand College Football Playoffs to Eight Teams

First off, the easiest way to increase the likelihood of crowning the just champion is to increase the sample size. Honestly, the NFL has 32 teams and still lets 12 into the playoffs. On the other hand, the FBS has 130 football programs (64 from Power-Five conferences) and only selects four. From such an abundant source of talent and diversity, the current four-team playoffs is restrictive.

Considering how slow and/or unwilling college football is to change, it’s best to keep an expansion small. Adjusting College Football Playoffs from four teams to six or eight is ideal. With six teams, the first and second-ranked teams are afforded a bye. Essentially, With eight teams, playoffs would be similar to the NCAA basketball tournament seeding. But, drastically smaller.

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With each set up, there would be three rounds of College Football Playoffs. This would work best for multiple reasons. First, as said above, expanding to more teams gives college football a clearer, less controversial champion. Additionally, it would add to revenue. As everyone knows, the NCAA loves money (even though it only pays college athletes more than a 550 dollar gift for bowl participation). So, instead of just three playoff games, there would be five to seven. Fundamentally doubling the amount of big-time matches and viewers.

Does Larry Scott support expansion?

Yes. But also no.

“I completely get that it would really release the pressure of being the one that’s been on the outside looking in the most in the first six years to say that automatically we’ve got our champion [in],” Scott said Thursday. “But we also have agreements through 2026 [the championship game] that I think will be very challenging for us to all agree how we’re going to amend and change.”

Larry Scott

Even though expanding playoffs to six or eight teams increases the odds the Pac-12 makes it in, Larry Scott needs a guarantee. He supports an eight team expansion only if each Power-Five conference champion gets a spot in the tournament. This makes sense for Scott because he wants to end the Pac-12’s embarrassing record of playoff participation.

However, he’s wrong in his idea. For two major reasons. First and foremost, expanding the playoffs automatically helps the Pac-12. It lowers the risk of a Pac-12 snub. Because the Pac-12 has little leverage in the situation, he can’t ask for more. Additionally, he’s misguided because mandating that each Power-Five conference champion gets in lowers college football parity. What if the overall competition of the ACC or Big Ten was significantly lower than Pac-12, SEC or Big 12? That hurts the playoff picture.

Granted, an eight-team playoff model like Ross Dellenger depicted would be extremely exciting. Five auto-bids, two at-large and one group of five sounds excellent. Nonetheless, greater freedom in selection creates a chance for greater competition.

Larry Scott refuses to give up the Rose Bowl

Also, of note, Larry Scott and the Pac-12 would be protective of the Rose Bowl. Yes, history is on his side. The Rose Bowl and the Pac-12 have over a century of history together. Nonetheless, Scott needs to be willing to change, to adapt and to give in order to gain. Yes, the Rose Bowl means a great deal for Pac-12 fans. It’s a monumental bowl game. With that being said, the audience would grow substantially if the Rose Bowl had greater competition. If the FBS combined the Rose Bowl, college football’s oldest bowl game, with playoffs each year, ratings and excitement would follow.

Yes, Scott and the Pac-12 have every right to be protective of the Rose Bowl. It’s ours. However, in order to increase the chance of a Pac-12 champion, the Pac-12 must be willing to sacrifice it’s most historic safety blanket. Keep in mind, there could also be a happy medium. If a Pac-12 team gets into the playoffs, they could get automatic entry into the Rose Bowl game. And if they missed the six or eight team playoff selection, they would sacrifice the Rose Bowl. It’s a risk, but one the Pac-12 needs to take.

Play at Least 10 Power-Five Opponents

In addition to Scott, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby also added his own idea. Bowlsby suggested a new requirement for College Football Playoff selection.

  • Each Power-Five team has to play at least ten Power-Five opponents

Excluding conference championship games, only Clemson and Oklahoma played nine, regular season, Power-Five opponents. Ohio State chose to play Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati, and the Miami Redhawks. Likewise, LSU scheduled Georgia Southern, Northwestern State, and Utah State. If they played one more Power-Five team, it’s completely possible they would have an additional loss.

In order to make College Football Playoffs, each team selected needs to have at least ten (excluding conference championships) games against Power-Five opponents. If 2018 Notre Dame can do it, any program should be able to.

Alabama vs. Clemson: How Each Team Can Win The National Championship

Alabama Clemson

Alabama vs. Clemson, Part IV. Sign me up. For the third time in the last four years, the final two teams standing are Alabama and Clemson. That should come as a surprise to no one because these two teams happen to have the two best coaches in Division I football, Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney. Both Alabama and Clemson come into the National Championship undefeated and motivated to add to their recent history of success. Both teams can win tonight and here’s how it can happen.

