but I’m not sure. I’d love a playoff just because I like playoffs: baseball, hoops, curling, rock paper scissors. It’s all riveting actions. College football is the only sport in the US that doesn’t have a playoff system and I say why not? If anything it enhances the regular season because more teams are in the thick of things the last couple weeks than just 3 or 4 (or 28, if it’s 2007).

for almost identical reasons as Takimoto lists above, I’m not convinced that it would solve the problem.

I still think people are going to cry… the ninth tenth and eleventh team are going to piss and moan about how their schedule was tougher than someone else’s, and how ND gets an unfair advantage, and about east coast bias, and time zones, and blah, bah, blah. Bottom line is that the system is still relatively arbitrary.

Hmm… I’m not entirely sure about one thing. The top 4 teams would have nothing to gain, and everything to lose. A team can drop pretty hard over the span of 2-3 weeks.

Does anyone think that an 8 team playoff would really diminish the regular season? Even this year, you would at most be able to have one loss. And except for the years when the stars align and 2 undefeated teams stand, this works pretty much perfectly anyway.

Plus, it’s not like this is pros, where 1/3 of the teams get into the playoffs. Less than 7% would with an 8 team playoff.

On top of THAT, college football is so regional anyway, with so few intersectional games in a year, that if we want to crown a champion, then a playoff with at least 6 teams (BCS conference champions) is the only way to do this.

This excuse is a total joke.

Look at soccer. In Europe there are no playoffs (champions league is just to different, if that’s what you are thinking). Bring soccer over to the states and there has to be a playoff. American fans needs competition based closure, and so the MLS has a playoff. I think that just the idea of a playoff would curb a lot of complaining because the teams settle it on the field.

How does a playoff system diminish a season any more than having a good team at 7-3 know they’re probably doing no better than another trip to El Paso?

I’m greedy. I want a 16-team playoff, using the current BCS standings to create seeds with the first round played at the home field of the higher seed. If you’re #17, screw you. Your team shouldn’t have lost three games. Go enjoy the Motor City Bowl.

Go back to 11-game season is you have to. Everyone give up their non-conference win over Utah State or Arkansas State.

The larger pool takes a week longer, but only half the teams travel the first round. The larger pool also means more teams are angling for those last few spots late in the season – quite contrary to diminishing the regular season. Better yet, the 16-team bracket creates upset possibilities that would lift the entertainment value to a March Madness level. High entertainment value means big TV audiences and huge advertising revenue for the networks. Huge contracts ensue and everyone walks away happy.

Kind of a weird one but here is what I thought

Twelve Conferences = 12 Team playoff, conference champion goes to the play offs
Seeding is determined by some sort of RPI ranking (almost like the BCS rankings today) where the 4 bottom play in the “wildcard” rounds
Traditional bowl tie-ins can be used to create matchups for the field of 8 where appropriate
The National Championship game is rotated through sites just like it is done today

It has some issues as far as money and other things, but just an idea. It does give a lot of power to the smaller conferences but if the bigger conferences win their games…there is no issue

Teams love getting that week off. I think people would be all over a bye week for the top 4 teams.