Official 2020 College Football Thread

[Edward64]

I think 4 games is good.

Even if there is a debatable #4 or even #3, winning 2 games in a row with good teams means the eventual National Champions deserve it (unless there is a really bad blown call that swings the game).

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

4 is 2 too many.

8 is just people wanted to see bodies fed to lions.

Well going back to the old way you would have had Clemson vs Bama then and OSU getting screwed. College Football is definitely haves and have nots, but unless you want to go to a 3 tier English Soccer system with relegation / promotion to the tiers, you need to do something else to something else to bring some balance.

Originally Posted by bob

I think this shows that Alabama is amazing and there shouldn’t be 4 teams in a playoff. Why would you think Texas A&M would do better? They already got their ass kicked against Alabama.

And Cincy? With their signature wins being by 14 at home against Army and by a field goal at home against Tulsa. Yay

Don’t mistake this for me saying ND is great. They are good. Bama is way better.

Bama is elite this year and OSU is right behind them contingent on what type of game Fields plays but at least this allowed it to be settled on the field, regardless of how entertaining the game was and the majority of picks I saw had Clemson beating OSU.

The reason you go to 8 is to at least achieve some financial parity, no matter how short term with the payouts, and take advantage of the recruiting boost. There is a reason Boise State had a sustained run of success, that is just recently tapering off and Utah went from mid level G5 program to the PAC 12 darling pick. They pulled off new years day upsets over power conference teams and to a lesser degree UCF could be mentioned here as well.

Regardless of the frequency upsets are always a possibility and one team that would have been in the 8 capable of that this year was Oklahoma, who was playing as well as any team in the country offensively at seasons end and if they created breaks on defense could have knocked off a higher seed.

There is no perfect system with the landscape right now, but expanding the playoffs give more teams a chance to crash the party, no matter how rare, gets rid of 4 bowl slots that lose money with no marquee draws, gives all P5 conferences a representative and opens the door for one of those perfect storm G5 teams like 2004 Utah, 2007 Boise of 2017 UCF a chance to shock the world, if only for the first round.

Really not sure what the better option is unless you want to limit how many recruits at each star level teams can sign each year. But it certainly is not crowning a champ just by polls or picking only 2 play. That is how we got here in the first place.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by tarcone

The why 8 logic makes me wonder if they like 68 in BB. I mean #16 could never beat a #1, right? So why so many teams?

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

"Why even play 4 games? The number three team never has a shot...", this is why, bucko. If we had 8 teams, I guarantee a number 6,7, or 8 would go on a run every once in awhile.

Yes and yes, you can give it a shot or be like the corporation led by dinosaurs who just seat in meetings and say "Because that's how we have always done it" instead of looking for ways to innovate.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Butter

It's crazy how much motivation/ disrespect can play into a team's performance. Ohio St. hasn't come close to looking like that all year, but all the motivating factors were on their side, and they played like their hair was on fire all game.

Clemson did basically the same thing in 2016. Nearly blew their shot at the playoff by losing at home to Pitt, but made the playoff, blew out Ohio State and was able to get redemption over Alabama.

My question is, can OSU keep that up against Alabama? Will it matter? I expect it to be a better game than the ND game was, but it was clear today that Bama's offense is the best in the playoff.

Should be interesting

They certainly have the talent to keep up, especially if Fields and more importantly that line plays like it did against Clemson. They are also ripe for a let down after making Dabo eat his #11 ranking.

[cartman]

Longhorns fire Tom Herman. Wonder who they have lined up.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by cartman

Longhorns fire Tom Herman. Wonder who they have lined up.

For such a storied program they sure can't seem to get that big hire dialed in. You think a high profile coordinator?

[cartman]

No clue. I figured once Urban Meyer told them no, they'd stick with Herman.

[cartman]

Oh no. The rumor I'm hearing is Sarkisian.

[Edward64]

Don't really like the Longhorns (from the Hogs SWC days).

But they've been disappointing long enough, they should hire Petrino.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by cartman

Oh no. The rumor I'm hearing is Sarkisian.

Really weird that they're paying the Herman buyout to get Sark.

[tarcone]

Why didnt Hermans success transfer to Texas?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Why didnt Hermans success transfer to Texas?

1.) he's a weirdo

2.) Houston is maybe the easiest G5 to win at

You can't blame Texas for hiring him. Everyone wanted him at the time, but he's a guy that was exposed at a high profile job.

[Swaggs]

What are the odds that Herman turns around and does the Alabama internship program next year? Seems late in the game for him to get another gig this year.