Alabama Can Win If…

Tua is Tua

  •  Tua Tagovailoa is the best quarterback that Nick Saban has ever coached at Alabama. The numbers speak for themselves. 3,671 yards and 41 touchdowns would have been good enough for the Heisman Trophy had it not been for Kyler Murray. That being said, Tua exacted his revenge on Murray as the lefty threw for 318 yards and 4 TDs to defeat Oklahoma in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. What Tua can do on a football field is special. He can make every throw, keep plays alive with his legs, and change the course of the game at any moment. If Tua is his usual self, it will be a long day for the Clemson Tigers.

Quinnen Williams Plays Like A Superstar

  • Clemson may have the depth at defensive line, but they don’t have Quinnen Williams. The Alabama defensive lineman has had a meteoric rise this past season as he became the best defensive lineman in the country. Williams accumulated 67 tackles, 8 sacks, and 18 tackles for loss. Williams is the best player on the field at all times and is currently projected to be taken in the top 3 of this year’s NFL Draft according to NBC Sports. If Williams wreaks havoc on the interior line, it will be a long night for Clemson.

Good Luck Stopping Alabama’s Pass Catchers

  • The best phrase to describe the Alabama receiving corp is “Pick your poison.” Seriously, this unit is a five-headed monster. It all starts with Jerry Jeudy, who was a first-team All-American and the Biletnikoff Award winner, which is awarded to the nation’s top receiver. After Jeudy, a quartet of talent awaits as Henry Ruggs III, Jaylen Waddle, Irv Smith Jr., and Devonta Smith all have over 6 touchdown catches each. You cannot stop this group. You can only hope to contain it.

Nick Saban Shows Why He’s the Greatest Coach Of All-Time

  • For my money, Nick Saban is the greatest coach of all-time. Although he’s tied with Bear Bryant for national championships with 6, Saban has won titles with two schools, which is why I give him the edge over Bryant. There’s a reason why Alabama is 55-3 since 2015 and are making their fourth straight appearance in the National Championship game. Saban and the Tide make little to no mistakes throughout the game. No one adjusts better at halftime than Saban. Look at last year as Saban inserted Tua in at quarterback over Jalen Hurts. Most coaches play checkers. Saban plays chess. If Saban throws his headset again, Clemson should give up on the spot.

Clemson Can Win If…

Trevor Lawrence Thrives Under Pressure

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence has drawn many comparisons to his idol, Peyton Manning. However, Lawrence has been described as “Peyton Manning, but a better runner.” That’s a lethal combination, and it very well is the winning formula for defeating Alabama. The true freshman took over as the starter for Kelly Bryant in September and hasn’t looked back since. Lawrence has thrown for 2,933 yards and 27 TDs to only 4 INTs. Without a doubt, Alabama will be the toughest defense that Lawrence has faced all season. If the freshman can limit the turnovers and convert on third downs, then Clemson keeps Tua off the field, which may be the difference in the end.

Clemson Defense Proves They’re The Better Unit

When asking the casual fan about the team with the better defense, one might assume that it’s Alabama because of their recent history of dominance. However, that’s not true this season. The Clemson Tigers defense is statistically better than the Alabama defense. Clemson is ranked 2nd in the country in total defense while Alabama ranks 13th. Alabama might have the best defensive player on the field in Quinnen Williams, but Clemson has the better defensive line. Even without Dexter Lawerence, Clemson still boasts two consensus All-Americans in Clelin Ferrell and Christian Wilkins. Add Austin Bryant and Albert Huggins into the mix, and the Tigers defensive line can disrupt Tua and the Alabama offense all night.

Trevor Lawrence via Getty Images

Travis Etienne Finds Success On The Ground

Alabama has depth in the backfield, but the best running back on the field wears orange and white. His name is Travis Etienne. The Clemson sophomore rushed for a jaw-dropping 1572 yards and 22 TDs this season. That’s 700 more yards than the leading Alabama running back. Plus, Clemson has three running backs that average over 7 yards per carry while Alabama has none. If Etienne find success on the ground, then it will open up the offense and put less pressure on Trevor Lawrence

The Clemson Coaching Staff Orchestrates The Game Of Their Lives

Nick Saban is in a league of his own, which is why it’s going to take a team effort from the Clemson coaching staff to defeat Goliath. There is a reason why Brett Venables is one of the highest paid assistants in college football. Venables is the best defensive coordinator in Division I, and he’s worth every penny. Venables’ defense ranked second in total defense and provided the anchor for this undefeated team. However, it all starts at the top for the Tigers. Their success is credited to their energetic and passionate head coach who is the only man to ever defeat Nick Saban in the National Championship. That coach is Dabo Swinney. Swinney has turned Clemson from an average team to a national powerhouse during his tenure. If there’s one coach who could disrupt the Alabama dynasty, it’s Dabo.

