College Football

[NYGFan_Section208]

Expanding to 8 teams "might" make me watch a couple more games than I do now, which isn't a lot. Then again, it might not.

[Ramulous]

The only problem is that I am right..and all the rest of you are wrong...

[ramster]

For all of you who are wanting the Playoffs expanded from 4 teams to 8 (some even to 16 teams), please read this article and see if you still feel the same way........

http://www.espn.com/college-football/st ... e-blowouts

Ramster, couldn't one make a similar argument to reduce the NCAA basketball tourney to 32 teams or less?

No because Basketball Teams play 31 regular season games and players suffer far fewer injuries. Plus there is a much smaller gap between the 68 teams in Basketball.
Football plays only 10-11 games. Making teams play an additional 4 Games extends the two finalists seasons by 40 percent. Plus for sure 16 games diluted the importance of the regular conference season. For the SEC you might have 6-8 teams making the Chosen 16.....good grief.

Just no way I see 16 team playoffs in FBS but that’s just my opinion. You all can have your 16 teams if you think that is better. It will still end up Alabama vs Clemson just will take 4 games instead of 2.

[UCH21377]

But the lowest seeded team to win the basketball tourney wasNova in 85 as an 8 seed. I would argue the seedings are better researched now, and the concentration of power in fewer teams now than in85, and that nobody outside of the top 32 has a chance of winning it all. After all a 9 seed has never won. I would think the number 5 team in football would have a better chance in football than the number 33 in basketball

[UCH21377]

And Ramster I’m saying 8 not 16. The writer was arguing against expansion to 8

[TruePoint]

Sixteen is too many. Four is not enough. Eight is just right.

[Taylor Swift]

Almost sounds like tickets for the game against PC at the Dunk(mp).

[ATPTourFan]

Aren't you glad you didn't go up for the game this year? I sure am.

[reef]

Heard on radio that fans are tired of Bama Clemson 4 years in a row but I think it will be s great game

[ramster]

Alabama started out at a 7 point favorite. Betting moved that down to 5.5 points at most all betting houses by game-day.
Great game so far. Clemson leads 31-16 at halftime.

[TruePoint]

Maybe Clemson is just real good and them beating ND like a drum had more to do with them than how much ND deserved to be there?

[UCH21377]

Can’t argue with you anymore on that TP. Never thought Alabama could get dominated like that.

[reef]

Yeah hats off to Clemson never thought Bama would take a beat down like that

[Rhodymob05]

Clemson was the best team by FAR. Dominated every facet of the game. Good for Dabo Sweeney, seems like a really great guy and one hell of a coach.

[adam914]

Hard to not feel like the national championship is already decided for the next two years at least.

[ramster]

The two amazing catches by Justyn Ross, and to think he is only a Freshman AND he was the #1 Player in Alabama HS but chose Clemson over Alabama and Auburn.
Lawrence is at Clemson at least for the next two years before he can go in the NFL Draft.
Top QB in Country from St John Bosco, Bellflower CA Class of 2020 was at the game supporting Clemson. Could replace Lawrence.
Clemson dominated defensively even without their star, Dexter Lawrence, who failed the PED test.
Amazing domination by Clemson in all facets of the game. Finished 15-0!!!!
https://www.si.com/college-football/201 ... ip-alabama

[Rhodymob05]

College football is awesome, the bands, fans, everything. Can't wait to see what Rhody had packed next season. and against Virginia TEch!

[rjsuperfly66]

Hard to not feel like the national championship is already decided for the next two years at least.

I think that's why at this point talking about 8 team playoff is silly, at least to me -- I could talk myself into 6 because a 3 v 6, 4 v 5 set of games would probably bring some excitement to the playoff which has typically been dominated by Alabama and Clemson, assuming Alabama and Clemson don't slip up in one game and end up there. I also don't need to see Clemson as a 25 point favorite against a 8 seeded UCF. Waste of time. With more parity, 8 or 16 would be great.

[Ramulous]

Each conference should send their champion....anything less is elitism....

[adam914]

Hard to not feel like the national championship is already decided for the next two years at least.

I think that's why at this point talking about 8 team playoff is silly, at least to me -- I could talk myself into 6 because a 3 v 6, 4 v 5 set of games would probably bring some excitement to the playoff which has typically been dominated by Alabama and Clemson, assuming Alabama and Clemson don't slip up in one game and end up there. I also don't need to see Clemson as a 25 point favorite against a 8 seeded UCF. Waste of time. With more parity, 8 or 16 would be great.