[JPhillips]

24 million to buyout the full staff and how many tens of millions more to hire te new staff?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

24 million to buyout the full staff and how many tens of millions more to hire te new staff?

It's Texas. They spend that kind of money on lunch.

[Edward64]

Good wins for UK and Ole Miss. It really must be the speed or SoS.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Well going back to the old way you would have had Clemson vs Bama then and OSU getting screwed.

College football is already screwed, and it's been that way since the inception of the BCS in 1998. It's only gotten worse with the 4-team playoff. Players opting out of major bowl games to the point where the bowl system is now basically a joke.

You want to expand the playoffs to 8 or 16 teams? Be careful what you wish for. If you want to turn college football into the NFL, that's fine, but you'd better be prepared for other unforeseen consequences, like teams resting their starters for the conference championship game in the final week of the season. Ohio State clinches, and they rest their starters against Michigan in the final week of the season in what becomes a "meaningless" game. I wonder how that will play with the folks who are already bitching about players opting out for the "meaningless" bowl games? Speaking of automatic qualifiers for Power Five champions, that's a great idea, right? Until 6-6 Virginia Tech upsets 12-0 Clemson in the ACC Championship game. You want to talk about injuries? Did you watch the Ohio State-Clemson game? You're going to ask college kids to play four consecutive playoff games like that, and a 17 game schedule like the NFL?

College football used to be magical and majestic, especially during bowl season. Remember when it used to be a HUGE deal for players and fans of the Pac Ten and Big Ten champions to go to the Rose Bowl, or the SEC champion to go to the Sugar Bowl? Now you have players mailing it in or sitting out the games altogether if they're not playoff sites. So what if there was only a "mythical national champion" as decided by the polls? It seemed to be just fine before all of the changes came about that ruined it.

[cartman]

It is now official: Sarkisian

Initial impression is that it isn't much of an upgrade, factoring in the $25 million buyout for Herman and his staff.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

College football is already screwed, and it's been that way since the inception of the BCS in 1998. It's only gotten worse with the 4-team playoff. Players opting out of major bowl games to the point where the bowl system is now basically a joke.

You want to expand the playoffs to 8 or 16 teams? Be careful what you wish for. If you want to turn college football into the NFL, that's fine, but you'd better be prepared for other unforeseen consequences, like teams resting their starters for the conference championship game in the final week of the season. Ohio State clinches, and they rest their starters against Michigan in the final week of the season in what becomes a "meaningless" game. I wonder how that will play with the folks who are already bitching about players opting out for the "meaningless" bowl games? Speaking of automatic qualifiers for Power Five champions, that's a great idea, right? Until 6-6 Virginia Tech upsets 12-0 Clemson in the ACC Championship game. You want to talk about injuries? Did you watch the Ohio State-Clemson game? You're going to ask college kids to play four consecutive playoff games like that, and a 17 game schedule like the NFL?

College football used to be magical and majestic, especially during bowl season. Remember when it used to be a HUGE deal for players and fans of the Pac Ten and Big Ten champions to go to the Rose Bowl, or the SEC champion to go to the Sugar Bowl? Now you have players mailing it in or sitting out the games altogether if they're not playoff sites. So what if there was only a "mythical national champion" as decided by the polls? It seemed to be just fine before all of the changes came about that ruined it.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by cartman

It is now official: Sarkisian

Initial impression is that it isn't much of an upgrade, factoring in the $25 million buyout for Herman and his staff.

Yeah, he's not called seven win Sark for nothing. Bizarre move.. he'll recruit well but it's Texas and Texas recruits well anyway. A ton of money for at best a lateral move.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Good wins for UK and Ole Miss. It really must be the speed or SoS.

Hard to figure what to make of the Ole Miss win, with Pennix out (I was surprised, almost impressed in a way, with how competitive IU was without him tbh).

So it was IU without their QB vs Ole Miss with their most dangerous weapons missing (thanks to opt out receivers and an injured RB Ealy)

It was a fairly entertaining spectacle but beyond that I don't know that anybody learned anything about either team.

[NobodyHere]

Ohio State's weekend keeps on getting better:

Report: ‘Optimism’ that Michigan, Jim Harbaugh close to five-year extension - Maize n Brew

[miami_fan]

I wonder how many people view college football as NFL lite and would like to see it become more like the NFL. Not necessarily hardcore college football fans but the casual fan just watches college football because it is football. Or the NFL fan who watches college football with an eye to how a player will translate to the pros as opposed to how he will grow from his freshman to his senior year. It feels like all the changes were made to make it more NFL like. That being said, the idea that we would be trusting THE MEDIA to tell us who the best college football team is in 2021 is a hilarious thought.

