[pavyracer]

This is why college basketball is better. Because Butler or VCU have a chance to win it all whereas Boise St or TCU are never given a chance to compete for a national championship.

[flyingillini]

Hell of a post! Good job Pavy!

[doublej95]

Many football fan boys still think the BCS is the better than having a playoff. College football is a joke without a playoff system. Who is to say a Boise St or TCU is not a better team then they every year National Champion from the SEC if they never have a chance to prove it.

[harlee71]

People complain about to many teams in the March Madness. I like to watch the smaller teams play the big names.

I think every conference in CFB should have a championship game and send it's representative to a similar playoff system.


Edit: FBS teams

[ebbearsfb1]

death to the bcs

great book

and everyone will still make money as it keeps bowl games in tact

[doublej95]

Just think if the BCS was in charge of the hoops the National Championship game would have been Ohio St vs Kansas

[agharah1]

VCU deserves all the credit in the world, but let’s be realistic: they won because they made their wide-open jump shots and Kansas did not. Jay Bilas hit the nail right on the head when he said college basketball is the sport where offense wins championships. KU’s abysmal shooting was all the defense VCU needed. Seeds don’t matter, talent doesn’t matter. All that matters is if you can get a little bit of consistency with your jump shot. That’s it. Things like defense and rebounding only come into play if a team actually misses its shots. VCU didn't, and thus KU never had a chance.

That being said, if the NCAA Tournament were done like the BCS, they would have just stopped playing games after the Sweet Sixteen and they would have just voted which of the two remaining teams ppl wanted to see play for it all and then have the rest paired off at random in meaningless exhibition games. Sure it would have been awesome to see Kentucky and Kansas play for it all, but they just didn't earn it. And seeing how all KU had to do was beat a 16 seed, a 9 seed, a 12 seed, and an 11 seed and still couldn't pull it off then they truly did not deserve it.

[THE PROFIT]

This is why college basketball is better. Because Butler or VCU have a chance to win it all whereas Boise St or TCU are never given a chance to compete for a national championship.

I think TCU is moving to a BCS conference, so the answer is 90% yes

[bornselling]

This is why college basketball is better

[Herky]

Just think if the BCS was in charge of the hoops the National Championship game would have been Ohio St vs Kansas

which it should be. VCU wasn't even supposed to be in tourney and now they have a chance to be national champs?!?! Get real. Tourney is a fraud. BCS works.

[Naz18]

It can be easily solved if they would actually play good teams during the regular season....if they beat a couple of good teams then they will get a chance...

[The Madcap]

Going to a playoff in college football will KILL Boise State's chances of playing in the Championship game. They are infinitely better off WITH the BCS than without it.

Boise is a complete fraud. Beating a conference full of weaklings and getting up for 1-2 big games a year is not that difficult. Does anyone really think Auburn or Oregon wouldn't have steam-rolled Nevada by 3-4 touchdowns this year?

That's the one decent WAC opponent Boise had all damned year, and they couldn't win it. There's no way in hell they are winning 3-4 games in a playoff against the best teams in college football. And even if they did, and made it to the championship game, by then they would be so physically and emotionally drained they'd get annihilated.

There's a reason the presidents and commissioners of the non-AQ BCS conferences/schools don't want a playoff. They know they'd stand no chance of ever winning the title. They will fight the playoff system more than the bigger schools.

Basketball is not football. It's a completely different sport. There advantages to the superior talent/size are much greater. That's just the nature of the game, how it's played, how it's scheduled, how coaches game plan. Maybe the better team gets clipped every now and then, but no weaker team like VCU is catching fire and beating 6 better football teams in a row.

[doublej95]

which it should be. VCU wasn't even supposed to be in tourney and now they have a chance to be national champs?!?! Get real. Tourney is a fraud. BCS works.

Isn't it nice they got to prove they belong in and have a chance to prove they might be the best. All it takes is being given a chance.

