Just more proof that the cfp was a bad idea. None of the options outlined here seem fair to me (or productive). Let’s just go back to regional rivalries y’all
I’m old enough to remember the old model. It sucked too.
If everyone is going to obsess over a “true” championship game, then the only path is to make as much of the post-season as possible directly tie into it. There’s a reason a deep NCAA run for a basketball team still matters more than winning the Corn Smut bowl, even if everyone knew there was no chance to win past the Sweet 16. Football still has the better regular season, so criteria and overall numbers should be eyed with keeping that going. I could maybe see a Plus-One after the bowls, but that sort of isn’t fair either, and there often ARE more than two teams with some plausible claim to deserve inclusion. At least playoffs gather in everyone who can make any kind of case (and then some).
Money-wise, the sport is just fucked. They HAVE to figure out something compelling but equitable (coughcollectivebargainingcough) with NIL and the portal.
I guess I should clarify that my continued hatred of the cfp doesn’t actually come from the cfp being a silly championship model for cfb (it is but that’s another rant) rather it comes from espn’s handling of the postseason. The way they poison other bowl games and many late season games for non cfp contenders. Yeah the vandy - Tenn game is not normally particularly sexy or important in the nc conversation, but some weirdos still love that game. And the single entity that has the most power to promote (and profit from) those games continues to devalue the product in favor a silly little end of season tournament. I think whatever nc game/tournament/poll we use should be able to reflect all the oddities that make our sport great.
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