Alabama vs. Clemson. Tua vs. Trevor. Saban vs. Dabo. This is the heavyweight fight that college football fans deserve.

Read Up: College Football Playoff Ponzi Scheme

College Football overhaul? FOX Sports Joel Klatt has recommendations

College Football needs reform, and while there are insane ideas floating around the sports world, someone actually came up with a legitimate set of recommendations.

FOX Sports’ analyst Joel Klatt has made some very colorful analysis in his career as a sports personality, however, he had some ideas recently about reform in college football that piqued some interest. I think we can all agree that with how long it takes games due to the always changing and arbitrary rules, to defining parameters for teams to be considered for the College Football Playoff, things have to change, and perhaps it’s time for the NCAA to start listening before it’s too late.

Lucky for the NCAA, Joel Klatt created a hypothetical set of recommendations that should not be overlooked.

  1. Get rid of divisions
  2. Everyone plays the same number of league games
  3. Must win the conference to compete for the National Championship
  4. Move ineligible downfield barrier to one yard  instead of three
  5. Give players their name and likeness back
  6. Notre Dame must join a conference
  7. The clock does not stop for first downs until the last two minutes of each half
  8. Two categories of targeting:
    1. Penalty, no ejection;
    2. Ejection
  9. Must play a true road game in the non-conference
  10. Open transfer if coach leaves

Here are Klatt’s Tweets:

I think we can all agree that several of these things do need to happen, although, I’m not sold on getting rid of divisions. For example, when a conference like the SEC has 14 teams it’s logistically impossible to play every single opponent in a season,  and have a bye week unless the season is expanded. For a conference that seems to be in no hurry to expand like the Big 12, expanding the season makes no sense, and adding extra bye weeks to accommodate the schedules of other conferences would hurt business. Moreover, this would make Klatt’s second point impossible, because how can a conference with 10 teams play the same number of league games as the SEC?

All things considered, I think Klatt’s recommendations on reform in college football are certainly steps in the right direction to improve competition.

One point I am in complete agreement on, however, is giving players their name and likeness back. Logistically, allowing “pay for play” is impossible, as schools such as Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, and USC would have the resources to pay players, thus making them more desirable programs that could open a nightmare scenario of antitrust lawsuits throughout college football.

In 2017, the NCAA agreed to a settlement that paid $208 million to student-athletes who claimed that their scholarships were illegally capped. Although the NCAA continues to fight cases involving pay-for-play, if the purpose of college is to promote education, then student-athletes should be encouraged to be enterprising. While I think there should be some stipulations, like mandatory business classes and networking events for student-athletes to put the mechanisms in place in controlled environments so that people aren’t taking advantage of their entrepreneurial endeavors, this could help mitigate the NCAA’s ever-growing problem involving paying student-athletes.

Sure, Klatt’s recommendations are based on the hypothetical idea of a “College Football Commissioner,” but these recommendations are certainly something NCAA President Mark Emmert ought to take a serious look at.

 

Want More? Check Out: NFL Draft: Why a Team May Take a Chance and Draft Kyler Murray

Schedules Make it Easy For the SEC to Make the College Football Playoff

College Football Playoffs Schedule Scam

Schedules are the biggest scam in college football. The College Football Playoff Ponzi scheme, and the SEC is Bernie Madoff, same as the BCS was. All the Power 5 conferences do the work, but the SEC collects the rewards. The SEC (Bama in particular) deserves credit for winning the tournament, but often as a whole conference is severely overrated. When the CFB Playoff was formed we were told teams would be ranked based upon schedule quality and quality of wins over being undefeated. This has not been true. The curtain has to be lifted so fans can watch the season with open eyes. Isn’t it time that fans get the games we want to see and the undeniable four best teams in the playoff games? We are all being had by ridiculous schedules that manipulate who makes it to the playoff. Teams only get 12 guaranteed games per season. So why on earth should teams be rewarded for playing 3 non-competitive non-conference games per year?? Nobody really wants to pay to leave games at halftime. In 2018, Alabama and Georgia are were top 5 teams but were in the top 10 for easiest non-conference schedules. As fans, we spend our time, hard earned money, and devote our Fall lives to college football. We should we never waste an entire Saturday watching bad games!

