Redux
Donor
As we close the first ever college football playoff we can all agree it was hugely successful for almost everyone involved. Instead of a nasty Bama > FSU mandatory matchup, we got 4 of the best teams laying it all out there on the field. What more could we ask for?
Well already many are clamoring for another 4 teams to be added to that bracket. Seeing as we have 5 major conferences, 5 mid majors and several independent teams the fit seems natural. But before we go and dive head first into that I want you to consider something. Are we willing to sacrifice quality football for the sake of more games?
What I mean is take the NFL for example. When a top rated team has a playoff spot locked up they tend to sleepwalk through whatever games they have remaining to rest their starters. If this translated into the collegiate level we as fans could be robbed of some exciting games. Just think if Alabama already had the SEC West wrapped up and regardless of SEC title game they would be an at large spot if not top seed. Come rivalry week an Iron Bowl meeting that sees Auburn throttle Alabamas backups because the starters were resting for the title game and playoffs. Some would argue that simply wouldnt happen in rivalry games, yet if 8 teams became the norm evolution kicks in and the rivalry game ends up taking a backseat to playoff implications.
The Big 12 successfully screwed itself out of a spot by claiming it had Two "One True Champion's". Thats on them, add a couple more teams, reestablish the conference championship in Jerry world, and Ohio State never gets to play Bama. So in this case 8 teams would be great. But as a Husker fan this makes our road back to glory that much harder all be it sweeter.
I know this was a ramble but in closing, should we ever expand the field I think some serious things like home field advantage need to be looked at for playoff and/or conference title games so we dont see the records and on field product suffer because of it.
Well already many are clamoring for another 4 teams to be added to that bracket. Seeing as we have 5 major conferences, 5 mid majors and several independent teams the fit seems natural. But before we go and dive head first into that I want you to consider something. Are we willing to sacrifice quality football for the sake of more games?
What I mean is take the NFL for example. When a top rated team has a playoff spot locked up they tend to sleepwalk through whatever games they have remaining to rest their starters. If this translated into the collegiate level we as fans could be robbed of some exciting games. Just think if Alabama already had the SEC West wrapped up and regardless of SEC title game they would be an at large spot if not top seed. Come rivalry week an Iron Bowl meeting that sees Auburn throttle Alabamas backups because the starters were resting for the title game and playoffs. Some would argue that simply wouldnt happen in rivalry games, yet if 8 teams became the norm evolution kicks in and the rivalry game ends up taking a backseat to playoff implications.
The Big 12 successfully screwed itself out of a spot by claiming it had Two "One True Champion's". Thats on them, add a couple more teams, reestablish the conference championship in Jerry world, and Ohio State never gets to play Bama. So in this case 8 teams would be great. But as a Husker fan this makes our road back to glory that much harder all be it sweeter.
I know this was a ramble but in closing, should we ever expand the field I think some serious things like home field advantage need to be looked at for playoff and/or conference title games so we dont see the records and on field product suffer because of it.
