OFFICIAL 2021 COLLEGE FOOTBALL OFFSEASON THREAD

[N41D]

The reason we can’t find more than two or three is because the system has funneled everything to two or three, maaaaaybe 4 or 5 programs.

 

[atlsfinest]

The reason we can’t find more than two or three is because the system has funneled everything to two or three, maaaaaybe 4 or 5 programs.

We could agree to disagree. Letting Texas A&M, Cincinnati or Oklahoma wouldn't get us any closer to a championship this season.

 

[fahqu001]

The NFL and CBB don’t have 14 and 68 teams that can win a championship either, but we still love a Cinderella story or a David vs Goliath matchup; keeps it interesting. If you win, you move on. You lose, you go home.

Trying to think of another Pro or NCAA sport that doesn’t have a playoff. I’d probably watch more post season games if I knew it wasn’t for the Blockbuster Circuit City Woolworth Bowl Trophy.

 

[tupac003]

I would like to see 8.

The 5 P5 champion's, the highest ranked group of 5 and two at large.

 

[N41D]

We could agree to disagree. Letting Texas A&M, Cincinnati or Oklahoma wouldn't get us any closer to a championship this season.

I’m not exclusively talking this year.

It’s a longevity issue. College football hasn’t been this insanely top heavy in a long time. It’s probably never been this lopsided in one direction for the amount of time.

Giving more teams and conferences legitimate paths to play for titles is the only way to balance things back out.

You could make the same argument about how many teams have real title hopes every year in any sport. And CFB is the only one that does this arbitrary nonsense and calls it a playoff.

 

[frshstunna]

I would like to see 8.

The 5 P5 champion's, the highest ranked group of 5 and two at large.

It’s really this simple, but ppl acting like they can’t see it

 

[tupac003]

It’s really this simple, but ppl acting like they can’t see it

And if people don't want two at larges, go to 6. Still keep the 5 P5 Champs and the highest ranked group of 5. 1 and 2 see have a bye the first week.

 

[atlsfinest]

It's just a matter of perspective and what you want out of the college football postseason. Do you want access or exclusivity? I like the fact that only the top four teams in the country play in the playoffs and I don't care about giving access to power five teams or conference champs (unless they're in the top four).

The idea of auto bids is stupid. The winner of the Pac-12 or best G5 team (who might be ranked in the teens) shouldn't be playing for national championship over other higher-ranked teams.

Sorry that you guys don't like watching the same teams went over and over. The only way to stop this is to go out there and beat them, not complain about them winning every year

 

[finessence]

Should be 6 teams. Top teams get a bye week. The other 4 teams duke it out

 

[nako xl]

Should be 6 teams. Top teams get a bye week. The other 4 teams duke it out

1. You’d still have the G5 and at large problem
2. You can’t give clemson and alabama an extra week of rest and prep every year and make the other schools play an extra game and call it fair. Football isn’t basketball.

 

[fahqu001]

 

[RyGuy45]

My 2 cents is college football needs changes, for the sake of the sport. Same teams at top, same teams winning the recruiting headlines, same teams getting 99% of the coverage (and marketing) on your favorite TV outlet. It's a cycle that will never end unless some changes are made or forced. But...with no commissioner of the sport, and with conferences only caring about themselves, I won't hold my breath. This is America - the power stays at the top and no changes are to be made unless someone forces them.

ESPN is co-partner with the same 4-5 schools in this marketing scheme, and they all win out in the end. The much hyped "updated playoff rankings show" on ESPN each week is an invention to provide more fodder to the same schools to get their bases to tune in for. Everything is tied together, ESPN owns the bowls, ESPN owns the conference networks, ESPN wants the same popular schools to stay the same and locked in to playing the top games. Rinse, repeat. Cincinnati playing in a playoff serves no one but Cincinnati. ESPN doesn't want them or that small fan base.

Still...very little in life is guaranteed and you still gotta play the games. But Alabama, Clemson, OSU, Oklahoma & Notre Dame have grabbed 22 spots since the football playoff started. The rest of the entire country (125 teams) have grabbed....six.

And we'll be back here again next year.

 

[N41D]

My 2 cents is college football needs changes, for the sake of the sport. Same teams at top, same teams winning the recruiting headlines, same teams getting 99% of the coverage (and marketing) on your favorite TV outlet. It's a cycle that will never end unless some changes are made or forced. But...with no commissioner of the sport, and with conferences only caring about themselves, I won't hold my breath. This is America - the power stays at the top and no changes are to be made unless someone forces them.

ESPN is co-partner with the same 4-5 schools in this marketing scheme, and they all win out in the end. The much hyped "updated playoff rankings show" on ESPN each week is an invention to provide more fodder to the same schools to get their bases to tune in for. Everything is tied together, ESPN owns the bowls, ESPN owns the conference networks, ESPN wants the same popular schools to stay the same and locked in to playing the top games. Rinse, repeat. Cincinnati playing in a playoff serves no one but Cincinnati. ESPN doesn't want them or that small fan base.

