Wetzel's Playoff Plan: Money Talks (Completely dismantles every phony Pro-BCS spin)

Yahoo! Sports ^ | 12-10-09 | Dan Wetzel

[sportutegrl]

No, it’s not. The system was invented by the SEC to promote the SEC. End of story.

Upset because SoCal never gets to play in the Sugar, sugar?

[TitansAFC]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/sfc/div2/sfcd2fs1.htm

You wouldn’t need to extend it to beyond the first or second week of January. A 16-team Tournament would take four weekends. A college program could get 10 regular season games if they so chose, and would still only play a MAXIMUM of 14 games - about the same as is played now. And the wouldn’t HAVE to schedule more regular season games if they couldn’t take the burden. Plus, you’re not asking EVERY school to play in the tournament, just sixteen teams, and then eight, and then four, and then two. And if college for some reason decided to have an NIT-type consolation set of Bowls, nothing would be stopping them.

Somehow, despite the fact that it is impossible, the other Divisions have found a way to make it work:

NCAA Division II football playoffs:
First Round
Saturday, Nov. 18
North Dakota State 31, Northwest Missouri State 17
Northwood, Mich. 28, Indiana, Pa. 0
Bloomsburg, Pa. 46, Saginaw Valley State, Mich. 32
Catawba, N.C. 28, West Georgia 24
Nebraska-Omaha 14, Pittsburg State, Kan. 3
Delta State, Miss. 49, Valdosta State, Ga. 12
Mesa State, Colo. 40, Northeastern State, Okla. 21
UC Davis 48, Chadron State, Neb. 10

Quarterfinals
Saturday, Nov. 25
Delta State, Miss. 20, Catawba, N.C. 14
Bloomsburg, Pa. 38, Northwood, Mich. 14
North Dakota St. 43, Nebraska-Omaha 21
UC Davis 62, Mesa State, Colo. 18

Semifinals
Saturday, Dec. 2
Delta St., Miss. 34, North Dakota State 16
UC Davis 48, Bloomsburg, Pa. 36

Championship
Saturday, Dec. 9
Braly Municipal Stadium, Florence, Ala.
Delta State, Miss. 63, Bloomsburg, Pa. 34

[ExTxMarine]

[You CANNOT extend the football season longer than it already is.]

Surely you jest!?! Used to be that ALL college games were OVER by Jan. 1st! Now, they are playing through Jan. 7th! Texas won’t play another game until Jan 7th! You telling me they can’t play a game each week from now to the 7th? (16 teams = 4 weeks of football).

We are not talking about extending ANYTHING.

[ExTxMarine]

[The problem is these aren’t pros. They are students and for the most part still kids.]

Exactly, what does that have to do with this argument? That’s just a straw-man to the bigger issue.

[ExTxMarine]

I could get along with that too, but then there will be years where Conference Champions that are NOT in the picture, and I think that would be just as unfair as the current BCS system.

Sixteen teams allows every Conference Champion and four at-large teams to play.

[truthguy]

You are going to need therapy. The playoff system would destroy the Bowl System. These Bowl Games are in the Holidays and linked to many other events. How do you decouple the Rose Bowl from the Rose Parade and all the other festivities? The same is true for the Orange, Sugar, etc. All of these events are planned out in advance. Is someone going to make reservations to go to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans if their team is defeated? I attended the Sugar Bowl one year and the planning and logistics were huge. A week isn't time to do this. It's not going to happen. The college presidents and boards of trustees aren't going to permit it and they do have the final say. It doesn't matter to them what some sportscaster on ESPN or sportwriter in the local rag says. Money for the athletic programs is what this is about. Give it up and go root for the Titans and watch the NFL on Sundays.

[TitansAFC]

-—”Va Tech opens with Boise State next year.

Honestly Titans, you can’t seem to get anything right.”-—

Yup, forgot about Va. Tech. And if Boise State should happen to win out East, we can all enjoy the fact that they still won’t get a chance at the Title because their win wasn’t so much about Boise being a BCS Championship-calibur school, but more about the fact that Virginia Tech must not have been all that good in 2010. (See: Oregon, 2009) You think a win over Va Tech would give them any more boost than a win over Oregon? How could Va Tech be a big win for Boise if they’re the type of team who’d lose at home to a non-BCS Conference opponent?

