Bye or no Bye?

[KINGSVOL]

That's the question? Would we rather have the first playoff game in Neyland or get a game off? Which would the coaching staff and players want. What about VOLNATION?

 

[Voltrapnbama]

Bye all day

 

[The Orange Pants]

You take the bye and a conference championship. This is a no doubter.

 

[VOLLeeann]

 

[sami]

Crazy question. In other words, would we rather be SEC champs or not? C'mon.

Admittedly, a playoff game at Neyland would be incredibly cool, but you have to take the conference title. They don't grow on trees.

 

[Special Ed]

 

[Tman44]

The program would be better with the income of a home game. A team that is well rested bodes well for the players and staff. Then you have to calculate the momentum bounce of a playoff win as well. I can see both being positives,

 

[VolnGermany]

I think it was Josh Pate that recently did a segment about this, and basically it would depend on who the other seeds are. You could get a team like Georgia or Alabama that ends up with a low seed due to having two losses and they would probably be a tougher matchup than a Big 12 champion or a team from the G5. (Theoretically, ask me again at the end of the season.) His example had the 1 seed playing a two loss Bama team in the quarterfinals, while the 4 seed played a weaker opponent. The point being that the bye wouldn’t be helpful in that scenario. Think I saw it on YouTube.

 

[McDad]

 

[madbamahater]

Bye Felicia

 

[Voltrapnbama]

I think it was Josh Pate that recently did a segment about this, and basically it would depend on who the other seeds are. You could get a team like Georgia or Alabama that ends up with a low seed due to having two losses and they would probably be a tougher matchup than a Big 12 champion or a team from the G5. (Theoretically, ask me again at the end of the season.) His example had the 1 seed playing a two loss Bama team in the quarterfinals, while the 4 seed played a weaker opponent. The point being that the bye wouldn’t be helpful in that scenario. Think I saw it on YouTube.

A lot of scenarios to be honest. But I’d rather be in the semis without playing than be an 8 seed and play a 9 and then turn around and play a #1 GA team.

 

[adam.vol]

In football, it’s wise to take the rest. Some teams are going to have it tougher than everyone else - those who lose their conference championship games, yet still make the playoffs. Said team would have a difficult time staying among the top 8 after a loss and would probably have to play a road game after just playing their conference champion.

The bye game is going to be an unfair advantage for a team that is already supposed to be one of the front runners to win it all.

 

[ntxVOL]

Would rather not play in SECCG than lose. The loser of that game has to turn around and play another.

 

[sami]

Would rather not play in SECCG than lose. The loser of that game has to turn around and play another.

I'd have to agree. It'll be interesting to see how teams that lose conference championship games fare in the playoff, as they'll be the only teams that will have to play 17 games in order to win the national championship or play in the final game.

The playoff has killed the importance of conference title games, as you could just as easily have a champion without them who earned it over the course of an entire season, and the focus now will be primarily on making the playoff anyway. But no policy or rule is ever changed in pro or college sports where revenue isn't the primary and often the sole determining factor. Ever.

 

[Special Ed]