[CallMeChip]

Technically the BCS is a bunch of horseshit. The Playoff system is far more superior in terms of giving every team a fair shot, but when it comes down to it there's no big conspiracy it's simply about money. Bowl games = network sponsors, heavy merchandising, University money, cable deals, etc... Changing to a playoff format might be fair to the smaller schools, but the ncaa could give a **** about them, it gets enormous funds from this system, not to mention the schools that participate get millions of dollars. It's exactly like a monopoly, when you examine how ncaa div 1 recruiting is formatted. The only thing that can change it right now is for a non-aq to make an undefeated run while all the powerhouses accrue at least one defeat each. Boise came close to the run, but still didnt finish undefeated. As for whether Boise or TCU would've gotten steamrolled that remains to be seen regardless of what anyone on here says, but they didn't make it so we'll never know. The change of conference for these teams is what's giving them their shot, BSU to MWC and TCU to Big East.

[Wrigley]

Not unless they play tougher non conference opponents

[Mr KLC]

People are going to get weary of Cinderella, in hoops, if it happens year after year. It was nice when George Mason did it, then Butler did it last year. Now we have 2 teams like that in the Final Four, with no #1 or #2 seeds. The novelty is eventually going to wear out if this continues. The majority of people are not going to want to watch mid-majors in the big games year after year.

[Wiggums5]

People are going to get weary of Cinderella, in hoops, if it happens year after year. It was nice when George Mason did it, then Butler did it last year. Now we have 2 teams like that in the Final Four, with no #1 or #2 seeds. The novelty is eventually going to wear out if this continues. The majority of people are not going to want to watch mid-majors in the big games year after year.

why not? would you rather see duke, kansas, ohio st, unc be in the finals year after year?

[zoso11871]

This has been debated for years. But I do think that playoffs or some sort of tournament should be in place for college footbal

[Mr KLC]

why not? would you rather see duke, kansas, ohio st, unc be in the finals year after year?

Its not a matter of what I want. Its a matter of what ratings the casual basketball fan is going to give CBS. A lot of people don't watch basketball until the tournament starts. When Cinderella happens every few years it is something special. When it happens every year, it'll be stale, and not as sellable. Casual fans come to see the big names that they can relate to. Time will tell.

[BiffTFinancial]

this kind of pie-eyed, pandering, populist nonsense works on talk radio (if you can stand it) but that's about it. problem is, CBB can narrow down from 68 teams to 1 team in three weeks. logistically speaking, an 8-team playoff in CFB is the best you could accomplish in the same time frame, and it would be a complete waste including teams 5-8.

plus, FYI, Butler and VCU don't have DI-A football teams. the little guys you're talking about giving a chance are who, Northern Illinois and Florida International? football is a different game, far more likely to result in beatdowns by faves than upsets by smaller schools. we saw how overmatched UConn was against Oklahoma in a down year for the Big East. an optional plus-one format (which would be used when appropriate, like 2010-11, but not when not needed, like 2009-10 when Bama and Texas were clearly a class above the rest) is the most extensive playoff they should consider. a 16-team abortion of a playoff guarantees two things: 55-0 losses for Northern Illinois and FIU to Auburn and Oregon in the first round, and that teams will be injury-depleted by the time they reach the final. i can see how a plus-one makes sense (just not in 2009-10 when Boise, Cincy and TCU weren't worthy), but there's never been a season where i looked back and said, "man, i really wish the #5 or #8 had had another shot at the title after they blew chances during the regular season." thank god for the BCS that it would never allow such an abortion to occur.

[McBa1n]

NCAA Football is a joke.
At least TCU joining the Big East in 2 seasons will give them a shot at the title. I just boycott the BCS games and vote with my wallet. Too bad it hasn't worked so far.