[cuervo72]

There's no putting the genie back in the bottle though. No players are going to care about the old bowl system if you go back to it. There's too much money, too much TV. Which even the smallest of programs is on ESPN regularly. When a bowl was a chance to be in the national spotlight, maybe it mattered. It's just a regular Saturday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday now.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

When a bowl was a chance to be in the national spotlight

Or possibly "when a bowl was a sign of a pretty good season" instead of "your team didn't lose a lot more than they won".

[cuervo72]

Yeah, there's that, too. But as long as TV money is there, the crap bowls aren't going anywhere and they need their six-win teams!

[Brian Swartz]

I don't think it makes sense to assume that the bowl system would have held the same weight if nothing was changed. There were reasons why it changed. They weren't all good reasons, you could argue none of them were from certain perspectives, but it didn't happen in a vacuum. There were years with three major unbeatens. There were years with two but they didn't play each other in bowls because of those conference tie-ins. You can't have a thing called a national championship and pretend it means something and then not even try to have the best two teams play each other at the end of the year, and I don't think it's sensible to assume nobody would have care about a national champion for the last two-decades plus. It was a regular issue under the bowl system for a significant number of people, and I don't see any reasonable path to that concern not just increasing over time.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

You can't have a thing called a national championship and pretend it means something and then not even try to have the best two teams play each other at the end of the year

Never really had much of a problem with it honestly.

There were occasional years -- looks like 12 since 1950 -- where there were split champions in the two major polls but those certainly weren't the norm.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

College football is already screwed, and it's been that way since the inception of the BCS in 1998. It's only gotten worse with the 4-team playoff. Players opting out of major bowl games to the point where the bowl system is now basically a joke.

You want to expand the playoffs to 8 or 16 teams? Be careful what you wish for. If you want to turn college football into the NFL, that's fine, but you'd better be prepared for other unforeseen consequences, like teams resting their starters for the conference championship game in the final week of the season. Ohio State clinches, and they rest their starters against Michigan in the final week of the season in what becomes a "meaningless" game. I wonder how that will play with the folks who are already bitching about players opting out for the "meaningless" bowl games? Speaking of automatic qualifiers for Power Five champions, that's a great idea, right? Until 6-6 Virginia Tech upsets 12-0 Clemson in the ACC Championship game. You want to talk about injuries? Did you watch the Ohio State-Clemson game? You're going to ask college kids to play four consecutive playoff games like that, and a 17 game schedule like the NFL?

College football used to be magical and majestic, especially during bowl season. Remember when it used to be a HUGE deal for players and fans of the Pac Ten and Big Ten champions to go to the Rose Bowl, or the SEC champion to go to the Sugar Bowl? Now you have players mailing it in or sitting out the games altogether if they're not playoff sites. So what if there was only a "mythical national champion" as decided by the polls? It seemed to be just fine before all of the changes came about that ruined it.

I think it is cute that you think that it was the BCS or the playoffs that killed the bowl system. Money and exposure killed the bowl system. The kids don't need the bowls for that "final exposure" anymore. There have been guys making money off there talent on recruiting sites now since they were in middle school. Everyone around football from the media to the coaches are raking in money, while kids that often come from dire backgrounds sacrifice their bodies hoping for a lottery ticket to the NFL.

I'm sorry, it is not 30 years ago. The genie is out of the bottle, and the bowls are never coming back to prominence. Bowls were always meaningless unless the top two teams where playing in them, and even less so now. Now, they are just a chance to get some extra practice to get ready for next season (and get a few upper-classman some playing time before their careers are over.)

[Edward64]

The NC-Texas A&M game was very entertaining. NC defense got tired/sloppy in the 4Q but the score is not reflective of how close it was IMO. A good bowl game.

[tarcone]

This would be a really great tourney.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Hard to figure what to make of the Ole Miss win, with Pennix out (I was surprised, almost impressed in a way, with how competitive IU was without him tbh).

So it was IU without their QB vs Ole Miss with their most dangerous weapons missing (thanks to opt out receivers and an injured RB Ealy)

It was a fairly entertaining spectacle but beyond that I don't know that anybody learned anything about either team.

Not having Penix definitely hurt, although Tuttle did a good job hanging in there with a separated shoulder. Our defense didn't get the usual takeaways, and our offense coughed it up, so we were on the wrong side of the turnover battle. I really expected us to win this one, so I'm disappointed. Still no bowl wins since I left college at IU. Overall, it was the best season I have witnessed, and the future looks bright in Indiana. Something one could rarely say with a straight face over the past three decades.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by tarcone

This would be a really great tourney.

