Mizzou Vs. Florida

[Wayne SW/MO]

I think 8 is too many for college and going beyond 4 just invites more upsets that shouldn't happen. It's not that they won't happen with 4 teams, but the odds are lessened. I would have preferred a playoff that included a representative from all the conference champions with no more than 1 loss. If a conference didn't have one then go to second place conference teams with, again, only one loss.

OTF, Miami, really? They don't play the tough schedule you love and by Monday they will have been blown out in all likelihood.

I suspect the end poll will look similar with OSU replacing Stanford, Baylor replacing Miami. , then Stanford, (maybe if they make a showing against OR) It's hard to say with the last ones. Sometimes those conferences get a push and sometimes they don't, but irregardless I think Louisville takes the spot if the win out. Don't forget Notre Dame, they have 2 losses, but they get a lot of support in the polls.

[Feathers and Fins]

With 10 conferences plus the independents getting an accurate ranking is possible however to do that it would take more brains then the NCAA has ever shown. Simple is taking all 128 teams and place them in 8 conferences 16 teams to a conference. Have two conferences play each other (that’s 32 teams for you NFL Junkies} just like the NFL Play them exactly like a NFL year but instead of preseason the games count. Each year rotate what conference plays what conference so its constantly mixing it up.

So you have 17 weeks of regular season 4 weeks of playoff and then the Conference championship game, then 1 more week of champion play to finally the National Championship. Total of 23 games or from start to finish 25 weeks. Septembers first weekend to second weekend in February. Sound familiar to anyone?

[Wayne SW/MO]

They are amateurs with the important job of getting a degree, at least that's the premise. I think one more game for 2 teams is enough to add.

I still contend that the ranking should be done by about a 1/2 dozen computer programs. A program should be written using pre-determined standards. My reasoning would be to give some self adjustment in the ranking programs. If written right it should take into account opponent strength when the game is played while picking up on a teams rise or fall in strength through the season. Most important it would do away with the coaches poll and the writers poll. The coaches poll is obviously a joke because no major team coach has the time to evaluate the 35 or so teams eligible for the top 25. The writers are obviously going to be influenced by their audience, especially if they need to justify some earlier picks. I'm not saying they do a bad job now, but without a doubt there are always some questionable picks.

[stlfisher]

I too think 4 teams is about right. IMO by the end of the year you usually have a clear idea who is number 1. Numbers 2 and 3 are a bit more problematic....therefore the additional game against the "wild card" 4th team. After that is usually pretty easy to see a drop off.

I doubt we end up more than 2-3 undefeated teams this year...even the teams that should win usually falter at some point.

[ozark trout fisher]

OTF, Miami, really? They don't play the tough schedule you love and by Monday they will have been blown out in all likelihood.

This is as of right now. Miami looks pretty terrible, but they are currently undefeated with a decent win (Florida). And they have played at least slightly better competition than Baylor or NIU/Fresno.

Anyway, no reason to spend a bunch of time scrutinizing it, just thinking out loud.

[Justin Spencer]

I went to Pitt State in D II where they have a 16 team playoff. You still have to be good in regular season to make the playoffs and try to get a good seed, but one loss doesn't kill you, then it is a bunch of fun if you make it in. The conference championships are great but the bowl games are a joke. Cut out those stupid non-conference games against weak teams and add a playoff at the end. You can still fill those bowl games with teams that don't make the playoff, Then you have 15 college football games the last 4 weeks that actually mean something, time the playoffs however you want, with bowl games before the playoffs start.

[Feathers and Fins]

Bigfoot would do a better job at picking the top 4 teams as the panel will is my fear. Just to much bias for a person to pick them! Computers are hackable and fallible. The only way I know to do it as I outlined. Lets face it Wayne is right to a degree they are their for education, but in truth they are there to when games and bring the schools money is the real truth.

The college level is nothing but a Farm League for the NFL we all know it, the colleges know it and so does the NFL. How many of the athletes actually stay and finish off their degree in the college? Anyone have those stats? and how many finish it off after going to the NFL?

[Wayne SW/MO]

While I'm against cutting out all of the weak non-conference, I think there is merit in reduction to make a playoff more feasible. The reason I think the weak team games should remain are simply because it gives some benefits in both directions. It gives the FBS teams a chance to look at plays and players without a lot of risk. It gives the opponent a chance to fill the stadium and lets their players see how they really stack up individually. I also suspect it helps the weaker teams players improve through observation.

I don't see any reason for games beyond a couple at the beginning however. It would be beneficial to some and harmful to others to play between the major conferences though. I'm simply speaking if it were regulated rather than random. The better teams now do seem to play a strong opponent, while others still linger.

[ozark trout fisher]

The college level is nothing but a Farm League for the NFL we all know it, the colleges know it and so does the NFL. How many of the athletes actually stay and finish off their degree in the college? Anyone have those stats? and how many finish it off after going to the NFL?

The reality is that most of those players you see, even in the SEC, will never sniff the NFL.

[Wayne SW/MO]

The reality is that most of those players you see, even in the SEC, will never sniff the NFL.

That's true, even in the Big 12 , but even the draftees will come away with a lot of college and the others generally graduate and take away contacts that will serve them in the future. Football money pays for most, if not all, of the sports programs in colleges. The bonuses from bowl games help the major conferences build the facilities that attract the best talent.

The mentality of the academic heads toward sport programs is what makes a major difference in the win loss for many schools. No it is not unique to the newly found SEC, it's common in the better competition across the country. That's one of reasons for the recent shifts, a lot of schools thought they weren't doing that great where they were at so why not get a bigger piece of a pie somewhere else?