[gdoom]

It would never pan out the same way. Completely different sport.. Believe it or not, big teams like Michigan or Ohio State would win every year..:

[pavyracer]

It would never pan out the same way. Completely different sport.. Believe it or not, big teams like Michigan or Ohio State would win every year..:

Michigan a big team? I spilled coffee on my tie at work reading this. And it was one of those oversized ones.

[doublej95]

College football only needs a 16 team or so playoff. No need for one the size of basketball.

[BiffTFinancial]

College football only needs a 16 team or so playoff. No need for one the size of basketball.

the inclusion of teams #5 and above is a complete waste of time. look at the teams who finished between 5-16 in the final regular season rankings. with the exception of Boise and Nevada, it's all big conference schools. why gin up a playoff system to give a second (or third) chance to Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan State, LSU and Virginia Tech? i'm an Ohio State fan and i'm 100% fine with the fact that their shot at the national title ended in Madison in mid-October, and they didn't deserve a shot at redemption. Same with Va Tech losing to Boise then JMU in September. it's the reason why CFB regular season is hands down the most meaningful regular season in sports.

i love the NCAA tourney, and stories like Butler and VCU are great, but anyone who honestly thinks that UConn, Kentucky, Butler and VCU were the best teams in college hoops this year wasn't paying attention. Butler had a mediocre regular season before turning it on in February, and VCU had a bad regular season before turning it on in March. if they don't hang on to beat Drexel 62-60 in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament, which got them a shot at GMU in the semis (the game that got them in), most of the people wringing their hands now would think that Shaka Smart was an up and coming rapper or something. anyway, a run like VCU's or Butler's simply wouldn't happen in CFB, in part because you can't play 3 games in 5 days. in closing, you know that an idea (8-team or 16-team playoff) is a bad one when Mike Greenberg and Dick Vitale support it. those two are literally always wrong (although i think that's part of their respective bits).

[Wiggums5]

But that's what makes March Madness so great is the fact that these other teams actually get a chance. Obviously VCU and Butler don't deserve to be in the final four with their regular seasons but they earned in thus far in the tournament.

You play the tourney for a reason, otherwise they might as well just had OSU v Kansas in the final because on paper that's probably what it should have been.

[jgray]

Pavy, the problem with you inquiry is that you've compared VCU to Boise St. That's not quite right. VCU on the national scale is much more similar to a program like Miami OH or Tulsa. Would you want to see those schools in the CFB championship game? I wouldn't.

[BiffTFinancial]

But that's what makes March Madness so great is the fact that these other teams actually get a chance. Obviously VCU and Butler don't deserve to be in the final four with their regular seasons but they earned in thus far in the tournament.

You play the tourney for a reason, otherwise they might as well just had OSU v Kansas in the final because on paper that's probably what it should have been.

right, and i think that's great for college hoops. however, (1) i don't think that it would translate to football [in part because probably 6-7 of 8 or 13-14 of 16 teams would be from BCS conferences, and none of the teams would fit the Butler or VCU profile from CBB; in part because of timing since you need a week between games], and (2) anyone has to admit that it's not the best way to put the best four teams against one another to determine a champion [that would be an optional/springing plus-one using the BCS standings]. i honestly have no desire to see Northern Illinois or Florida International "actually get a chance." they'd lose 55-0 to Auburn or Oregon or Bama in their first game.

you can choose drama that devalues your regular season (like most sports - CBB, NFL, WNBA) or you can choose accuracy and empirically determining the best team (CFB, soccer overseas). i'm glad that CFB chooses not to be like other sports that have made their regular seasons borderline-meaningless. or perhaps you haven't noticed that fantasy football has become the driving force behind the NFL's regular season.

[BiffTFinancial]

Pavy, the problem with you inquiry is that you've compared VCU to Boise St. That's not quite right. VCU on the national scale is much more similar to a program like Miami OH or Tulsa. Would you want to see those schools in the CFB championship game? I wouldn't.

exactly. the best case scenario for those teams is a bowl game, which they now get. far better to play in a bowl game they might win than a playoff game where they'll get annihilated.

