BCS

Question

I am in the small minority, but I am sad to see it go.

Repeatedly, they crowned the best team in the country the National Champion - of course, as Americans, we complained about that. But I was cool with it. The best team should be the National Champion and the fact that the BCS delivered on that year-after-year is not something to be upset about.

I am not looking forward to the 2007 Giants of the next playoff winning it all and crowning a team that is, clearly, not the best the National Champion. Playoffs crown the teams that get hot, oftentimes.

As parity has become more apparent in CFB, the BCS has gotten only better and delivered some great games. I will miss those games. I will miss the BCS.

RJSizzle · Answer

I am in the small minority, but I am sad to see it go.

Repeatedly, they crowned the best team in the country the National Champion - of course, as Americans, we complained about that. But I was cool with it. The best team should be the National Champion and the fact that the BCS delivered on that year-after-year is not something to be upset about.

I am not looking forward to the 2007 Giants of the next playoff winning it all and crowning a team that is, clearly, not the best the National Champion. Playoffs crown the teams that get hot, oftentimes.

As parity has become more apparent in CFB, the BCS has gotten only better and delivered some great games. I will miss those games. I will miss the BCS.

mzoufan · Answer

I completely agree RJS.Those that point to NCAAB as the ideal model are forgetting about the limited field of 4 with the "new" system.  I truly believe the controversy will be even greater.  What makes the NCAAB tourney so awesome can only accomplished with the larger field.  Expanding football even to a field of 8 will be a challenge.

Skipster · Answer

eventually, as the lure of more cash becomes irresistible, they will expand the playoffs to more teams--making the regular season less and less interesting as has been the case in CBB. Also, the way the teams will be picked is highly suspect in my mind: a star chamber of hacks which includes sitting ADs who have a financial incentive to vote their own team--and/or, due to revenue sharing in conferences, another team in their conference.

The BCS was not flawless, but no system can be. It got it right most of the time.

There will come a time if we continue down this path when we see teams "resting" starters because they will be in playoffs win or lose. Happens yearly in the pros. It will be a sad day for true fans of the sport.

shiek · Answer

Appreciate the views but vehemently disagree.   There r flaws in all systems but favor a playoff for the following:1.  The playoff will lessen the impact of regular season but can the regular season get any cheaper than seeing alabama play east nobody state in the 11th week of the season.  In my view, The remote chance of Alabama resting their starters against auburn is far better than rewarding these cupcake games that strangely occur at end of season.2.  Saying the BCS got it right only means that they placed the subjective #1 against #2.   This goes against every fiber of American sport, which compels the champion to be decided on the field.   Contrary to the 2007 giants, however, the nfl has done a good job of crowning the best, dominant team.  Look at last year.  Every1 thought the broncos were dominant but does a team that botches a prevent defense so badly or gas a playoff choke as qb really deserve to be champs3.   Most importantly, people fail to consider the excitement a playoff would generate.   Just look at ncaa bball where u have a sport not nearly as popular as football but w the tournament rivals the mythical national championship.

Skipster · Answer

shiek, no one said there would not be some benefits to having a playoff, but rather that the risks would possibly outweigh the benefits.

with regard to your point #1, teams will continue to book non-conference games against inferior foes. The playoff will not change that. If you think it will, please elucidate.

#2 all your examples are from the NFL which is apple to bananas at best.

#3 While I agree that the playoff would create excite for 3 games (2 semis and a final), the fear is that the rest of the season will become meaningless. I don't want CFB to become like CBB. I haven't watched a regular CBB in more than a decade. What's the point? I'll just watch the last few games of the tournament and call it a year.

shiek · Answer

1. The big argument against playoff is that it cheapens reg season. My point is the regular season is already significantly cheapened w incentives to schedule cream puff non conference. Point out a game on Fsu, auburn, alab , mich. St schedule where they would not have tried cuz they knew they would be in a playoff. W a playoff u could theoretically penalize teams for sch cream puffs

2. Nfl was brought up cuz sizzle mentioned it and cuz it's the perfect contrast to BCS. In my view nfl has done just as well in determining champ as mythical nat champ in fball. More importantly, the excitement the nfl playoffs Super Bowl creates over a month is far more than the natl championship game

3. I think that has more to do w the sport/teams u follow and less to do w the system

Ktrain · Answer

College football is the only sport I know of where you can win all your games and not even compete in the championship game. There is something wrong with that. Benefactors of weak schedules get weeded out in playoffs but at least they have the opportunity to compete. Hard to say the BCS got it right when undefeated Utah and Boise State teams didn&#39;t even have opportunities to win it all.

Ace_poopoo · Answer

I am also amongst those that will miss the BCS. This is a gambling forum, all I see is people whining and complaining for a change because they are down money. The majority will always be down because of the vig.

People complain. Period. December 31st/January 1st on any given year? "yay it's a NEW year, no more 2013". COMPLAIN COMPLAIN COMPLAIN.

The BCS was a great system by all means. OF COURSE you are not going to get a chance for going undefeated in the MAC or the Sun Belt! We have over 120 teams! But the teams that do have a chance will play their hearts out and run up the scores. Teams like Oregon and FSU ran up the scores all season while they could. Fail to do so and it's over. Every week counts.

