Big Ten coaches weigh in on potential playoff expansion

BleedGopher

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per the Dayton Daily News:

Do you like playoffs?

So do at least two Big Ten coaches queried about the subject Monday at the Big Ten Football Media Days.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was probably the most enthusiastic.

“Thoughts on the playoff system? I guess the first thing that comes to mind is more would be more,” Harbaugh said. “More would be better in the playoffs. Four right now, go to eight and eventually get to 16.”

Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck had a similar experience to Frost, coaching Western Michigan to an undefeated regular season in 2016, but he sounded more content with the status quo overall.

“The college football playoff has brought a completely new dynamic,” said Fleck, a former Ohio State graduate assistant who is entering his second season leading the Golden Gophers. “I was asked a question today — Do you feel like a group of five team should be able to do that if you go undefeated, now that you're not in the group of five?

“I said absolutely. I'm a huge advocate of that. And I'm sure Scott Frost might say the same thing. But I think the ability for that to happen might not happen for a while. And I think the possibility of that ever happening is there. Maybe if you go 13-0 and 13-0, but they say that one last year doesn't affect necessarily this year. But I think that could start to turn the tide a little bit if you have a team that's 26-0. You force somebody to do something. But again I love where it's at. It's a very exciting time in our game.”

https://www.mydaytondailynews.com/s...ial-playoff-expansion/DzYQ8CK35NSvuALipcAfCJ/

Go Gophers!!
 

I still say, let the Power 5 declare their champs and give the remaining 3 spots to the highest rated champs of the remaining conferences. No duplicate conference entries (last year was a joke). You could go back to tradition and have a BigTen/Pac10 Rose Bowl with the winner in the Final Four. You could also set up true regions with an East/West or North/South title game. 16 teams is too many, 4 is too cliquey.
 

I still say, let the Power 5 declare their champs and give the remaining 3 spots to the highest rated champs of the remaining conferences. No duplicate conference entries (last year was a joke). You could go back to tradition and have a BigTen/Pac10 Rose Bowl with the winner in the Final Four. You could also set up true regions with an East/West or North/South title game. 16 teams is too many, 4 is too cliquey.

What about Notre Dame?
 

I really have a tough time with the P5 teams having no legitimate chance of getting into the playoffs. There is only one division of one sport that I'm aware of that a conference champion is not guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. But the Power 5 control the show because they control the money, so it won't happen anytime soon...
 

What about Notre Dame?

Last year would have been Georgia, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and USC as auto-bids. Remaining Champs were UCF, Boise State, FAU, Toledo, and Troy. Notre Dame was the only ranked Independent. Personally I'd like to see Independents done away with, but Notre Dame finished ranked 11th, while FAU, Troy, and Toledo didn't crack the top 40. They deserve entry as much as UCF does. That leaves us by seed:

(8)Boise State at (1)Clemson
(5)USC at (4)Ohio State

(6)UCF at (3)Georgia
(7)Notre Dame at (2)Oklahoma

I don't know about you, but that's a playoff I could get excited for. Imagine Alabama playing in Minneapolis in December.
 


Last year would have been Georgia, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and USC as auto-bids. Remaining Champs were UCF, Boise State, FAU, Toledo, and Troy. Notre Dame was the only ranked Independent. Personally I'd like to see Independents done away with, but Notre Dame finished ranked 11th, while FAU, Troy, and Toledo didn't crack the top 40. They deserve entry as much as UCF does. That leaves us by seed:

(8)Boise State at (1)Georgia
(5)UCF at (4)Ohio State

(6)Notre Dame at (3)Oklahoma
(7)USC at (2)Clemson

I don't know about you, but that's a playoff I could get excited for. Imagine Alabama playing in Minneapolis in December.

Yes, something like that would work, I think. Treating Notre Dame the same as a G5 conf champ, in terms of "auto" bids for the top three ranked of the those five + ND. It would have to be something like that, because Notre Dame is an equal owner/manager of the CFP with the ten conferences.


But the potential problem would be TV networks. They might demand the P5 champs and then the three highest ranked teams, period, in order to maximize ratings.
 