[Wiggums5]

The reason I hate the BCS isn't the fact that teams like TCU or Boise St don't get a chance to play for the championship, it's that other BCS schools don't get a chance. Anything more than an 8 team playoff in CFB wouldn't make sense in my opinion. It would still leave room for a TCU or Boise but at least reward some of the other BCS schools who weren't #1 and #2.

Even if a playoff system was implemented, there could still be bowl games for the smaller schools.

[THE PROFIT]

The reason I hate the BCS isn't the fact that teams like TCU or Boise St don't get a chance to play for the championship, it's that other BCS schools don't get a chance. Anything more than an 8 team playoff in CFB wouldn't make sense in my opinion. It would still leave room for a TCU or Boise but at least reward some of the other BCS schools who weren't #1 and #2.

Even if a playoff system was implemented, there could still be bowl games for the smaller schools.

exactly, they could all still be "bowl" games for that matter, just the top 8 bowls go to top 16 teams in the bracket

[pavyracer]

I think the argument about playoffs is lame. They do playoffs in the lower college football divisions and the players don't die from playing 3 additional games in 3 weeks.

The playoffs will still be Bowl Games. They can start at 15-20th December for 1st round of the 16 seeded teams, 21-26th December for quarterfinals, 27th December to Jan 2nd for semifinals and a final game on January 9th which will put it on schedule like the current Bowl games. And you can still have the other meaningless Bowl games for teams 17th to 36th playing their single Bowl game like they do now.

[BigdaddyQH]

This is the pecking order for the BCS: 1. SEC. 2. Pac 12/Big 10+2. 3. Big 10+2/Pac 12. 4. Big 12-2. 5. ACC. 6. Big East. 7. MWC. Now what that means is this. If you had 7 undefeated conference champions, the SEC champion would either play the Pac 12 or Big 10-+2 Champion. If the SEC champion has a loss, then the Pac 12 and Big `10+2 champs play. And so on down the line.

That is the way it is, and the way it will be for the immediate future. Since TCU will be in the Big East as of 2012, they go to #6 in the pecking order if they run the table. Boise State is in the MWC, so they go to #7 in the pecking order. You guys who compare folotball to basketball do not have a clue. They do not have 22 starters on a basketball team. They do not even have 22 players on a basketball team. College basketball is so watered down because of the drafting rules that any team can be competitive with any other team. There are ZERO (as in NO) good college basketball teams out there. There is a big battle to see which team is the best "above average" team. Certainly no one can tell me that today's college basketball can even approach the game of 10 years ago. Now college football is better today than it has ever been. While players still leave early for the pro's, at least the vast majority of these players play three years in college, and others still play 4. That is a lot longer than the "one and done" that we see in college hoops. Not only that, but the sheer number of players that it takes to make a football team separates the great programs from the poor ones. It is easy for a team like VCU to find 5-6 good basketball players and a decent bench. Finding 22-26 good football players plus 40 backups is a totally different story. You guys who pull for the little guy tell a nice tear jerkling story. Get a Kleenex and stop your crying. You are comparing apples to oranges.

[PaperTrail07]

agree....good team chemistry and a dream...hard work...it is possible where in football...its not

[0hndycp]

Do you really think that if there was a playoff system in CFB that Boise of TCU would ever make the title game!! There is absolutely no chance they would be able to win 3 or 4 games against superior programs. Madcap had it right, the only chance that Boise st or the former TCU ever had was in the BCS system!! The only way to determine who the best team actually is to play a series of at least 5 games. There is no way on this great earth that the VCU's of the world would be able to beat the likes of Kansas in a series of 5 or more games!!! The tournament rewards the team that gets hot at the right time, which is the only way that a team that finished 4th in the CAA this year end up in the final four! Hell they didn't even belong in the tourney, they were out eating burgers and drinking milkshakes on selection sunday because even they knew they didn't belong!!!