Lotsa victims, only 2-3 lions.
Enjoy the spectacle.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Not having Penix definitely hurt, although Tuttle did a good job hanging in there with a separated shoulder. Our defense didn't get the usual takeaways, and our offense coughed it up, so we were on the wrong side of the turnover battle. I really expected us to win this one, so I'm disappointed. Still no bowl wins since I left college at IU. Overall, it was the best season I have witnessed, and the future looks bright in Indiana. Something one could rarely say with a straight face over the past three decades.

Tuttle competed just fine, no doubt about it, no shade at all about what the produced. I really just felt like the QB was too much of an absence to overcome. And I'd have said that about pretty much any opponent they saw in bowl season. (I really liked his season and felt like he was a difference maker for them)

[Atocep]

I have zero interest in an 8 or 16 team College football playoff and my interest in a 4 team decreases every year.

As was the argument from many before the current playoff was formed, college football isn't built for a playoff.

[Kodos]

He is a difference maker for sure. I just hope he can stay healthy next season.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Lotsa victims, only 2-3 lions.
Enjoy the spectacle.

I know, it's hilarious seeing these 16 team brackets. When they get to the championship to play their 17th game of the season, will either of the two teams have enough healthy players to field a team?

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Bowls were always meaningless unless the top two teams where playing in them, and even less so now.

I'm going to respectfully disagree. Before the playoff system, it used to be a big deal for the fans, players and coaches of the Big Ten and Pac Ten teams to make it to the Rose Bowl. Likewise for the SEC champion to make it to the Sugar Bowl. Many people, including Nick Saban have said the same thing. Now, these players hear that these games aren't important anymore, and the playoff is the only thing that counts. They hear it from the media and their fanbases, and it's no wonder that it's sadly been trivialized to the point of being a joke now.

[JPhillips]

This was the one year they could have done a big tournament. Let everybody play five or six games and then do a big tourney. All they could think of was how to make this a normal season, but that was impossible. They could have had a memorable, one-time event that people talked about twenty years from now.

And I think Vic is right, a 16 game tourney could never work in a normal season.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

I'm going to respectfully disagree. Before the playoff system, it used to be a big deal for the fans, players and coaches of the Big Ten and Pac Ten teams to make it to the Rose Bowl. Likewise for the SEC champion to make it to the Sugar Bowl.

I can absolutely guarantee you that the Sugar Bowl was THE thing for SEC fanbases before all the silliness started. It was an event that was pretty much unrivaled in terms of anticipation, I know people who still have 40-50 year old Bourbon Street t-shirts bought on one of the trips.

I'd bet a lot of Pac-10 fanbases have Rose Bowl stuff the same way

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

And I think Vic is right, a 16 game tourney could never work in a normal season.

Yeah, taking a quick look at that bracket, let's look at Alabama as an example. So they go through the brutality of the regular season and conference championship game, followed up with an immediate home game, then expecting whatever healthy players remain and fan base to travel to Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami on successive weeks to play against three more elite teams. I don't think so.

EDIT: Folks, this is real life. It isn't some computer sport simulation for nerds like "The College Years", "Bowl Bound College Football", or "Draft Day Sports College Football." I wonder if anyone on this forum actually played college football on the highest level? I'd be interested in hearing their perspective on this.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I can absolutely guarantee you that the Sugar Bowl was THE thing for SEC fanbases before all the silliness started. It was an event that was pretty much unrivaled in terms of anticipation, I know people who still have 40-50 year old Bourbon Street t-shirts bought on one of the trips.

I'd bet a lot of Pac-10 fanbases have Rose Bowl stuff the same way

WVU's Sugar Bowl win in '06 is easily the most talked about game by WVU fans to this day. I'm sure a lot of other schools have BCS and big new years day bowls they fondly remember as well. Bowl games in general were a big deal and the BCS bowls an even bigger deal. The playoff games don't get the same level of attention or ratings as the BCS games and no one even bothers with lower tier bowls now.

This was exactly what many predicted. The playoff was pushed by fans that largely didn't understand what made people watch college football. Now we have a system few like and that they want to fix by breaking it further.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

I know, it's hilarious seeing these 16 team brackets. When they get to the championship to play their 17th game of the season, will either of the two teams have enough healthy players to field a team?

Do y'all just completely erase the FCS (or lower) playoffs from your minds or something? Last year in the FCS (2019-2020), North Dakota State beat James Madison in the Championship Game to go 16-0 (James Madison ended up at 14-2).

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

There were occasional years -- looks like 12 since 1950 -- where there were split champions in the two major polls but those certainly weren't the norm.