See I actually look at it a little differently. At least if you add more teams and Clemson (or Alabama or whoever) is required to play more playoff type games there is at least more chances for them to trip up and get upset. Doesn't make it likely, but at least opens up more chances for it.

[rjsuperfly66]

Each conference should send their champion....anything less is elitism....

Maybe it is, but I don't need to see Alabama as a 40 point favorite demolish the Conference USA champion.
The top football programs invest too much money and have too much talent to even make it interesting.
If you do all conference champions, you are committing to a 16 team tournament, and it just seems like excess fluff.
We can very easily make the mock bracket:

1st
1) Alabama -36 vs 16) North Illinois
2) Clemson -34 vs 15) UAB
3) Notre Dame -10 vs 14) Appalachian St
4) Oklahoma -9 vs 13) Fresno St
5) Georgia -6 vs 12) Penn St
6) Ohio St -7 vs 11) LSU
7) Michigan -3 vs 10) Florida
8) UCF +5 vs 9) Washington

Quarters
1) Alabama -14 vs 9) Washington
2) Clemson -15 vs 7) Michigan
3) Notre Dame +5 vs 6) Ohio St
4) Oklahoma +1 vs 5) Georgia

Semis
1) Alabama -10 vs 5) Georgia
2) Clemson -11 vs 6) Ohio St

Final
1) Alabama +2 vs 2) Clemson

[steviep123]

Each conference should send their champion....anything less is elitism....

Maybe it is, but I don't need to see Alabama as a 40 point favorite demolish the Conference USA champion.
The top football programs invest too much money and have too much talent to even make it interesting.
If you do all conference champions, you are committing to a 16 team tournament, and it just seems like excess fluff.
We can very easily make the mock bracket:

1st
1) Alabama -36 vs 16) North Illinois
2) Clemson -34 vs 15) UAB
3) Notre Dame -10 vs 14) Appalachian St
4) Oklahoma -9 vs 13) Fresno St
5) Georgia -6 vs 12) Penn St
6) Ohio St -7 vs 11) LSU
7) Michigan -3 vs 10) Florida
8) UCF +5 vs 9) Washington

Quarters
1) Alabama -14 vs 9) Washington
2) Clemson -15 vs 7) Michigan
3) Notre Dame +5 vs 6) Ohio St
4) Oklahoma +1 vs 5) Georgia

Semis
1) Alabama -10 vs 5) Georgia
2) Clemson -11 vs 6) Ohio St

Final
1) Alabama +2 vs 2) Clemson

7) Michigan -3 vs 10) Florida actually happened in one of the bowls and Florida crushed them.

[RhowdyRam02]

Each conference should send their champion....anything less is elitism....

Anything less is the proper way to do it. This isn't basketball, you can't have a big tournament. 8 teams allows all the major conference champions in, gives space for a non-Power 5 team to compete, and still keeps the regular season important.

The FCS and CAA is actually the perfect example of what happens when the playoffs get too big. 6 of 12 teams got in, when half the league gets in the regular season becomes practically irrelevant.

[rjsuperfly66]

Each conference should send their champion....anything less is elitism....

Maybe it is, but I don't need to see Alabama as a 40 point favorite demolish the Conference USA champion.
The top football programs invest too much money and have too much talent to even make it interesting.
If you do all conference champions, you are committing to a 16 team tournament, and it just seems like excess fluff.
We can very easily make the mock bracket:

1st
1) Alabama -36 vs 16) North Illinois
2) Clemson -34 vs 15) UAB
3) Notre Dame -10 vs 14) Appalachian St
4) Oklahoma -9 vs 13) Fresno St
5) Georgia -6 vs 12) Penn St
6) Ohio St -7 vs 11) LSU
7) Michigan -3 vs 10) Florida
8) UCF +5 vs 9) Washington

Quarters
1) Alabama -14 vs 9) Washington
2) Clemson -15 vs 7) Michigan
3) Notre Dame +5 vs 6) Ohio St
4) Oklahoma +1 vs 5) Georgia

Semis
1) Alabama -10 vs 5) Georgia
2) Clemson -11 vs 6) Ohio St

Final
1) Alabama +2 vs 2) Clemson

7) Michigan -3 vs 10) Florida actually happened in one of the bowls and Florida crushed them.

I don’t count that - Michigan got wrecked but had two potential first round defenders sit out in addition to others. The only good thing about expanded playoff is more players caring. Too many guys sitting out from non-playoff teams makes it hard to gauge.

[Ramulous]

So all conferences not Power 5 get a crumb thrown to them....there are more FBS conferences than FCS conferences....so who gets the crumb...who decides?

