Quix0te's bodacious proposal for a 32-team college football playoff

[Quix0te]

Here is a playoff format that more than triples the games for TV, gives every conference a seat at the table and does not extend the season by a single day.

Start the season on Week 0, something that has been proposed many times.

Expand the playoff to 32 teams with autobids for all four P4 champs and all five G5 champs. Seed the teams in the playoff as is done in March Madness, e.g., four #1 seeds, four #2 seeds, etc. Place the seeds in brackets that avoid repeat games to the greatest extent possible. Also, spread out teams from the same conference to the greatest extent possible.

Cancel all conference championship games.

“Rivalry Weekend” (Purdue vs Indiana, etc.) would then be the week before Thanksgiving. This is better for most colleges because the students are still on campus. These rivalries were played on the week before Thankgiving for many years until about 30 years ago.

Round One of an extravaganza of 16 games is then played over the 4-day Turkey Holiday.

Round Two of 8 games is the first weekend in December.

Round Three of 4 games is the second weekend in December.

Round Four of 2 games is the third weekend in December.

NC game is then Dec 31 or New Year’s Day.

 

[ghostoffatjack]

Would require a reduction of some regular season games which costs teams revenue. Very difficult to make this happen. 16 will be tough enough to fix in, IMHO!

 

[pboiler18]

No - the only thing slightly broken is how the Conference championship games are basically meaningless now outside of the golden ticket for winning.

Plenty of ways to fix that but the square heads in charge lack the forethought to make it happen.

I can’t complain about the playoff…we got 8 extra football games this year.

 

[Quix0te]

Would require a reduction of some regular season games which costs teams revenue. Very difficult to make this happen. 16 will be tough enough to fix in, IMHO!

No, there is no reduction in home games. The season simply starts one week earlier, in late August, and virtually all schools are in session at that time nowadays. This was done to fit in "Fall Break" which didn't exist back when you and I went to college.

Prior to 2009, the Old Oaken Bucket game was played on the week before Thanksgiving, not on Turkey weekend. Same is true for all other "big rivalry" games that ended the regular season. This was changed in 2009 to accommodate television. So my proposal simply moves it back to the way it was prior to 2009.

Currently, the week after Thanksgiving weekend is dedicated to conference championship games. My proposal abolishes all CCGs, so tht week can be utilized for playoffs.

Also, 16 is no harder than 12 with the current format. We now have 8 teams playing 4 games in that week, with 4 other teams getting byes. Simply eliminate the byes and you'd have 16 teams playing 8 games in the same week.

 

[TC4THREE]

Less. Not more. No more than 8 needed.

 

[Quix0te]

Less. Not more. No more than 8 needed.

Why not have an extravaganza like March Madness? Why not include a representative from every conference? There are certainly more than 8 teams capable of winning an NC. This year, 12 teams played in the playoff but clearly Bama, Miami and Ole Miss could have won it if they'd gotten in.

Right now we play nine meaningless conference championship games and then another 15-16 meaningless bowl games for teams that don't get into the playoff. Wouldn't a 32-team playoff with no CCGs and no bowl games make a more exciting end for the season?

 

[ghostoffatjack]

Allowing more games to a season is not reasonable with the number of injuries and portal quits on teams not going to the major bowls. Have to consider those and that is also why 16 would be tops.

 

[Quix0te]

Allowing more games to a season is not reasonable with the number of injuries and portal quits on teams not going to the major bowls. Have to consider those and that is also why 16 would be tops.

GOFJ, my plan results in far fewer post-season games. The current system includes 9 conference championship games, 4 first-round playoff games with 4 byes, 4 second-round playoff games, 2 third-round playoff games and an NC game, PLUS 35 totally meaningless bowl games outside of the playoff games. Thirty-five! Count them for yourself in the link below. The grand total is 55 post-season games with the current system.

With my 32-team playoff proposal, there are no conference championship games, no non-playoff bowl games, 16 first-round playoff games, 8 second-rd games, 4 third-rd games, 2 fourth-rd games and an NC game, total 31. And the last game is Jan 1, not Jan 20.

Another factor - the portal quits are kids who are not in the playoff. The playoff players stay with their teams. It's the players going to the Pop-Tarts Bowl who go portal or opt out for the NFL draft.

List of college bowl games - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org