Who's No. 1 tomorrow?

I feel it's unnecessary. I think the current chaotic system actually generates more interest.
But I think your methodology, if it incudes 9 automatic bids for BCS conferences, the 5 minor confs., and 2 at-large teams, makes sense

 

Why would some of you give the champions of the smaller conferences automatic bids just to satisfy them? I mean, they aren't getting automatic bids to BCS games right now anyway. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to keep them out by any means but would prefer a system similar to what is in place now in terms of whether a non-BCS conference team gets in. If they are ranked inside the top whatever-you-want-it-to-be in the final BCS standings, they get an automatic berth.

Also, I would be hesitant to allow all of the division winners into the playoff. Take the 2004 Big 12, for example. The division winners - with records entering the bowl game - were Oklahoma (12-0, 8-0) and Colorado (7-5, 4-4). Texas (10-1, 7-1) finished second to Oklahoma, with their only loss to the Sooners, but they would get left out and Colorado would be in. Obviously this doesn't happen every year but there should be some sort of provision that you must have at least 9 wins if you're from a major conference to be eligible. This year there are 21 teams from BCS conferences with at least 9 wins and I don't think it's unreasonable to have to go 9-3.

EDIT: Not trying to be argumentative with the first point, just curious as to the reasoning.

 

Because if you are going to have a tournament/playoff/whatever to decide the Division I-A National Football Champion, then it's only right to include all the champions of all the divisions in Division I-A football, and then determine your at-large seeds.

It's the way every other sport sanctioned by the NCAA does it, it's the way every other league at every level does it -- division champions qualify automatically, wild cards and at-larges come after that.

It's only Division I-A college football that has a "superior" league made up of so-called BCS conferences, and every other conference has to fight for scraps.

All the Division I-A conference champions get in. That's 12 teams. Pick four at-large (have play-ins for it, if you want to), and there's your playoff. Pretty simple, if you ask me.

 

I think, too, that if you're saying division winners get in, C-USA and the MAC might stick their heads up and say, "Hey, we have divisions, too."

 

Conference championship game winner would get in. Division winners would not. Think conference tournaments before the NCAA Tournament.

At least that's how I would do it.

 

I agree. Division winners don't get into the basketball tournament automatically. They almost always get in anyway, because they're usually good enough. But that tourney has 65 spots. Ours has 16.

Perhaps one way to at least not punish division winners who don't win the conference title game would be to freeze the BCS standings before the title games. So if, for example, Boston College loses to Virginia Tech, it doesn't fall from 11th this week to 15th next week.

Just for reference's sake, the 16-team field, though there's still a lot to be decided, would look like this today.

Automatic qualifiers
LSU-Tenn. winner
OU-Mizzou winner
BC-VT winner
Miami (Ohio)-Central Michigan winner
UCF-Tulsa winner
Ohio State
Pac-10 winner (likely USC)
West Virginia
Hawaii
Troy-Florida Atlantic winner
BYU
At-large bids, based on BCS standings frozen now
Georgia
Kansas
OU-Mizzou loser
Florida**
Boston College-Virginia Tech loser*

*-would be replaced by LSU if Tenn. won SECCG.
**-would be replaced by USC if Arizona State (or anyone else) won Pac-10.

The only team that would have a legitimate gripe at being left out is Arizona State, and it's not like they didn't have their chance.

 

Oh, and if you had the four lesser conference champs play play-in games, you would add Arizona State and Tennessee. After Tennessee, the next three are Illinois, Clemson and Oregon, none of whom I think could feel jilted by being left out.

 

This is from a way back, but I had a long weekend out and only just got around to reading this whole bloody thing.

I'd say there is an equivalent to the NCAA basketball tournament, except it can't be found within the U.S.

It's called the F.A. Cup. Every soccer club in England gets to play, with six lower level playing round before the top two divisions get involved. You'll get teams like Arsenal losing to Wrexham, Hereford beating Newcastle and the like, basically the equivalent of some of the upsets you see every year in March Madness.

I remember when my club, a small one with about a 10,000 capacity at its stadium, went to the quarterfinals in back-to-back seasons.

 

What position do you play? [/buckweaver]