College Football Committee Can’t Do Its Job Properly

The notion that the College Football Playoff Committee can accurately and fairly decipher who the top four teams in the country are is outrageous. How can they, when these schedules give us so few quality common opponents between conferences? This is the committee’s fault though. We will NEVER see schedules get better until the committee punishes teams that don’t win their conference or play competitive non-conference games. As a college football fan, you should absolutely be frustrated with the quality of the games we get. I’m assuming that all of you are like me and love college football and enjoy watching good games and debating other fans. If that’s the case, there is no way to be ok with a team that didn’t win their conference and played a bad non-conference schedule to be in the top 4.

The committee has essentially said that it is acceptable to lose your conference, play eight conference games while playing three non-power 5 teams, including an FCS team and get into the playoffs. Do not give me the “everybody does it” line. Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Notre Dame, USC, Miami, Cal, and others managed to schedule at least 2 power five non-conference games. That means everyone else can do it as well.

I’ve long said that college football schedules are consistently manipulated by the SEC and ACC, who have an advantage. Pac-12, Big XII, and Big 10 teams have a significantly smaller margin for error when trying to compete for championships. Let me explain how this works by using this table:

College Football Playoffs Ponzi Scheme

You can clearly see why the ACC and SEC have a win-loss advantage. Notice that there is a seven-loss difference between the ACC/SEC, and Big 10 which all have 14 teams. Seven more losses mean an additional game for each team in the BIG 10 against a team that could beat you. Imagine how easy the path to the championship would be if Ohio State could sub out that Iowa game for Mercer. Now, let’s compare those numbers to the Pac-12, which has 12 teams and 54 total conference losses. That is only two losses less than the ACC and SEC, despite having two more teams.

If that was too complicated, an easier way to explain all this is by looking at the average number of losses per team in each conference. SEC and ACC teams will lose a half-game less than all other conferences.

In theory, all this would not be a big deal if the conferences made up for that conference game with a competitive non-conference game. However, in most cases that is NOT what happens.

One of the biggest conversations when comparing teams is comparing how many losses each team has. However, all wins are not created equal. I’ve heard the argument that the Big XII, Big 10, and Pac-12 “play themselves out” of the playoffs by losing too much in-conference. The reality is playing 8 conference games instead of 9 conference games creates a systematic advantage for the SEC and ACC.

Now that we are all on the same page regarding wins and losses, I’ll explain the manipulation of the committee rankings. The current formula to manipulate your way into the playoffs is: play eight conference games, one mandated power 5 team, two non-competitive FBS games, and 1 FCS team. That FCS game often presents itself in November. It is commonly referred to as a “November Cupcake,” which is a glorified bye week against teams like Mercer, Citadel, or Wofford. The “November Cupcake” is an important component for highly regarded SEC teams to move up in the playoffs because of timing. When other conferences have ranked matchups in November, SEC teams play “November Cupcakes.” This gives them an opportunity to move up the rankings without playing a competitive game, and one of the teams from the other conference has to lose. This is the formula how you consistently end up with top 10 matchups amongst SEC teams late in the season, which makes the conference appear stronger.

Even Nick Saban (Alabama’s Head Coach) agrees with me when asked about college schedules and teams being deserving of playoff bids:

“I think it’s subjective to some degree because we don’t all play each other. I could get into my theory on this. I personally want to play all Power 5 conference teams every week. I know people say we played Mercer College and we couldn’t get a game with anybody else. All right so…  If we all had to play twelve teams from the Power 5 conferences, we would have a better feel for which conferences were the strongest and there would be more crossover play… and maybe even play more conference games.  Fans would like it better. You guys [the media] would like it better. You’d have a better inventory to show people. We wouldn’t have these games that people don’t really want to come to, players don’t really want to play in. And I think you’d have a better idea of who the best conferences and the best teams were.”

-Nick Saban on “College Football Playoff Selection Show” (December 3, 2017)

The Solution

  1. Change the college football playoffs to eight teams.
  2. Take the five power five champions and three at-large teams.
  3. One of the at-large teams has to be the highest ranked non-power 5 team.

There are two solutions to solve the scheduling imbalance and increase the greatness of college football for fans:

  1. 9 conference games, two power 5 games, and one FBS non-power 5 game to continue to give money to the little guys.
  2. 8 conference games, two power 5 games, one FBS non-power 5 game, and one FCS game to continue to give money to the little guys.

Both of these options would give the fans a much better game experience and generate more revenue for athletic departments. Teams would be more encouraged to schedule home and home non-conference games against good teams. This would make selling season tickets much easier

This would also alleviate a lot of the nonsense discussion about resumes and strength of conferences when choosing playoff teams. The committee would have more data because teams would have played more common opponents. My plan would cause television ratings and revenue increases as well. That’s more money for the NCAA, coaches, sponsors, and athletic departments to keep out of the hands of the players. And isn’t that the #1 goal of college football?

Am I Wrighster or am I wrong?