The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein consistently has excellent reads and sources on the shifting tides of Big Ten and college football, sans the sanctimony or the big, angry, fancy words I think are neat.
He delivered another no-nonsense dispatch Tuesday night in response to day one of the BCS meetings (11 conference commissioners plus Notre Dame’s emissary) in Dallas. According to his report, don’t expect no action or a 8/16-team playoff that either freezes out the smaller conference champs (8) or eats significantly enough into the regular season (16) that the power conferences can’t wield their giant TV contracts over the smaller ones.
So that leaves the four-team, plus-one model. And the Big Ten reported version — where four teams are sucked out of the bowl rota, semifinal games are played at home sites and the final game is put up for bid to any city/stadium that wants it — may already be in some trouble.
Greenstein writes: “But sources are skeptical that leagues such as the Southeastern Conference would OK the potential for prime-time December games in places such as Columbus, Ann Arbor or Madison, Wis.”
And one BCS administrator told the Sporting News’ Matt Hayes: ”‘The NCAA (men’s basketball) tournament doesn’t have campus games, do they?’”
Would the Big Ten still OK a playoff under some other format?
Greenstein again: “Some believe the answer is yes – as long as the Rose Bowl gets a ‘preferred position’ in the new format.”
Hayes’ sources weren’t so sure a plus-one could work with all the obstacles. Hayes writes:
“‘You drill down deep into these ideas, and there are problems everywhere,’ one BCS source said. Another source termed the problems with the Plus One nearly ‘insurmountable.’
The obstacles: the academic calendar runs through Dec. 21, and any model would have to account for university presidents’ desire to steer clear of playing BCS games during final exams (first week of December through Dec. 21). Playing on Christmas weekend also isn’t an alternative, nor is playing against the NFL playoffs.
BCS poobah Bill Hancock didn’t expect a decision before summer.
A plus-one is clearly in play. But you won’t get any more than that anytime soon.
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Agreed on the +1. Or you would see 2, if not 3 teams from the SEC, in that N.C title run. Sounds impossible? Then remember who ranks the BCS, and there is the COACHES POLL. Which ALL strongly, and I mean STRONGLY support the SEC. Everybody found out why Ala., played for a National Title against LSU. Okla St would have destroyed LSU, and made the SEC look like what they really are…. CHUMPS. That’s CHUMPS, not champs!!!! Now that this SEC conspiracy is in the open for everyone to CLEARLY see, maybe NOW we can get back to FOOTBALL. WITHOUT the politics. Maybe NU’s CHANCELLOR should take that same approach… yea? It would be great to see Boise St in a N.C. Title shot, and WIN it. This would clearly show, you DON’T have to be from the SEC to be a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. Then it would show how syndicated the rankings for the BCS, and coaches poll really are. Which would show, just how much the SEC has been SHOVED down other peoples throats. I think whoever sponsors the BCS championship game proved that, by NOT even broadcasting it on the LOCAL CHANNELS for everyone to see. It was ONLY seen on ESPN, the SAME chumps who FULLY supports the SEC. When is the last time you heard Mark May talk and BRAG about anybody else BUT the SEC???… NEVER!!! I’m a die hard HUSKER fan, AND for ANY team, that flat out CLOBBERS ANY team from the SEC. In fact I’m cheering on Mizzou to play in the SEC Championship, just to show how PATHETIC the SEC really is. To show the SEC is nothing more than a OVER inflated division, that gets it’s hype from OVER inflated EGO maniacs like Mark May, who CLEARLY supports the SEC in a NC EVERY season. The difference between the Big 8 and the SEC. OU and NU DIDN’T need the coaches votes to get them in a NC title shot. They were just THAT DAMN GOOD!!!! NOTE: I’m referring to the BIG 8, NOT the BIG 12. National Titles… OU 9… NU 5
“According to his report, don’t expect no action ”
What a wonderfully well written piece.
What a well-written reply
I read it as, “don’t expect them to stand pat with the way things are.”
There are pluses and minuses to every situation. There is no such thing as a perfect solution. But even with the problems, any of the playoff scenarios they suggest are miles better than the BCS.
That is for sure, the big slow needs to act, or fall into the abyss of mediocrity.
The first fallacy of a playoff is that the the 2 or 4 teams in the playoff are the same teams that played 30 days ago. Any true playoff scenario should be an extention of the regular season. You can be a completly different team in 30 days.(see Alabama, LSU). In that case, the major bowls would be an afterthought. I don’t see that happening. If people didn’t see dollar signs, there wouldn’t be any talk of a playoff. On Jan. 8, no one really cares who was #1.
I completely agree with your first sentence.
I think the big slow should hook a deal that makes each BIG school play a Big 12 school, as well as an SEC school every year in the non conf schedule.
Tbis would also include the current Pac 12 proposal/deal.
NU would open with cream puff then possibly face Texas, LSU and Cal before conf play.
I think the plus 1 is where we should start this process. It’s easier to deal with. After it is in place then start discussions on a plus 4. A plus 8 really is not a National Championship solution. It is only a tournament. In football we want the whole season to determine who gets a shot at the National Title game and therefore I think a plus 4 is as far as we should go but starting at a plus 1 is a good solid beginning. With a plus 8, we have the possibility of having a team with more than one loss who gets hot late and wins the whole thing. While that’s not the worst thing in the world it does take away from the importance of playing well early in the season.
I respectfully disagree about a playoff taking away from the importance of early season games. As it stands now, teams like to schedule 3 cupcakes and one solid team during their non-conference schedule for fear of tarnishing their BCS chances. If there was a playoff, a team could be more adventurous in their non-con scheduling and play tougher opponents without worrying that they’re out of the national title hunt before October.
If you make a requirement that only conference champions are eligible for the plus one then you would keep the importance of the regular season.
Just because I can……Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta and Cotton. 4 sites for regular bowl game, the 5th would hold championship. Let the 4 New Year’s Games vie for putting the BEST 2 Teams it can get for its bowl. Take it to the polls. How hard do you think the teams would play if they thought that they still had a chance??? Hold the Coaches/A.P./UPI/Writers/BCS/ESPN Poll after the games. Make it a must see event. The 2 highest ranked winners play at the 5th Bowl site. A week or two later(something like that). (Since this is going to start looking like the Super Bowl)I did NOT forget about the fans, but, let that HOST city and sponsors EAT the cost!!! Corporate sponsors can buy all of the tickets. Have a pool left for the fans. Have a lottery for the followers of the 2 teams that are going to play in that game. Give those “FANS” a real chance to see the game. Tickets will NOT be overly priced and have a tie-in package that will minimize the cost of travel and accomodations. O.K., it’s alright for a guy to dream……. isn’t it??? I would/could go into more detail, but….you all can pick up this ball and run with it/kick it around. PEACE
Sounds good and Semper Fi brother. Also I am not the least bit surprised that the Sec is going to be unwilling (afraid) to play tournament games in the cold North (cue the crying babies). So for the sake of appeasing the sec and their egos, we should hold up progress and continue to force everyone to play bowl games in the south and on the coasts just because the weather is a little warmer? I’m sorry, I thought we were talking about the game of football, not tennis.
Suck it up sec, if you think you really are that big and bad then prove it by being fair and open to the idea of playing road games at the higher seeded opposition (which the big boys in the NFL have always done). And Gbr