Running CFB playoff thread

[Roscablo]

Where I went to school, tickets were free although they were a part of student fees, so not technically free. But whenever there was something extra, usually postseason (see NIT or something), then you had to pay. So not crazy that it would be the case for something like this. Plus a lot of these schools charge for the regular season anyway, so most probably aren't batting an eye.

The places that will likely host games are big-time atmospheres so they probably won't have to worry about it and this is all new, but a lot of times in postseason stuff -- as mentioned NIT, maybe championship games -- attendance isn't always spectacular. I wonder if that might come up at all? It is new and big so probably not, but I am sure the thought has crossed the minds in some places.

 

[DanOregon]

The problem will be if you have a ton of students head for home once the term is over. Many probably already have their plane tickets booked.

 

[Alma]

ND's gonna lose to USC, the 2nd most talented team on its schedule.

 

[dixiehack]

The home games will be enough of a novelty that they should be fine the first couple of years. But the quarterfinal bowls could end up an incredibly soft market. A lot of those fan bases anticipate having two more road trips to pay for and so why do I want to add a Fiesta Bowl trip onto the tab?

 

[playthrough]

The home games will be enough of a novelty that they should be fine the first couple of years. But the quarterfinal bowls could end up an incredibly soft market. A lot of those fan bases anticipate having two more road trips to pay for and so why do I want to add a Fiesta Bowl trip onto the tab?

Reminds me of the glory days of Indiana basketball, I lived with band geeks and come tournament time, with the traveling band being a fraction of the home size, students would have to make a choice (based on seniority) of whether they wanted to go to the first/second-round site, the Regional or a potential Final Four. Do you take the sure trip or gamble on the Final Four? Made for some fun discussions. I imagine the blue-blood fan bases will face this a lot in the coming years.

 

[justgladtobehere]

For the record, I would like to object to the blatant anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment being expressed. Notre Dame is a saintly institution. Only miserable Irish Americans can complain about a football team that is constantly middling but puts up a good record because of ****ty schedules.

 

[swingline]

For the record, I would like to object to the blatant anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment being expressed. Notre Dame is a saintly institution. Only miserable Irish Americans can complain about a football team that is constantly middling but puts up a good record because of ****ty schedules.

Sarcasm, it’s what’s for dinner. I like it!

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I wonder if the committee will stack its final rankings to avoid in-conference first round matchups and above all, rematches of regular season games. Coaches hate those for bowl games, let alone a one-and-done playoff.

 

[dixiehack]

You might get a little effort to avoid rematches, at least in the opening round. Conferences are too big to avoid bumping into each other though.

What are the odds they let Boise State hang onto a bye instead of puffing up whoever emerges from the Big 12?

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

I haven't watched the playoff selection show in weeks, but it all has the same feel as cable news in the weeks leading up to Election Day. They a horse race to talk about so they create one.

 

[BTExpress]

Well, there is a lot that can still happen, so excitement of "can we sneak in?" and "can we host a game?" is real and not manufactured.

Right now Tennessee fans aren't thrilled about potentially going to Athens --- again --- but with Georgia having two games to play, it seems likely they'll move SOMEWHERE else (either to a top-4 seed or on the playoff bubble --- both of which would get them temporarily out of Tennessee's path). Assuming, of course, a bed-****ting in Nashville doesn't happen.

What seems odd is the apparent advantage given the No. 5 seed (which seems cemented to be Oregon or Ohio State). That team will host the #12 seed, which is likely to be the last conference champion, and then would go and play the 4 seed, which is the lowest of the 4 byes. They could play the Big 12 champion and the G5 champion in consecutive games, which seems like a pretty easy path to the semis.

 

[HanSenSE]

I haven't watched the playoff selection show in weeks, but it all has the same feel as cable news in the weeks leading up to Election Day. They a horse race to talk about so they create one.

POLLS! Oh yea ...
Seriously, don't need to know how it goes week to week in this case, just let me see it at the end.

 

[Cosmo]

The nice thing about the playoff is that it's given us a lot of games that really matter in the national picture this weekend. Wouldn't have been the case just a year ago.