Still...very little in life is guaranteed and you still gotta play the games. But Alabama, Clemson, OSU, Oklahoma & Notre Dame have grabbed 22 spots since the football playoff started. The rest of the entire country (125 teams) have grabbed....six.

And we'll be back here again next year.

You're a beautiful son of a *****, RyGuy. This nails it.

The system was flawed before. They bandaged it with an even more flawed system that did nothing but make sure the sports biggest brands had a tighter stranglehold on the sport.

The question becomes... Can Oregon, Georgia, or A&M, or LSU recruit at a high enough level to kick the door down. Because they're the only ones that are even really all that close. And three of them have to go through the monster that's been created with Bama. And they'd all have to beat that machine probably twice in a year to win a national title since one-loss Bama is still a dead *** annual lock.

It's dumb.

 

[atlsfinest]

My 2 cents is college football needs changes, for the sake of the sport. Same teams at top, same teams winning the recruiting headlines, same teams getting 99% of the coverage (and marketing) on your favorite TV outlet. It's a cycle that will never end unless some changes are made or forced. But...with no commissioner of the sport, and with conferences only caring about themselves, I won't hold my breath. This is America - the power stays at the top and no changes are to be made unless someone forces them.

ESPN is co-partner with the same 4-5 schools in this marketing scheme, and they all win out in the end. The much hyped "updated playoff rankings show" on ESPN each week is an invention to provide more fodder to the same schools to get their bases to tune in for. Everything is tied together, ESPN owns the bowls, ESPN owns the conference networks, ESPN wants the same popular schools to stay the same and locked in to playing the top games. Rinse, repeat. Cincinnati playing in a playoff serves no one but Cincinnati. ESPN doesn't want them or that small fan base.

Still...very little in life is guaranteed and you still gotta play the games. But Alabama, Clemson, OSU, Oklahoma & Notre Dame have grabbed 22 spots since the football playoff started. The rest of the entire country (125 teams) have grabbed....six.

And we'll be back here again next year.

ESPN has TV deals with every P5 (and most G5) conferences. This idea that there's some type of scheme to specifically promote Bama, Clemson, OSU and ND (a team ESPN doesn't even have a deal with) is ridiculous. Those teams get more coverage because they win more often. College football is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more you win, the more attention you get, the more money comes into your program, the better facilities and coaches you can hire, etc. Success begets success.

I agree that the playoff hasn't helped parody. Prior to the college football playoff, teams used to strive to play in the best bowl game possible. Now with the playoff, players and teams are checking out the moment they can't win a championship. This is funneling down to recruiting. Recruiting has always been top heavy but now recruits are even more concentrated in a handful of schools that they believe will give them exposure and a chance to make a playoff

 

[nako xl]

You're a beautiful son of a *****, RyGuy. This nails it.

The system was flawed before. They bandaged it with an even more flawed system that did nothing but make sure the sports biggest brands had a tighter stranglehold on the sport.

The question becomes... Can Oregon, Georgia, or A&M, or LSU recruit at a high enough level to kick the door down. Because they're the only ones that are even really all that close. And three of them have to go through the monster that's been created with Bama. And they'd all have to beat that machine probably twice in a year to win a national title since one-loss Bama is still a dead *** annual lock.

It's dumb.

Oregon?

Ok.

TBH idk that A&M has an argument and it's not even clear they deserved to be in the top 10. Didn't win their conference, didn't make the title game, lost by 4 touchdowns to the only playoff team they did see, and aren't even as good as Georgia. Then you've got undefeated champions like Cincy and Coastal Carolina. Playoff committee got it right.

 

[dacomeup]

ESPN has TV deals with every P5 (and most G5) conferences. This idea that there's some type of scheme to specifically promote Bama, Clemson, OSU and ND (a team ESPN doesn't even have a deal with) is ridiculous. Those teams get more coverage because they win more often. College football is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more you win, the more attention you get, the more money comes into your program, the better facilities and coaches you can hire, etc. Success begets success.

The fact that you actually believe that. SEC drives more revenue than ANY conference in the sport. Because ESPN has a little ****** contract with the AAC doesn't make their interests in the AAC and the SEC the same. The AAC signed a $1 billion deal with the SEC over 12 years. ESPN just bid on SEC rights for $300M PER YEAR. For this deal to make sense, they have to pour money into how they market the SEC, CFP, etc. This is about dollars and cents, rabid fan bases who drive ratings, etc. Your understanding of this is extremely off.

 

[N41D]

Oregon?

Ok.

TBH idk that A&M has an argument and it's not even clear they deserved to be in the top 10. Didn't win their conference, didn't make the title game, lost by 4 touchdowns to the only playoff team they did see, and aren't even as good as Georgia. Then you've got undefeated champions like Cincy and Coastal Carolina. Playoff committee got it right.