Elitist attitude....FCS has 16 teams and they are college students too

[rjsuperfly66]

So all conferences not Power 5 get a crumb thrown to them....there are more FBS conferences than FCS conferences....so who gets the crumb...who decides?

Elitist attitude....FCS has 16 teams and they are college students too

I would argue it’s UCF with the elitist attitude — they are acting like they’ve been a college football power for the last century. When word of a potential two-for-one with Florida came out, they mocked it as “Why would anyone in our position accept that deal?” Think of that - UCF has had quite a two year run, but has not beaten anyone of consequence in a regular season game. They got an offer from a top 10 team and they are too good for it? And then they complain about out the scheduling is unfair to them.

[RhowdyRam02]

So all conferences not Power 5 get a crumb thrown to them....there are more FBS conferences than FCS conferences....so who gets the crumb...who decides?

Elitist attitude....FCS has 16 teams and they are college students too

And nobody cares about FCS outside of people affiliated with those schools, what's your point?

[Ramulous]

That the big boys can do 16 teams....think nobody would care about that?

[rjsuperfly66]

That the big boys can do 16 teams....think nobody would care about that?

The problem that I think the college football playoff faces is that while I think it draws attention from participating teams (and would continue that in an expanded form), I think it only draws some of the casual fans because of the fact there are often two "unstoppable" forces that should meet up in the Championship. I think even in an expanded format, it's going to suffer from the same challenge, as many fans pencil in the top few teams and therefore don't care a ton about the entirety of the product.

Further, it's impossible to compare the FCS playoff to the FBS playoff. Right, wrong, or indifferent, the FBS playoff is going to be built on the backs of the media platforms. Many games are going to be played in large NFL stadiums under expensive bowl banners that often require schools and fans to take on extraordinary ticket requests that if not fulfilled, they have to pay for. Look no further than UCONN in the Fiesta Bowl eating a $2 million loss on the event. So logistically, it's not just about what is fun or that it could be done.

Lastly, I'm not sure if people care that much more about a 16 team playoff than a 4 team playoff. I think many casual fans have faced fatigue that it's often inevitable that Alabama and Clemson will play each other and therefore don't pay much attention. I think that is what made the 2017 playoffs great, in that Alabama and Clemson played each other in the semis which left the door open for Oklahoma/Georgia, an extremely exciting Rose Bowl game. Even then, I think there was diminished excitement for the Championship, as people assumed it would be a Alabama blowout. The fans who attempted to watch were rewarded with a fantastic game.

If you look at the 2015, 2016, and 2018 playoff semifinal rounds, Alabama has outscored opponents 107-38, and Clemson has outscored opponents 98-20. Combined that is a margin of 24.5 points per game, and to make matters worse, 48 of those points came in two games, meaning the other four games saw the opposition score a combined 10 points versus 123 for Clemson and Alabama. And frankly if Clemson declines, one of the other powers (Ohio St, Oklahoma, etc) will rise. So while Florida players/fans or Michigan players/fans might feel more invested by being in the playoff than a useless Peach Bowl, are the casual fans? Are you or I going to go out of our way to watch those games? Or is it more of "there is nothing else on TV let me throw this on?" That's why I think 4 has been strong, and I'd only consider 6. I don't need to watch Alabama destroy an 8 seed by 25 points or a 16 seed by 40+.

Fans need to be realistic with themselves ... At the start of any season, there are really only 5 or 6 teams who can have realistic championship aspirations, and even those may be slim. The rest of the teams are just living in their world.

[Ramulous]

Any bowl game that doesn't lead to a next game in the national tournament chain is just an exhibition game.......so I discount attendance and quality of those bowl games...

The major problem is the money being paid by the exhibition bowls and the fact that the NCAA doesn't want to hurt those bowls...but they are hurt already....no one really watches them except die-hard fans and gamblers...

A 16 team playoff uses 15 bowl games to determine a championship and I think each of those is more watched and attended than any other bowl games under the current system but the last 3 bowl games for the 4 team playoff

I think the money for this scenario would be staggering....the TV and media rights would be the subject of feeding frenzy by the respective networks....

[rjsuperfly66]

A 16 team playoff uses 15 bowl games to determine a championship and I think each of those is more watched and attended than any other bowl games under the current system but the last 3 bowl games for the 4 team playoff

I think the money for this scenario would be staggering....the TV and media rights would be the subject of feeding frenzy by the respective networks....