- Memphis at Tulane -- Green Wave has an outside shot of sneaking into the playoff if Boise stumbles. This game would have been meaningless otherwise, since Tulane is already in the American championship game.
- Oregon State at Boise State -- Broncos still in the hunt for a playoff bye and can't afford any loss and still make the playoff
- Georgia Tech at Georgia -- Every game left is an elimination game for the Bulldogs
- Michigan at Ohio State -- Always a big game, but the playoff adds another layer. What if Michigan pulls the upset?
- Tennessee at Vanderbilt -- UT would have no shot at the old playoff but can essentially seal a spot in the new one with a win
- South Carolina at Clemson -- De facto at-large play-in game?
- Maryland at Penn State -- Lions can't afford an upset
- Notre Dame at USC -- Playoff play-in for the Irish
- Miami at Syracuse -- ACC title game spot on the line, Miami definitely out of the playoff with a loss
- Cal at SMU -- There's a world where the Ponies get in at 11-2, but not if that '2' includes a loss to Cal
- Arizona State at Arizona -- Big 12 title game play-in for the Devils
- Purdue at Indiana -- Hoosiers need to kill their rivals for style points
- Texas at Texas A&M -- SEC championship play-in
- Kansas State at Iowa State -- Big 12 play-in for the Cyclones

I think the week-to-week is giving us a snapshot of what games really matter. That's great.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

- Maryland at Penn State -- Lions can't afford an upset

LMAO. Maryland is total trash. Franklin could send his second team and still win by 17.

 

[Cosmo]

I know they are. But the game still means something.

 

[dixiehack]

I think the Big 12 should lean into the “everybody’s good, nobody’s great” thing and start having all their games on Black Friday, which they can then promote as Big Friday. Hold the matchup times as late as possible before announcing and work to get the best games into prime windows. Between Fox, FS1 and all the ESPN options there’s room to make it work. I think you could draw a lot of the casuals who don’t have a game for their team that day and you avoid getting lost in the Rivalry Saturday noise.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Triple the number of teams in the playoff, stands to reason you wull also increase the number of meaningful (to at least one team) games in the stretch weeks of the season.

 

[Batman]

I think the Big 12 should lean into the “everybody’s good, nobody’s great” thing and start having all their games on Black Friday, which they can then promote as Big Friday. Hold the matchup times as late as possible before announcing and work to get the best games into prime windows. Between Fox, FS1 and all the ESPN options there’s room to make it work. I think you could draw a lot of the casuals who don’t have a game for their team that day and you avoid getting lost in the Rivalry Saturday noise.

The Black Friday schedule is pretty stocked already, though. There are 13 games on the major TV outlets, including two with the Big 12. The primetime window is light (only three games) and there are no late night games, but it's not like they have the entire day wide open to themselves.

 

[Batman]

The nice thing about the playoff is that it's given us a lot of games that really matter in the national picture this weekend. Wouldn't have been the case just a year ago.

- Memphis at Tulane -- Green Wave has an outside shot of sneaking into the playoff if Boise stumbles. This game would have been meaningless otherwise, since Tulane is already in the American championship game.
- Oregon State at Boise State -- Broncos still in the hunt for a playoff bye and can't afford any loss and still make the playoff
- Georgia Tech at Georgia -- Every game left is an elimination game for the Bulldogs
- Michigan at Ohio State -- Always a big game, but the playoff adds another layer. What if Michigan pulls the upset?
- Tennessee at Vanderbilt -- UT would have no shot at the old playoff but can essentially seal a spot in the new one with a win
- South Carolina at Clemson -- De facto at-large play-in game?
- Maryland at Penn State -- Lions can't afford an upset
- Notre Dame at USC -- Playoff play-in for the Irish
- Miami at Syracuse -- ACC title game spot on the line, Miami definitely out of the playoff with a loss
- Cal at SMU -- There's a world where the Ponies get in at 11-2, but not if that '2' includes a loss to Cal
- Arizona State at Arizona -- Big 12 title game play-in for the Devils
- Purdue at Indiana -- Hoosiers need to kill their rivals for style points
- Texas at Texas A&M -- SEC championship play-in
- Kansas State at Iowa State -- Big 12 play-in for the Cyclones

I think the week-to-week is giving us a snapshot of what games really matter. That's great.

Add the Iron Bowl and Egg Bowl to those as well. Alabama and Ole Miss are lurking at Nos. 13 and 14 and ready to scoot by on the inside if there's a car crash in front of them.

 

[DanOregon]

This is also the time of the year when teams magically drop in the polls because they didn't win convincingly enough - while a BigTimeU moves up off a bye week. I expect we'll see some manipulation of the final rankings to discourage conference rematches in the first round, protect SEC and Big 10 teams and set up highest potential TV ratings. I am looking forward to seeing an SEC team or Arizona State head to Boise or Happy Valley in December.