I hate you.

 

[atlsfinest]

The fact that you actually believe that. SEC drives more revenue than ANY conference in the sport. Because ESPN has a little ****ty contract with the AAC doesn't make their interests in the AAC and the SEC the same. The AAC signed a $1 billion deal with the SEC over 12 years. ESPN just bid on SEC rights for $300M PER YEAR. For this deal to make sense, they have to pour money into how they market the SEC, CFP, etc. This is about dollars and cents, rabid fan bases who drive ratings, etc. Your understanding of this is extremely off.

You're just mad I'm not leaning into your conspiratorial SEC talk . Is it a conspiracy the SEC teams keep winning playoff games when they get in as well? Are the refs in on it too?

I'm not here to bang my chest about the SEC but I'm also not going to complain about the system being broken when it's not.

 

[dacomeup]

You're just mad I'm not leaning into your conspiratorial SEC talk . Is it a conspiracy the SEC teams keep winning playoff games when they get in as well? Are the refs in on it too?

I'm not here to bang my chest about the SEC but I'm also not going to complain about the system being broken when it's not.

It's funny how your immediate response to anything where your points being critiqued are "Mad", "You want this to fail", "conspiratorial" etc. If you're not capable of having a nuanced discussion about the actual business of CFB, then that's fine. It's just silly when you act like ESPN's interest in the MWC and AAC are anywhere close to their interest in the SEC. It's quite possibly one of the dumbest suggestions I've ever seen in here.

And you shouldn't bang your chest. Georgia hasn't won a title in your damn lifetime.

 

[atlsfinest]

It's funny how your immediate response to anything where your points being critiqued are "Mad", "You want this to fail", "conspiratorial" etc. If you're not capable of having a nuanced discussion about the actual business of CFB, then that's fine. It's just silly when you act like ESPN's interest in the MWC and AAC are anywhere close to their interest in the SEC. It's quite possibly one of the dumbest suggestions I've ever seen in here.

And you shouldn't bang your chest. Georgia hasn't won a title in your damn lifetime.

You're correct that Georgia hasn't won a title in my lifetime and yet I'm still not complaining about the system being broken. Just because my team isn't winning. It's on us to get it done, I'm not complaining about the system not being fair .

No one is banging their chest here at all, it's just goofy to suggest that we need to change the rules because the same teams keep winning over and over. If you don't like it go out there and beat them, don't complain about needing change. The Pac-12 is a poorly run conference and they've shot themselves in the foot. Why should we accommodate them by giving them a playoff spot?

 

[witnesskb24]

I don’t get how y’all complain these same teams (Bama and Clemson) make it because nobody can knock them out of contention during the regular season but then think adding more teams in the playoff is going to knock them off.

Is it just to see more teams in there to say “yay they made the playoff”?

 

[dacomeup]

You're correct that Georgia hasn't won a title in my lifetime and yet I'm still not complaining about the system being broken. Just because my team isn't winning. It's on us to get it done, I'm not complaining about the system not being fair . No one is banging their chest here at all, it's just goofy to suggest that we need to change the rules because the same teams keep winning over and over. If you don't like it go out there and beat them, don't complain about needing change

Yea, like I said you lack the ability to have a nuanced discussion about this. And that's fine. If you think that this is about anyone's specific team "not winning", then you can just carry on with your SEC pride and keep it pushing, man. You're obviously the only person in here unable to have that discourse, and who doesn't see a clear issue with the CFP as currently constructed.

 

[atlsfinest]

I don’t get how y’all complain these same teams (Bama and Clemson) make it because nobody can knock them out of contention during the regular season but then think adding more teams in the playoff is going to knock them off.

Is it just to see more teams in there to say “yay they made the playoff”?

It depends on what you want out of the playoff. Are you trying to find the champion or are you trying to allow access to more teams? If you're trying to find the one true champion, the 4 playoff works fine. If you're trying to give more teams access (G5 teams, Pac-12 teams) and give more teams something to play for later in the season, then expand the playoff. You're still going to have the same teams winning it every year but I guess it's exciting to have more games I guess.

 

[N41D]

We don't have a playoff. We have an annual championship invitational. Calling it a playoff is silly and disingenuous.

College football has always been flawed. But the current structure has created a machine that feeds the top 1% at a higher level than it ever has.

If you're fine with that, so be it. It's not sour grapes. It's the truth. It's literally the only sport on the planet that operates this way.

 

[atlsfinest]

Yea, like I said you lack the ability to have a nuanced discussion about this. And that's fine. If you think that this is about anyone's specific team "not winning", then you can just carry on with your SEC pride and keep it pushing, man. You're obviously the only person in here unable to have that discourse, and who doesn't see a clear issue with the CFP as currently constructed.

This isn't some high-minded concept and you're not bringing up any original ideas that haven't been circulated for years. I understand your points, I just disagree with them.

Disagreeing =/= not understanding