That’s tomorrow’s headlines today for you.

Now, when do we get to see Texas, Alabama, Ohio State, or USC go to Idaho for a game? You know, those wins which would force the BCS to give them actual consideration?

Heck, you named one school who was so gracious as to host Boise State on Opening Day (a loss on opening Day not necessarily hurting you at all at the end of the year in many years). Name some other Big Ten, SEC, etc. teams in the next 4-5 years playing Boise State? How many are going to Idaho?

Cincinnati was undefeated and won the Big East - but they’ll never get a chance to prove they’re the best team in football, either.

[truthguy]

The college presidents and boards of trustees run the Universities not the Athletic Departments. Maybe not in Texas but just about everywhere else. They will not and are not going to extend the season longer than what it already is. They use to play only 8 or 9 games a year and now most teams play 12. They want the season over by Thanksgiving and they are NOT trilled the season extends into Dec. They are not going to go with a playoff system. A good friend of mine is an assistant athletic director at a Division 1A school and he tells me the college presidents almost to a man (or woman) are against extending the season longer than it already is.

[TitansAFC]

-—”How do you decouple the Rose Bowl from the Rose Parade and all the other festivities? The same is true for the Orange, Sugar, etc. All of these events are planned out in advance”-—

You don’t have to decouple, you include them in the playoff schedule in the late rounds. If you play the first couple of rounds after Thanksgiving, you’d still have time to plan - even on the specific teams - they’d have roughly the same amount of time they have now of knowing which teams will be in those Bowls (unless I missed that Bowl pairing announcement before Thanksgiving that never happened)

-—”Is someone going to make reservations to go to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans if their team is defeated?”-—

Are you telling me they have a hard time selling tickets to the SEC Title game? What if you team gets eliminated from SEC contention before then? Would you bother to buy tickets and make reservations?

[truthguy]

Now, when do we get to see Texas, Alabama, Ohio State, or USC go to Idaho for a game?

Nobody wants to go to Boise State to play because the paycheck is so small. If Boise wants to play the big boys they will have to go there. They play Va. Tech in Landover, MD at the big stadium the Redskins play in. Both teams get a big paycheck. That's what it's all about and that's what I've been trying to tell you. College Football is about funding the whole athletic departments at Division 1A schools. You can't seem to get that.

[ExTxMarine]

[...are against extending the season longer than it already is.]

Once again, this is a straw-man to the big issue. Texas and Alabama will not play a single game from now until Jan. 7th!
That happens to be FIVE weeks from now and it would only take FOUR weeks for all fourteen Div. I Conference Champions and four at-large teams to play a play off system! So no “extension” is needed, so please stop throwing it out there, it is BS!

Now, I agree with you about the Athletic Directors controlling a good portion of the universities here in Texas - heck Mack Brown makes close to 8X salary of the President of the University of Texas, but that is a different story and subject matter - ha/ha.

I also agree, to some extent, that the current Bowl system would be hurt, but not nearly as bad as the University Presidents and Bowl Boards make it sound.

[ExTxMarine]

[Is someone going to make reservations to go to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans if their team is defeated?]

The answer is YES. I know of lots of people who go to the Sugar Bowl every year, regardless of who is playing - it is a tradition - a large number of people.

I have friends that go to the Rose Bowl every year - again tradition and they get out of the “cold” of Houston to the “warmth” of California for a couple of days.

I hate to compare college to pros, but since this seems to be such a pet-peeve of yours, I think I will: I have friends that have season tickets to the Pro Bowl - and you never know who is going to that game - go figure?!?!

[TitansAFC]

-—”College Football is about funding the whole athletic departments at Division 1A schools. You can’t seem to get that.”-—

No, we who criticize the BCS “get” that quite well. That’s why we say it’s a fraudulent system crowning a fraudlent champion. Competition isn’t based on playing and beating the best, or fairly finding out who is the best; it’s about guaranteeing bigger paychecks to specific schools and specific conferences.

Just stop pretending that anyone is a “champion” of anything other than their conference. They’re not.

[Reaganesque]

Problem with that is that USC, Ohio State or Florida wouldn’t dream of playing any non-BCS teams. There’s nothing in it for them and lots of money to lose. If they play the non-BCS teams and lose, they lose presitge and money. So, sticking with the Bowl system is the safest thing for them. However, since they choose this path, their claims to a “National Championship” are rendered meaningless since they haven’t faced all of the best teams in the nation.