Sure, money is an unfortunate factor, but how much was lost last year with no BigTen team and an all-SEC title game? How many people would have tuned in to see their only conference representative compete for a title (think Boise St, UCF), not to mention no more undefeated-UCF fiascoes. You would reach more people directly and create a larger interest long term by involving more schools than to have an obvious bias for the single game that brings the quick cash.
 

I think to make 8 team CFC work you can't increase games and you shouldn't get rid of conference championships, that should still mean something. So maybe you place 3 non con, 8 conference and game 9 is conference championship and everyone else plays their closest conference opponent by rank (i.e. 1 West vs 1 East in championship, 2 West vs 2 East , ....) and play all last games at home site of West or East on an alternating schedule so it's not last minute scheduling for field and transportation.
 

That final week really over-complicates things, and the road teams would have little chance for fan travel considering they wouldn't know where the destination was until the week of.

Now I understand playoff games are earned, but as long as those schools can have additional practices, I think ALL schools should.
 



What about Notre Dame?

Notre Dame simply needs to join a conference. Right now they call the shots as to who they play etc. and no pressure to win a conference. Until then as far as I'm concerned they don't exist.
 

We already have the NFL. I preferred the BCS and the Bowl games meaning something.
 

We already have the NFL. I preferred the BCS and the Bowl games meaning something.

Are you saying you prefer a committee deciding who's worthy (aka most monetary gain) for the top bowls and the remaining teams being chosen by respective bowl committees (by monetary motive after conference tie-ins) as opposed to taking the best 8 teams from 8 different conferences and placing them in a bracket to let the teams decide who's best?
 




Are you saying you prefer a committee deciding who's worthy (aka most monetary gain) for the top bowls and the remaining teams being chosen by respective bowl committees (by monetary motive after conference tie-ins) as opposed to taking the best 8 teams from 8 different conferences and placing them in a bracket to let the teams decide who's best?[/QUOTE

Yes. Beats the SEC invitational. I want one of my schools go to the Rose Bowl before I take the dirt nap and have it mean something.
 

Last year would have been Georgia, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and USC as auto-bids. Remaining Champs were UCF, Boise State, FAU, Toledo, and Troy. Notre Dame was the only ranked Independent. Personally I'd like to see Independents done away with, but Notre Dame finished ranked 11th, while FAU, Troy, and Toledo didn't crack the top 40. They deserve entry as much as UCF does. That leaves us by seed:

(8)Boise State at (1)Georgia
(5)UCF at (4)Ohio State

(6)Notre Dame at (3)Oklahoma
(7)USC at (2)Clemson

I don't know about you, but that's a playoff I could get excited for. Imagine Alabama playing in Minneapolis in December.

With that scenario, Notre Dame would make the playoffs every single year. That would give them a huge advantage in recruiting, fund raising, etc. I would rather see Notre Dame, or any other independent, get in if they were ranked in the top 8 (in an 8 team playoff) at selection time. Otherwise, join a conference and compete like everyone else does.
 

Kill the Big 12.... pull out some survivors and make it a P4.

Conference champs go to playoffs.

/done.
 

With that scenario, Notre Dame would make the playoffs every single year. That would give them a huge advantage in recruiting, fund raising, etc. I would rather see Notre Dame, or any other independent, get in if they were ranked in the top 8 (in an 8 team playoff) at selection time. Otherwise, join a conference and compete like everyone else does.

How often were the top 3 ranked G5 conf champs ranked ahead of ND? It might not be as much of a lock as it seems, especially if ND has 3 or more losses while the American and Mountain champs are 1 or 2 losses or better.

But you do have a point. Might be a better compromise: 5 P5 champs, highest ranked G5 champ, 2 highest ranked non-champs (can’t both be from same conf).
 

While it would never fly, I like the idea of up to 8 teams. 5 conference champs and any non-power 5 ranked in the top 5 (or 8 or whatever). If Notre Dame and Boise State are ranked highly, they are in. If no teams are - then only the 5 conference champs play.