See, if I were arguing for a 16-team playoff, that would not be my argument.
Alabama and Clemson fans apparently faced "travel fatigue" for this years NC because it was in San Francisco, now you want them to travel to four neutral sites in the span of a 4-6 weeks, and do it year after year after year?
The only way it works is if you have teams play at home for at least one round.
Ideally, you could keep the same setup, and have the 1st and 2nd rounds at home site.
You'll get the attendance and media money, without the travel cost or lukewarm attendance from the fans.
If you did it smart, maybe you start the season a few weeks earlier, so that the playoffs start the 1st week in December, and the teams eliminated in the first few rounds could theoretically participate in other "bowl" games.
But if you are telling an Alabama fan "Hey, lets go to New York for the Camping Bowl against Northern Illinois and you'll be a -36 point favorite," how many Alabama fans do you really think are traveling?
The Bowl system as is currently sucks, because it expanded too much.
They wanted to make sure every 6-6 team and their mother's made it to a Bowl game.
It should feel special to make a Bowl game, 6-6 is simply average.

[NYGFan_Section208]

the 'noles...turrrrrrblle.....

Florida State is hiring former Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt as an analyst to help fix its flailing defense, sources confirmed to ESPN's Edward Aschoff.

Florida State (1-1) allowed 1,040 yards in its first two games, relinquishing double-digit leads in both. The Seminoles rank 83rd in the country in yards per play allowed (5.56) and 124th in yards per game (520.0).

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... ve-analyst

[reef]

Willie Taggart is in way over his head at FSU

[NYGFan_Section208]

Yikes...they're worse than I thought. I saw the beginning, where they were getting pushed around all over the place...and the nd, where they couldn't figure out how to accept the gift of a half dozen 15 yard penalties on their last drive.

#Wereallyneedavomitemoji

[rambone 78]

Delaware loses to Pitt on a late score 17-14.

So is Pitt bad or Delaware pretty good?

Makes our loss to them look better...but losses are losses....almost doesn't count.

[NYGFan_Section208]

UConn...a 42 point 'dog.... Wow. That sounds like a fun watch.

[rambone 78]

UConn is going to get slaughtered.

[NYGFan_Section208]

by 42?

[rambone 78]

More….50 plus

[ramster]

It’s 42-0 with 6 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter!!

[TruePoint]

On the plus side, I did win a 10 team parlay with 5:1 odds:

Iowa
Michigan
Wisconsin
Texas A&M
Norte Dame
Michigan State
Clemson
Appalachian State
Ohio State
Auburn

[rambone 78]

Clemson was lucky, and you were lucky lol.

UConn covered against the UCF scrubs. That's for 208.

As bad as URI is, they would still beat UConn this season.

[reef]

Looks like a Money line parlay nice job TP

[TruePoint]

You got it, reef. If I hit a 10-teamer betting the lines I could retire. Still, nice little payday.

[ramster]

Amazing comeback by SMU as they were down 21 points in the 4th vs Tulsa.
SMU tied it up then won in OT.

[reef]

I watched the end of Duke v Pitt that was a good one too

[ramster]

AAC with 3 teams in the Top 25 this week

21 SMU (6-0) 24 285
22 Baylor (5-0) 260
23 Memphis (5-0) 189
24 Texas A&M (3-2) 165
25 Cincinnati (4-1) 118

The American Athletic Conference lost one team in the ranking but gained two.

Central Florida is unranked for the first time since the Knights moved into the Top 25 on Oct. 1, 2017. UCF saw its 19-game conference winning streak snapped by Cincinnati on Friday night. The 25th-ranked Bearcats were rewarded with their first ranking of the season. No. 23 Memphis also is ranked for the first time this season.

Memphis with a big game at Temple (4-1) today Memphis favored by 4.5
Cincinnati -7 at Houston today
SMU off
UCONN’s football disaster continues as the Leghumpers are +34 points playing at Tulane

[RhodyKyle]

Texas A&M is in the SEC

[rambone 78]

When you are a 34 point underdog to Tulane.....you suck.

Anybody read the Thursday weekly article on espn.com called the Bottom Ten?

UConn is a regular there, along with UMass. UConn is "U Can't" and UMass is "UMess".

Both programs belong back in the FCS.

[ramster]

Texas A&M is in the SEC

I was just showing the bottom 5 of which SMU, Memphis and Cincinnati are listed. I did not list the entire top 25. Of course Baylor is not in the AAC either.
Point is AAC has 3 teams in the Top 25.
I went back and made the 3 AAC teams red, can see how they might have been confusing

AAC Football kind of did with UConn football what some A10 fans want to do with Fordham for basketball. Addition by subtraction. Even though it was UConn’s idea, the Huskies are terrible in football. 34 point underdogs at Tulane today.

AAC is now in the drivers seat to either stay with 11 teams - 6 and 5 in divisions or listen to Schools interested in fulfilling that 12 spot.