[truthguy]

I hate to compare college to pros, but since this seems to be such a pet-peeve of yours, I think I will: I have friends that have season tickets to the Pro Bowl - and you never know who is going to that game

I never watch the Pro Bowl because it's such a joke. But isn't that game held in Honolulu every year? Isn't that why your friends go? Do you think they would go if it were held in Seattle or Chicago. I doubt it. I think they go to get to a fun (and warm) location in winter. I'm not sure because I obviously don't know them but I know human nature and people want to go to a warm place in winter.

[ExTxMarine]

[I’m not sure because I obviously don’t know them but I know human nature and people want to go to a warm place in winter.]

That’s my point, people will still go to these games, regardless of the location, teams in attendance, time to prepare or weather! Heck, if they played the Rose Bowl in Giant’s Stadium, do you seriously think people WOULDN’T go?

One of the things that I dislike about bowl games is how the local people are almost DISCOURAGED from attending. They want the people from the college schools to go, and I do too, but remember all that work and logistics that you were talking about - that is the local people doing that - what do they get out of their hard work?

[Boiler Plate]

Really? Uh how long has Navy, Toledo, New Mexico State, Charlestown Southern, San Jose St and Florida Intl been in the BCS? FIU hasn’t even had a program for 15 years and yet the seem to go out and play schools like Penn State, Florida and Alabama every year. As a matter of fact here’s FIU’s schedule this year.

Sat, Sep 12 at (4) Alabama L 14-40 —
Sat, Sep 19 at Rutgers L 15-23 —
Sat, Sep 26 Toledo L 31-41 —
Sat, Oct 3 at Louisiana-Monroe L 35-48 —
Sat, Oct 10 at Western Kentucky W 37-20 —
Sat, Oct 17 Troy L 33-42 —
Sat, Oct 24 at Arkansas State L 10-27 —
Sat, Oct 31 Louisiana-Lafayette W 20-17 —
Sat, Nov 7 at Middle Tennessee L 21-48 —
Sat, Nov 14 North Texas W 35-28 —
Sat, Nov 21 at (1) Florida L 3-62 —
Sat, Dec 5 Florida Atlantic L 21-28 —

Now if FIU can get the top schools on its schedule I would think Boise and Cincinatti can do the same. IOW if you have a top ten contender like Va Tech you leave the Big East and play with the Big Boys. I am sure the Big Ten would love to have Cincinatti.

[Reaganesque]

Wow. Add a team that could only manage a 3-9 season. And those three wins were against nationally ranked powerhouses such as Western Kentucky, Louisiana Lafayette and North Texas. Oooh, now there’s a threat. Why not add a couple of high school teams as well to show just how tough your conference is? But then, “The Big Boys” need their patsies to show just how “Big” they are. Margin of win is a factor in the BCS calculations so, you need a few teams that can’t lace up their shoes straight, right?

Now, if they were to add a TCU or BSU to their schedules, that would be a different story. Try playing non-BCS teams that actually have a shot at beating you, then you can justifiably claim to being “The Big Boys.” I mean, if its all about how “tough” your schedule is, then why the terror at making it just that much harder? Surely “The Big Boys” can handle it, can’t they?

[Boiler Plate]

The point is that FIU who is only 3 and 9 goes out and plays some of the best teams in the country every year. Which top 5 teams have BSU and TCU played in the last twenty years?

[Reaganesque]

How can either TCU or BSU play top five teams if the BCS prevents them from doing so? So, ban them from playing top five teams and then hold them to blame for not playing better teams? How does that work?

Bottom line is this: “The Big Boys” are scared to death of playing teams such as TCU or BSU because then they would be playing “better teams” and therefore would be able to lay claim to the national title under BCS rules. That would cost them money and prestige and they just can’t have that.

“The Big Boys” have their little club and they aren’t going to let anyone in who might ruin their party. They’ll bring in an FIU because they know FIU stands NO chance of beating them. If, in the future FIU develops into a team that can threaten them, they will be dropped like a hot rock. If “The Big Boys” truly are the best in the country, let them prove it on the field instead of cowering in their lockerooms, hiding behind this monstrosity they call the BCS.