It's not just the seasons with split champions though. It's the seasons with consensus champions where the consensus is just plain wrong. For a recent example, it was clear to everybody in 2018 that Alabama was the best team all year long. That includes what almost the entire board here thought - right up until they lost by 28 to Clemson.

As the saying goes, that's why you play the games. The best team doesn't always win in a head-to-head but even the best practitioners of the 'eye test', advanced metrics, or whatever-the-heck-else they might wish to employ are just plain wrong too often to be relied upon. Sports by their nature are fundamentally a form of competition, not something determined by punditry.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Do y'all just completely erase the FCS (or lower) playoffs from your minds or something? Last year in the FCS (2019-2020), North Dakota State beat James Madison in the Championship Game to go 16-0 (James Madison ended up at 14-2).

They don't play conference championship games, all of the playoff games except for the championship are played on the home campus of one of the teams, and there are no bowl games. I suppose that could be a starting point if one realistically expects this type of format in the FBS.

Also, I don't have any empirical data to support this, but I suspect that the amount of injuries (especially the severe ones) are less at the FCS level than the FBS. You're dealing with smaller, slower athletes, so the cumulative effect of the violent collisions would be a factor. Look at pro compared to college, compared to high school, compared to elementary school, compared to little league, etc.

[ISiddiqui]

And the pros, of course, play more than 16 games a year (for playoff teams). So why is D1 CFB such a snowflake division that makes it so different from FCS (and ever other lower college division) and the NFL at the same time?

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[Brian Swartz]

I think the answer to that is the players aren't getting paid for what they do, and those who expect to generally aren't playing in the lower divisions. D1 CFB really is in a unique situation in that regard.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

And the pros, of course, play more than 16 games a year (for playoff teams). So why is D1 CFB such a snowflake division that makes it so different from FCS (and ever other lower college division) and the NFL at the same time?

As I mentioned, the number of injuries at the pro level is the highest. That's why they have active rosters, injured reserve lists, and free agent signings to replace injured players. I suppose they might as well do the same thing in FBS. They've bastardized everything else.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

Yeah, taking a quick look at that bracket, let's look at Alabama as an example. So they go through the brutality of the regular season and conference championship game, followed up with an immediate home game, then expecting whatever healthy players remain and fan base to travel to Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami on successive weeks to play against three more elite teams. I don't think so.

EDIT: Folks, this is real life. It isn't some computer sport simulation for nerds like "The College Years", "Bowl Bound College Football", or "Draft Day Sports College Football." I wonder if anyone on this forum actually played college football on the highest level? I'd be interested in hearing their perspective on this.

Injuries/health have never been the concern here, you have a 12 game season, conference championship and 3 playoff games with 8 teams, 1 more than now. (Yes 16 is too many) Pro, college and even High School teams rarely do any full contact practice after camp breaks and even on the one heavier day it is full speed to thud, meaning nobody is taken to the ground and quick whistles. That is generally the only day in full pads, if at all. Adding an extra game is not going to destroy anyone.

The concern with extending the season has always been focused more on conflicting with academics above creating injuries. Beyond this the NCAA allots X amount of practice time for bowl prep and playing an extra game in there really only makes it more like the regular season with 5 or 6 practices between games instead of 10-12. So all you really get is the added risk of a 16th game. With the season spread out from late August to mid January the physical toll is not overwhelming. Most players that play Football for an extended time, especially into college and the NFL are going to end up with some issues later in life. I probably played through 4-5 concussions and get foggy sometimes, and also have osteoarthritis but that is from years of playing, not 1 extra game a season.

The NCAA is broken for sure, and more than an expanded playoff, evening out the cash flow will help more than anything, but you have to start somewhere. Hell, if it was me I would create a 3rd tier of D1 ball, create an elite division for the top 64 programs and let them crown winners of eight 8 team conferences and their is your 8 team playoff. The new FBS could be the next 72 and do the same thing over eight 9 team conferences, and leave FCS as it is or maybe bring up a few more teams to make Tier 1 and 2 72 teams each.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

Also, I don't have any empirical data to support this, but I suspect that the amount of injuries (especially the severe ones) are less at the FCS level than the FBS.

And to add in response to just this, the gap injury between any tier of college ball is not that pronounced. There are a lot of D1 talent/size players in JC ball that can ball and are only there for grades or other issues.

Once you get out of high school the potential for serious injury jumps considerably. But remember, beyond top end talent of course, the only difference between some FCS/FBS teams is a couple of inches/few pounds on your players (those measurables) and of course depth.