main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Pardon the Interruption: an Arena game (Game Four: Opening Topic posted!)

Discussion in 'Archive: The Arena' started by Rogue...Jedi, Jul 23, 2008.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Onoto

    Onoto Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 7, 2004
    Good stuff, JCM, but you're wrong, and I'm going to tell you why.

    Even if Penn State goes undefeated, they'll be hard-pressed to beat out the Big XII and SEC champions, even if those champions have the expected one-loss. Their problem, more than anything, is that they finish playing on November 22nd while the best in the SEC and Big XII will still have two games remaining. You can impress a lot of people with eight good quarters. Who do you think most voters would go with: the Penn State team that beat Michigan State the week before Thanksgiving, or the Texas team that put up 45 on Kansas on December 6th? People are fickle, and fickleness doesn't favor the Big 10 in this circumstance. If Penn State goes undefeated (which is hardly a guarantee, given Ohio State's fine performance last week), they may well deserve a shot, but if there are two other teams who are also deserving, Penn State's probably going to be on the outside looking in.

    And while you're right in saying that the Big XII and SEC are too tough for any team to come out unbeaten (Texas has the best shot, but I wouldn't bet on it happening), I don't think pollsters would permit a USC team that lost to Oregon State play over an SEC champion Florida team that may have lost to Ole Miss, but beat LSU, Alabama, and Georgia. The championship game and the tough schedule could be viewed as condemning the SEC and Big XII, but Oklahoma can far more easily compensate for its loss to Texas than Ohio State can compensate for its loss to USC. There are simply more opportunities for the Sooners than the Buckeyes.

    As for who's going to be playing the national title game? I'm betting on Texas against Florida, with Texas probably being the better of those two teams. I don't think either Tech or Oklahoma State will beat Texas - I find @Kansas the most difficult challenge - and Florida should win the rest of its regular season games, and I'll give them a good shot at an Alabama team that may just face one close call too many.

    The best system, in my mind, would be exactly what they have at the lower levels. I don't believe that the NCAA will institute a playoff anytime soon, because although it would mean money, it would also mean expenses, and CHANGE! They'd have to dump the sponsors and alter schedules, and be willing to 'sacrifice' tradition. While that's silly in my mind, it'd go over like a ton of bricks with the conferences, the bowl sponsors, and the people who'd actually have to enact the changes.
     
  2. DarthIntegral

    DarthIntegral JCC Baseball Draft/SWC Draft Commish star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2005
    This is who I see coming out on top in college football this year: chaos.

    That's it. Nobody else.

    Let me remind you of two things at the end of the last two regular seasons in college football, since I have fonder memories of regular seasons than BCS Title Games.

    1) Two years ago, Florida leapfrogs idle Michigan in the final BCS standings to go to the title game against Ohio State. The rationale given by the pollsters: we don't want to see a regular season in-conference rematch in the title game.

    2) Last year, LSU leapfrogs Georgia in the final BCS standings to go to the title game against Ohio State. The rationale given by the pollsters: we don't want to put a team in the title game that didn't win their Conference title.

    Why do these things matter this season? Let me paint you two scenarios which are very much in the realm of possibility this year.

    First, entering the Conference Championship games, only two teams that are currently in the top ten of the BCS rankings have won out: Texas and Oklahoma. They are ranked 1-2 in the Harris, Coaches, and BCS going into these games. Texas wins the Conference title game, and Oklahoma can't go, because, as situation one points out, we don't want regular season, in-conference rematches and as situation two points out, they didn't win their conference title. So, who gets to leapfrog Oklahoma here to play Texas for the National Title? An SEC team that has two losses? An Alabama team that only lost to LSU, has one loss, but didn't even play for the SEC title (again, can't go, didn't win Conference Title). Maybe a Penn State team that lost a close game at Ohio State? There's no clear answer here. None. Chaos is on top of the college football world!

    How about another plausible scenario? Suppose that Penn State loses to Ohio State, Oklahoma loses to Oklahoma State, and Alabama loses to LSU. Now, add in USC and Oregon State winning out. That makes USC the probable #2 team in the BCS standings (given where they are now and everyone between them and the game losing out), but it makes Oregon State the Pac-10 Champions. So, by the rule from last year, USC can't go to the title game, they aren't conference champions (wait, you cry, they are losing out on a tiebreaker, they have the same record! So did Georgia!). Therefore, we need someone to leapfrog them. It can't be anyone from the Big 12, since only Texas can go from the Big 12. It *could* be an SEC team, supposing the eventual champion only has one loss. It could be Ohio State, but how do they pass a team that destroyed them earlier in the season, just because they are a conference champion and USC is not? There's no clear answer here, again. None. Once again, chaos is on top of the college football world!

    And neither of those scenarios take into account that Texas could lose a game, and still keep Oklahoma out of the Big XII Title game! Even more chaos!

    The point is, the system is flawed, and the action of the pollsters the last two years to play with the rankings the final week to tweak teams based on what they think is fair for the viewers and the teams involved has only added to the flaws and the chaos. The BCS is a mess. Unfortunately, it's also a cash cow.

    And, nothing short of an honest playoff is going to fix the mess. Not a plus-one. Not a four-team playoff. A true, honest playoff is what's needed. And, when they wake up and realize that will make just as much, if not more, money for them, it'll happen. But, it'll be a long time before that happens.

    My playoff proposal is simple: ten teams. The six winners of the BCS conferences, and then four at large teams, one of which must come from a non-BCS conference. Seed the conference champions 1-6, and the at-large teams 7-10. Take some of the more prestigious Bowls and put the playoff games there. Maybe the 7-10 game is at the Gator Bowl, and the 8-9 game is at the Peach Bowl. The next round of games is at the Cotton Bowl, the Citrus Bowl, the Holiday Bowl, and the Sun Bowl. The Semi-finals, championship, and Consolation game rotate among the
     
  3. Rogue...Jedi

    Rogue...Jedi Administrator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    Ok, here's the thing:

    I'm extremely busy at the moment, and this does not look to change for a few weeks, until around Dec 10-11. We have two choices for this at the moment. I can go ahead and post the competitors and first topic for this round, with the expectation that it will be notably slow-going, or we can officially put it on hold until a week or two into December and then start a more normally-paced game.

    Is one more preferable than the other to you?
     
  4. Onoto

    Onoto Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 7, 2004
    Don't put anything else on your plate at the moment. Let play resume when you're ready.
     
  5. JediCouncilMember

    JediCouncilMember Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2003
    Yeah, I have no problem waiting a while.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.