For anything less than 8 teams, you get a bye.

This way, any team can earn their way in. But you really would have to earn it.
 

Yes. Beats the SEC invitational. I want one of my schools go to the Rose Bowl before I take the dirt nap and have it mean something.
Uhh... brackets consisting of conference champions would solve your wish. The SEC invitational was caused by committee, as you say you support. Got that backwards maybe?

With that scenario, Notre Dame would make the playoffs every single year. I would rather see Notre Dame, or any other independent, get in if they were ranked in the top 8 (in an 8 team playoff) at selection time. Otherwise, join a conference and compete like everyone else does.
Agreed. In my scenario, per last season results, Notre Dame was ranked 11th overall. When factoring out ranked teams that did not win their conference, this moved them into the top 8. They were also ranked 2nd highest of the non-power 5 conferences + Independents (out of three spots), thus they seemed like a fair representative.

BCS before the bowls, conference champs only (plus ND as independent):
1)Clemson
2)Oklahoma
3)Georgia
5)Ohio State
6)USC
12)UCF
14)Notre Dame
25)Boise State

FAU, Troy, Toledo unranked champs.

Kill the Big 12.... pull out some survivors and make it a P4.

Conference champs go to playoffs.
With over 100 teams why not reduce 10 conferences to 8 and follow the same format, champs go to the playoffs? That's about 14 schools per conference, which means you play everyone once for a 13 game schedule. Looks perfect.
 

I like 4 teams, but am open to 8. 8 still keeps the regular season important. 16 is too many.

5 P-5 "champ," 1 G of 5 rep, 2 at-large. Notre Dame falls into one of the 2 at-large teams. Doesn't force them to join a conference if they'd rather maintain their independence, but would probably increase their chance of making it because they could be 9-3 & win a conference title game.

Quarterfinals played at high seed, guaranteed 20% ticket allotment for the visiting team.
 

I like 4 teams, but am open to 8. 8 still keeps the regular season important. 16 is too many.

5 P-5 "champ," 1 G of 5 rep, 2 at-large. Notre Dame falls into one of the 2 at-large teams. Doesn't force them to join a conference if they'd rather maintain their independence, but would probably increase their chance of making it because they could be 9-3 & win a conference title game.

Quarterfinals played at high seed, guaranteed 20% ticket allotment for the visiting team.

I must say I am disappointed in the GH. Who really cares about the (cheating Irish). I am hoping they end up with DII playoffs. They don’t deserve anything more.
 


I like 4 teams, but am open to 8. 8 still keeps the regular season important. 16 is too many.

5 P-5 "champ," 1 G of 5 rep, 2 at-large. Notre Dame falls into one of the 2 at-large teams. Doesn't force them to join a conference if they'd rather maintain their independence, but would probably increase their chance of making it because they could be 9-3 & win a conference title game.

Quarterfinals played at high seed, guaranteed 20% ticket allotment for the visiting team.

Something like this is the likely outcome, in my opinion. This is the best compromise, among all the competing interests and factors (schools, conferences, bowls, TV, fans, logistics).


Notre Dame and the G5 can't simply be ignored. Together, they are 6 of the 11 votes in the CFP. Nor can the interests of TV be ignore, which simply want the 7 playoff games that maximize ratings. Nor can the bowls be ignored. Nor can logistics for traveling fans be ignored.

The biggest question is the timing.

Do you hold the quarter finals, on campus at the higher seeds, the week after the conf championships, then play the semi-finals in the NYD bowls? Or do you try to work the quarter-finals into the bowl games, and have the semi-finals and final bid out to NFL stadiums ... or at campus sites for the semi-finals?


They'll figure it out ...


I must say I am disappointed in the GH. Who really cares about the (cheating Irish). I am hoping they end up with DII playoffs. They don’t deserve anything more.

This is easy to say ... but isn't reality.

Reality is that Notre Dame has an equal say and vote as each of the 10 FBS conferences, within the organization of the CFP itself. Unless the 10 confs vote to make the playoff be conf champions only, Notre Dame will never join a conference in football.
 




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