How would YOU fix college football?

[NormalBull]

I'm with Mike.  I like college football just the way it is.  There has always been controversy surrounding who is better which conference is best etc., dating back to the 1890's.  That's what makes college football so special.  Now, if I were a fan of a non-BCS school, I might think it needs changing, but I'm not so I think it is fine.  

Normal

[Economics_Nerd82]

1. No human polls. They're subjective and it should be based on objective reasons. Playoffs won't happen, stop dreaming.

2. Either every conference has a conference title game or none have it. Gives unfair (anticompetitive) advantage for some teams over others.

3. Seasons starts and ends on the same weeks for every team.

4. No more Division I-A team is allowed to play Division I-AA. Makes the game more competitive.

5. Seven wins are needed to go to a bowl (based upon a 12 game season). Going .500 for the season and going to a bowl game just doesn't seem right. Plus, I think this will be good for the bowls themselves.

6. Players are paid a stipend and have rights to their names. Everyone else makes money off of these kids there is no reason they can't be compensated for their time, effort, and hard work.

[Joe]

I really don't think they got it all that wrong this year, I just think the exploitation is a product of Michigan's influence in the media and the fact that their coach waited til AFTER the BCS standings were decided to make his case.

Did Michigan deserve a look, yes, but really can anyone say it's that MUCH of an injustice that Florida is in (put aside your hatred). They played more bowl teams, they beat a higher ranked team, they played a harder schedule, and won more big road games.

Michigan is getting the love/talk because the media wants to see the BCS go to hell. Had Florida been left out you would have heard the same arguments in reverse.

SOS DOES matter, if your conference is down, I'm sorry.  

[bull2saintleo]

1. No human polls. They're subjective and it should be based on objective reasons. Playoffs won't happen, stop dreaming.

2. Either every conference has a conference title game or none have it. Gives unfair (anticompetitive) advantage for some teams over others.

3. Seasons starts and ends on the same weeks for every team.

4. No more Division I-A team is allowed to play Division I-AA. Makes the game more competitive.

5. Seven wins are needed to go to a bowl (based upon a 12 game season). Going .500 for the season and going to a bowl game just doesn't seem right. Plus, I think this will be good for the bowls themselves.

6. Players are paid a stipend and have rights to their names. Everyone else makes money off of these kids there is no reason they can't be compensated for their time, effort, and hard work.

I agree with #'s 1-3 and 6.  #4 would be needed as an option and #5 can be retooled so that if needed, a 6-win team can be used as an at-large if no more 7-win teams are available.

[BigShoop]

no need to fix something that isn't broken

Every major sport is decided ON THE FIELD. College football is decided based on the opinions of people like us, geeks. How can that not be broken?!

[BigShoop]

Shoop...that system is already in place on a larger scale. It's called the NFL. It is also boring.

Thats your opinion, and I respect it. But how ridiculous would the NFL be if the Bears got screwed out of the Super Bowl because Mike Lupica and Skip Bayliss thought the Colts and Chargers played a tougher schedule?

Exactly...

I wish someone could tell me what was so wrong with the pre-bcs system. I'd rather have co-champions than the garbage we have now.

You said it yourself: co-champions. What's the point of playing the season if you beat every team you play, and still have to share your championship?!

My system makes the Cotton Bowl mean something. It makes the Gator Bowl worth a ****. It makes people care about the Independence Bowl. And in the end, it gives us a TRUE champion, who EARNED it.

[twillybull]

and your plan has plenty of problems with it as well. Just including the WAC, MAC, CUSA, and MWC leaves out the Sun Belt and some others.

no-- a few whiny brats like Lloyd Carr will just have to grin and bear it

Will it hurt USF down the line? Maybe. Who knows.

I thought it was Urban Meyer being the whiney brat that got him in the game.  Hell, he sure was stand up about wanting a playoff when it looked like the Gators were going to be passed up (and arguably rightly so).  

The fact that this system is so screwed up does hurt USF right now.  It hurts all of college football.  Why wasn't Louisville even in the mix?  Because the Gators are in a conference with name recognition?  Sorry, but the SEC is no tougher this year than any other BCS conference.  

The only way to finish the season fairly is with a playoff.  

[Bullism]

We all know the system is ridiculous and corrupt, so let's fix it. I'll go 1st....

1) NO MORE POLLS.

I know a lot of people don't like polls, but if it were to be based completely from W-L records, every title-hopeful would be scrambling to play the bottom teams. The UCF athletic department phones would be going crazy! They could fill up their schedule for years.

2) The number of games in the regular season is irrelevant, really. But your last game will be played on Thanksgiving weekend. The following weekend is conference title weekend......which leads me to #3.

Why would the number of games be irrelevant? Can one team only play 9 games and another play 12? I think this would have to be standardized somehow.

5) The 6 BCS conference title game winners will get in, AND get a bye week.

6) During this bye week for the others, the C-USA winner vs MAC winner will determine the 7 or 8 seed and the WAC winner vs Mountain West winner will determine the 7 or 8 seed.

The advantage for the mid-majors is the exposure and revenue that those games would gain for those programs. What better way to  hype a TCU vs Boise St / Tulsa vs Toledo double header than to have a national title shot hanging in the balance?

7)  This brings our total to 8 teams, beginning their tournament on the 2nd weekend in December. That would mean that the "Final 4" would be played Christmas weekend. With the Championship game to be played the following week, New Years.

8) As with the conference title games, the playoff games will all be played at former bowl game sites. You could even call them the Rose, Sugar, Orange, or whatever. And they could be rotated accordingly, if it means THAT much...

This year there are 29 bowl game sites. With my system, there would be 19.

My system gives the little guys a chance, and it makes every game MEAN something. It also gives us what we all want in the end, a true national champion.

Your thoughts?

This is a lot of travelling. A team that qualifies for the conference title game would have to go this route:

1 - Conference Title game

2 - Play in the Round of 8 game

3 - Round of Four game

4 - National Championship.

I think you would also have a hard time convincing the fans to travel to that many games in the timeframe of a month or so. That gets expensive.

So, the second-place team in a conference - Michigan, for example - would get no bowl game but Houston would? I don't think the alum would go for this.