The Rest of College Football

[froot loops]

The unlimited transfer thing cannot go. The NCAA cannot restrict transfers due to getting their ass kicked in court. It was an anti-trust violation where the outcome in court was less in doubt than an Alabama/Mercer football game. The settlement was finalized this year.

I'd agree about getting one free transfer with no sitting out and then have to sit out the next transfer but that can't be implemented without some sort of players union so the rules can be collectively bargained. That gets around the anti-trust issue. Even then I think that is a longshot, what is in it for the players to have a union?

The pro athletes don't have unlimited free agency because they have signed contracts with the team they play for and the pro leagues in the US all have collective bargaining agreements where it allows the leagues to set work rules. Anytime one of the strike/lockout situations gets a little too long, the union will start to file for decertification which would make unlimited free agency a possibility.

[froot loops]

The problem is the portal + the players getting paid for NIL by third parties that officially have no connection to the college. Neither of these things are going away and in the case of the NIL they cannot be restricted.

[iam416]

Yeah, it’s the reality.

[Da Geezer]

The mechanics of a 16 team playoff and the time it takes to get all the games in, given academic schedules, aren't entirely smooth but, I agree, we're clearly headed toward 16 teams each in the BIG and SEC. For now, missing a decent organizing agency for a football playoff, the CFB Playoff Committee will do as that organizing agency. I don't particularly care what happens to the bystanders in the other conferences. The Presidents (including ND for now), or some other organizing agency, will independently have to get their heads together and figure out how they might want to proceed collectively

I agree Jeff. And I propose the Las Vegas bookies as the "organizing agency". Vegas odds give the best test of which team(s) are best because money is on the line. There would be none of the selection committee's "well, SMU did have a nice comeback when the game was out of reach". Rank the teams 1-8 and let 1 play 8 in a normal quarterfinal round. Reseed after the first round. Then run it like the 4-team national championship.

We are looking at PSU (a #6 seed) being favored by 10.5 over a #3 seed. Texas (#5) is favored by 14 over ASU (#4). This is nonsense.

[froot loops]

Winning a conference should have some weight even if it ends up with some weird mismatches based on Vegas lines.

The organizing body is the NCAA. You may come up with a hypothetical organizing body that will produce a playoff to your liking,.but it's not based in reality. You may have some hypothetical scenario in which the Big Ten and SEC break away to for some super conference but I'm not sure it's based in reality and if the juice is worth the squeeze.

The fact is there are 134 universities in the FCS and they have influence and votes. The also-ran programs provide a lot of opponents and their is no appetite from the football factories for eliminating the non-conference games. There is no appetite for doing away with the bowl system. What you have is what you always have in college football, they will trudge along with some system until they come up with a quarter measure 5 years from now to try to improve the situation. This will go on as long as you watch college football.

[WM Wolverine]

I could be convinced that 5 conferences receive automatic berths, but no way am I allowing them 1st round byes and be seeded 3rd/4th after this CFP.

[lineygoblue]

Correct.

[Mike]

The format seems worse than it is this year because the sudden collapse of the PAC 12 and subsequent realignment occurred AFTER the 12 team format was announced. Almost overnight we went from 5 power conferences to two power conferences and 2 mid-majorish conferences. Under the old alignment, the arguments would have been which P5 champ gets "screwed" out of a bye.

Apply the 12 team format to last year:

(1) Big Ten Champ: Michigan 13-0
(2) PAC 12 Champ: Washington 13-0
(3) SEC Champ: Alabama 12-1
(4) Big 12 Champ: Texas 12-1

(5) ACC Champ: FSU 13-0
(6) At large: Georgia 12-1
(7) At large: Ohio State 11-1
(8) At large: Oregon 11-2

If the 5-8 seeds won their home games like this year, your quarterfinals would have been:

Michigan vs. Oregon in the Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Washington Sugar/Peach
Georgia vs. Alabama Sugar/Peach
FSU vs. Texas in the Fiesta

Those would have been bangers and what the 12 team playoff was supposed to provide. All they need to do is get rid of the auto-byes for the top 4 conference champs and I think it'll be fine.

[froot loops]

Even with all the belly-aching and caterwauling about the current format, whoever wins it will be the best team.

The beloved Detroit Lions could be the 5th seed with a 14-3 record. No bellyaching in the NFL.. the biggest issue with college football is the constant complaints, it is one of the reasons why the NFL is far better.