Playoffs: Format

I don’t think anyone would argue that the BCS (and its predecessors, the Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance) were formed with the right intent – to match the two top teams to decide the national championship.  Unfortunately, the problems of deciding the national champion haven’t disappeared.  There is just as much controversy as there ever was, and with each new revelation of the bowls exploiting the schools and players they are suppose to be representing, fan outrage has grown.

Luckily that outrage (and greed) has led to a four team playoff.  Conference commissioners are expected to have a finalized model by late June or early July, so below I’ve proposed a championship format for the commissioners to consider and use.  Consider it a public service.  The format is based on the realistic decisions I believe they will, or should, make.  With that said and because realism is involved, this is by no means the best format for a playoff.  Later, I outline what I think the future will look like.

Four Team Playoff Format:

Using a selection criterion (discussed in the next post) the top four teams will be selected and seeded 1-4.  These four teams will play two semifinal games with semifinal #1 matching No. 1 vs. No. 4, and semifinal #2 matching No. 2 vs. No. 3.  Winners will then advance to the National Championship game.  No surprises here.  Easy, right?

The semifinal games will be hosted by bowl games.  Many of the formats now call for the use of the existing BCS bowls to host the semifinal games.  This is where I deviate.   Why in the hell are the existing BCS bowls entitled to the semifinals?  With the elimination of automatic qualifying (AQ) their direct tie-ins are severed, and after the Fiesta Bowl scandal it’s ridiculous to think they would even be considered.  But the powers that be are slow to change.  It’s unfortunate those running division 1-A football can’t break themselves from the broken bowl system, but if it must be continued to be used it will be open to everyone.  ALL BOWL GAMES will be eligible to bid on hosting two semifinal games over a four year period with the semifinals rotating between the four bowls each year until each has hosted two games.   Realistically, opening the bidding to everyone will most likely only add two more serious bowl contenders--the Capital One Bowl and the Cotton Bowl; however, over time, other bowls may become more feasible as they attract investors to help in the bidding process.  Below is an example of the rotation that could be seen with the four bowl award:

Season	Orange Bowl	Fiesta Bowl	Sugar Bowl	Rose Bowl
2014-2015	1 vs 4	2 vs 3	-	-
2015-2016	-	1 vs 4	2 vs 3	-
2016-2017	-	-	1 vs 4	2 vs 3
2017-2018	2 vs 3	-	-	1 vs 4

Future Format: 

I’m not convinced a four team playoff will capture the best teams year in and year out.  The Boise’s and the TCU’s rarely crack the top 4 in the current system and is one of the key arguments against the BCS.  With a move to the eight team format there’s no way dominate teams outside of the big six conferences can be left out. 

In an eight team format, the semifinals and National Championship will be set up the exact same way.  The addition of the quarterfinals and one special aspect is what will make most fans the happiest – the introduction of home field advantage.  Seeds 1-4 will host the quarterfinal games at their home sites.  This only further supports the argument for “the most important regular season of any college sport”.  What puts more emphasis on the regular season than the ability to host the first round of the playoffs at a team’s home stadium?  Imagine USC walking into the thunderous "Deaf Valley" at LSU or Florida finally leaving the state only to land in "The Big House" at Michigan.

The argument against adding more games is absurd.  The school Presidents and ADs can try and save face saying that a playoff will interfere with final exams, but the addition of a second game outside of today’s bowl schedule is completely feasible.  Conference championships are typically held the first weekend of December with the first bowl game approximately two weeks later.  Aren’t these kids preparing for their bowl games during this two week stretch?  C'mon...The first round of the playoffs would be held the first weekend of bowl games with the semifinal and final held concurrently with the current format (New Year’s Day and approximately 10 days later, respectively).  This is completely within the current timeframe of bowl schedules and there is absolutely no impact to exams or other curriculum that the current bowl schedule doesn’t already interfere with.

With the emphasis of the regular season maintained, potentially astronomical television rights, and the ridiculous sentiment of including a broken bowl system maintained, it’s illogical to think the eight team playoff was so easily dismissed…