Now look at Alabama. They were so far ahead #1 and so "automatically in if undefeated" that they slacked off against teams like Colorado State and Georgia State. Style points did not matter. Alabama football was not interesting. If they're down a game or in a close game, it's only a matter of time before they "start playing" and win by a little bit. A team like Oregon down or close, and it's still interesting to see IF THEY WILL WIN BY 28.

This new "playoff format" will absolutely ruin college football. We will have more teams at the top winning by 20-30 points less than what they're supposed to win by and closer to the spreads. More resting starters towards the end of the season.

There will be less room for angles and the juice will have a bigger effect overall.

Ace_poopoo · Answer

You&#x27;re telling me an undefeated team in the WAC that played ONE real game all season deserved to be in the title game??? They LOST to TCU in the Bowm game that year. OU or Florida would have ROLLED Boise by 50 in 2008.

Ace_poopoo · Answer

Let me also be the first to predict that after the 4-team playoffs (and people losing money), more people will b*tch about it not being a 6-team or 8-team playoff. There will be more controversies.

The "best team" in the country will never win 100% of the hypothetical games against its competition. We are not determining the winner on paper.

If Alabama, Auburn and FSU played a 6-game Round-Robin against one another (2 games each match up), who would score the most points? I would say FSU simply because of that embarrassment against OU that brings down the SEC as a whole and the fact that Auburn lucked its way into the NCG.

The BCS did not fail us.

FSU came back against Auburn after making half-time adjustments. Now if FSU were up 21-3, I doubt Auburn even gets close in the course of the game.

Ktrain · Answer

No, what I am saying is that the system is flawed when a team can go undefeated and not even have a chance to play for a championship. Can you name me any other sport in which that is possible? If someone reaches the playoffs or title game due to a weak schedule then it will be exposed and dealt with at that time. But to deny an undefeated team any chance at even playing for a title is the result of a flawed system. Refer back to the OP and read where he talks about the system delivering year and year and how it mostly got the championship game right. I disagree. I think the system is flawed an is extremely subjective. In no other sport does the team not control it&#x27;s own destiny. There are roughly 120 FBS football teams and realistically about half have a legit shot at a national title under the BCS system and that is being generous.

Ktrain · Answer

Another flaw in the system is the fact that there is any voting involved in determining a teams opportunity for post season success. The fact that there is a preseason poll is a joke. What happened in the previous year should have absolutely zero impact on what happens for the current years title. Each season should be judged in a vacuum independent of the results of the previous year. The Raven's, Heat, Red Sox, Blackhawks, and Louisville Cardinals don't start off the next season with an added advantage because of previous years so why should Alabama?

The BCS is a joke and doesn't provide an equal opportunity for all teams to control their own destiny. Even all the other levels of college football level the playing field for all teams. Win your conference, make the playoffs, advance and potentially win a title. It's not: go undefeated and hope someone else loses so you might then be voted into a specific spot against a team that doesn't have to adhere to the same criteria because they might have a bigger fan base, more money, or more voter influence.

Ace_poopoo · Answer

K-train: that&#x27;s the name of the game. Do you honestly believe an undefeated team like Northern Illinois would have a PRAYER at keeping it a game against a 1-loss team from an AQ conference? Be honest now. Or are you just complaining? It&#x27;s been proven year after year in the bowl games that inferior conferences simply don&#x27;t matchup against bigger schools. Yes there are a lot of outside variable, money, fan base, recruiting, scholarships, heck even the climate of the team&#x27;s location. If you were a 5-star athlete, would you go play for Florida State in warn Tallahassee with a shot at the title? Or would you go play for an "undefeated" mid-west school who lost it&#x27;s Bowl game the year before?It&#x27;s very simple: run up the scores, win Bowl game against decent conpetition, and maybe in a year or two you will have better athletes and a shot at the title.

Ktrain · Answer

Do I think Northern Illinois would win? No. Does that not mean they deserve the chance to have an opportunity. I&#x27;m sure there were plenty of people that thought Boise State wouldn&#x27;t have beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl or Utah wouldn&#x27;t beat Bama in the Sugar Bowl. They did, in part, because they were given the opportunity. With your way of thinking at least half of the teams in division one football don&#x27;t even get a shot at a national title. The second the playing field isn&#x27;t level for all teams to have an equal shot at a championship, the system is then flawed. I&#x27;m not complaining, I&#x27;m just telling the truth. You can&#x27;t honestly think that this system is the best possible one. You and I can both think that undefeated non BCS conference teams can&#x27;t beat one loss or undefeated BCS teams all we want, hell the whole country can think it. However, until they play it out, no one will have any idea as to what the truth is. Some of sports greatest moments consist of teams achieving the unthinkable and proving everyone wrong. Plenty of upsets through out history to back this up. Please feel free to try and justify how a team can go undefeated and not even have a chance to play for a championship. Any answer you come up with will be subjective. Every other sport has an objective way of solving their championship. Every team or individual starts out the season knowing EXACTLY what they have to accomplish to win a title. Division 1 CFB is the only sport that I can think of that is subjectively decided. If you think that is an adequate way to decide a champion than we will never reach an understanding.

Ktrain · Answer

I didn&#x27;t know national titles were handed out over a two or three year span of records? Last I checked national titles are handed out on a yearly basis. Which means whatever happened the prior years should have zero relevance on that years record. If that&#x27;s the case than why didn&#x27;t we carry over Auburn&#x27;s record from last season over to this season? BCS is a crap system which prevented at least half the teams it governed from even having a shot at winning the title, no matter how well they performed. It&#x27;s only your opinion that it matched up the best teams in the country, that&#x27;s all. There is no fact in your statement that it got the right match up a majority of the time.

Chimpo · Answer

I guess you hate baseball&#x27;s playoff too then.It s usually a team that got hot at the end of the season wins the world series.  World cup as well... Heck , isn &#x27;t most of sports ?  Peak at the right time wins it all?

Michfan15 · Answer

So had the system not changed we would have had Oregon/Bama for the NC, which can still happen minus all the bs and arguments for leaving out an undefeated FSU which would have created endless banter on ESPN. I guess the only real downgrade is the de-emphasis on the top tier bowls. We have great matchups: MSU/Baylor, Miss St/GT, TCU/Ole Miss but they definitely don't have the same prestige or build up as they did in the BCS era.

DrStrangelove · Answer

I can&#x27;t believe how people are already complaining about the playoff format before a game has even been played

ksuwins · Answer

Couldn&#x27;t agree more, RJS.  We were fine with the BCS.Hated to see it go...hated it worse as details of the new system came out.  The committee is a joke, and we&#x27;re stuck with this sh!t indefinitely.Combo the BCS with a playoff and nix the committee  Members of the committee can go back to watching their one game a week (if that much).  And the one game they watch is either their alma mater or the game of the university that cuts their paycheck.  Wow, that makes them worthy.

1bajalife · Answer

RJSizzle sighting Good to see you bro

jimmydafreak · Answer

I really like the 4-team playoff. I just think the 4 teams should be selected via the BCS formula, rather than some stooges sucking up a huge paycheck/benefits for something 5 drunk guys at a bar could do.

This committee has zero credibility as long as has a wholly unqualified professional liar like Condoleezza Rice on it.

Ktrain · Answer

[Quote: Originally Posted by jimmydafreak]  I really like the 4-team playoff.  I just think the 4 teams should be selected via the BCS formula, rather than some stooges sucking up a huge paycheck/benefits for something 5 drunk guys at a bar could do.&#xD;&#xA;This committee has zero credibility as long as has a wholly unqualified professional liar like Condoleezza Rice on it.&#xD;&#xA;   [/Quote]I agree the committee is terrible and I think the playoff should be pushed out to eight teams. Power fiver conference champs automatically qualify with three at large spots. There has to be some inclusion rule for non power five teams too. Although the criteria would have to be more stringent than what Boise St. achieved this year because they wouldn&#x27;t be involved in an eight team playoff this year. The goal of this whole process should be to make it as objective as possible. Having a committee is the complete opposite of that.

wmi799 · Answer

[Quote: Originally Posted by jimmydafreak]  I really like the 4-team playoff.  I just think the 4 teams should be selected via the BCS formula, rather than some stooges sucking up a huge paycheck/benefits for something 5 drunk guys at a bar could do.&#xD;&#xA;This committee has zero credibility as long as has a wholly unqualified professional liar like Condoleezza Rice on it.&#xD;&#xA;   [/Quote]The BCS formula was worse

jebaum · Answer

I agree with Ktrain about NCAA shutting out smaller market teams. Boise St did play that Fiesta bowl game to an equally good unbeatenTCU, Why were they both shut out from playing a major conference power. Boise st did beat Oklahoma in 06 and that is the only top name power team they've ever been allowed to play in a bowl[Arizona teams are not top names]
Although Boise St has dropped off, TCU has gotten better and they now play in a major power conference. The best name team they've played in recent bowl history is Wisconsin.[they've won 7 of 10] Now you see Ohio st, a much bigger $ market team with a home loss to a bad Va Tech jump 2 places to make the playoffs over them.
The stench of money in the NCAA behaviour is overwhelming and they have the gall to talk about amateurism. All NCAA decisions are made with their eyes fixed firmly on the bottom line. They make the Olympic commnittee look clean, non profit my but.

Ktrain · Answer

It really comes down to objectivity and opportunity. CFB is the only sport I know of where you can theoretically win every game, even for consecutive seasons, and not have the opportunity to win a championship. That, in itself, is a travesty to the sport, let alone the subjectivity that comes with having a human element decide who is given an opportunity. Sorry for those who think the BCS or the playoff committee is the answer but it&#x27;s not and it&#x27;s a joke. My solution for now would be an eight team playoff with power five conference champions getting an auto bid and three at large bids. Figure out the most objective way to determine those spots BEFORE the season starts, not as the season goes along. This will help avoid teams being jumped in standings after winning games 55-3 or having two teams switch spots when neither plays.

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