Playoffs: And now extended playoffs

#1
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a vol n tears

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#1
Ever since the NCAA / TV went to the playoff system I have noticed a loss of interest in Conference Championships. As an older fan, I felt the college game losing its roots. In the playoff era all I hear from Tenn fans is making the playoffs. Makes me wonder if mid pack teams like an Ok St, Kansas, UCLA, Miss St, etc would be disappointed in winning a conference championship if they don’t make the playoffs.

My question: Would you, as a Vol fan, rather win the SEC championship, or get in the 12 team playoff and lose the 1st round?
 
#2
#2
a vol n tears said:
Ever since the NCAA / TV went to the playoff system I have noticed a loss of interest in Conference Championships. As an older fan, I felt the college game losing its roots. In the playoff era all I hear from Tenn fans is making the playoffs. Makes me wonder if mid pack teams like an Ok St, Kansas, UCLA, Miss St, etc would be disappointed in winning a conference championship if they don’t make the playoffs.

My question: Would you, as a Vol fan, rather win the SEC championship, or get in the 12 team playoff and lose the 1st round?
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Sort of a silly question, because if the Vols win the SEC championship they are going to get a spot in the playoffs.
 
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#3
#3
Conference championships will never again mean what they used to. For one thing, these Franken-conferences that realignment has produced are going to strip away traditional conference rivalries with these 'play everyone every two years' formats, and many conference games will be against teams that are SEC teams in name only. And with the silly playoff waiting, the conference championship games lose a lot of their luster, as it will be more about playoff seeding than actually being a conference champ. Just another 'tradition' out the window, no big deal.
 
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#4
#4
a vol n tears said:
Ever since the NCAA / TV went to the playoff system I have noticed a loss of interest in Conference Championships. As an older fan, I felt the college game losing its roots. In the playoff era all I hear from Tenn fans is making the playoffs. Makes me wonder if mid pack teams like an Ok St, Kansas, UCLA, Miss St, etc would be disappointed in winning a conference championship if they don’t make the playoffs.

My question: Would you, as a Vol fan, rather win the SEC championship, or get in the 12 team playoff and lose the 1st round?
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Playoffs. Making the playoffs gives you an opportunity to win a national title.
 
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#5
#5
sami said:
Conference championships will never again mean what they used to. For one thing, these Franken-conferences that realignment has produced are going to strip away traditional conference rivalries with these 'play everyone every two years' formats, and many conference games will be against teams that are SEC teams in name only. And with the silly playoff waiting, the conference championship games lose a lot of their luster, as it will be more about playoff seeding than actually being a conference champ. Just another 'tradition' out the window, no big deal.
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Winning the conference championship can be the difference between resting your guys w/ a bye in the first round or potentially traveling to Columbus or flying cross country to Eugene in December . I still think it’s a big deal.
 
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#6
#6
a vol n tears said:
Ever since the NCAA / TV went to the playoff system I have noticed a loss of interest in Conference Championships. As an older fan, I felt the college game losing its roots. In the playoff era all I hear from Tenn fans is making the playoffs. Makes me wonder if mid pack teams like an Ok St, Kansas, UCLA, Miss St, etc would be disappointed in winning a conference championship if they don’t make the playoffs.

My question: Would you, as a Vol fan, rather win the SEC championship, or get in the 12 team playoff and lose the 1st round?
Click to expand...

Gonna be honest here - I don't think I care much about either. The "SEC Championship" is sliding toward irrelevance. It's a chance to beat an SEC opponent in a game. A stop on the way to the almighty College Football Playoffs. In and of itself, it won't have meaning like it used to. So if that's the only win, it wouldn't really mean as much as it used to?

And getting into a 12 team playoff seems mostly irrelevant, so going out in the first round would be worthless. Being one of 12 teams is like being a Sweet 16 team in college basketball. Nobody remembers or cares about it by the time the next season rolls around. They certainly don't talk about teams getting to the Sweet 16 as an accolade the year after. So just making the CFP isn't really a big deal either.

Fact is, only the last two teams standing in the CFP will have any special significance. Everything else will be forgettable. Heh. It's the BCS all over again, except worse! A neat trick.

Which ... I guess ... makes my answer ... "these are about the same." So. Meh.
 
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#9
#9
loservol said:
Sort of a silly question, because if the Vols win the SEC championship they are going to get a spot in the playoffs.
Click to expand...

With the 4 team playoff it would not have guaranteed the winner a berth. What if the flu or something similair happened to Ga last year and LSU won the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
ASKING, what is more important, winning the SEC or making the playoffs
 
#10
#10
It was always understood that a playoff would diminish some aspects of what we had come to love about cfb. The importance of traditional rivalries, conference championships and the lesser postseason bowl games are among the things we knew would be affected. There's not a lot that can be done about it now. It's a new world, like it or not.
 
#11
#11
The SEC championship game is a huge game and always will be. I have seen great effort in these bowl games. The system will never be perfect but college football is strong as ever and is only growing in popularity! GBO
 
#14
#14
Fightmaker said:
If the Vols win 10 games, they are likely in the playoffs.
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Depends on the opponents and how many one loss and undefeated teams remain at the end of the season. So some seasons, 10 wins will get you in and other seasons, a 10 win SEC team will be left out.

A 10 win season and a SEC conference championship will probably get a team in the playoffs, but maybe not in the top 4. So that could be another argument for why the conference championship will still be important in the future.
 
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#15
#15
loservol said:
Depends on the opponents and how many one loss and undefeated teams remain at the end of the season. So some seasons, 10 wins will get you in and other seasons, a 10 win SEC team will be left out.

A 10 win season and a SEC conference championship will probably get a team in the playoffs, but maybe not in the top 4. So that could be another argument for why the conference championship will still be important in the future.
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A 10-win team from the SEC should never be left out of a 12-team playoff. You’re going to put a 10-win Penn State team ahead of a SEC team with the same record? They did it this year but hopefully they learn their lesson that Penn State isn’t worth a dang. Oklahoma would have been the odd team out but if they had that record vs SEC competition they would be ranked higher. Penn State will be left out in the future once those Pac12 teams are on the schedule because they won’t have a guaranteed 10 wins on the schedule every year. This is what it would have looked like this season.

 
#16
#16
VolPack22 said:
A 10-win team from the SEC should never be left out of a 12-team playoff. You’re going to put a 10-win Penn State team ahead of a SEC team with the same record? They did it this year but hopefully they learn their lesson that Penn State isn’t worth a dang. Oklahoma would have been the odd team out but if they had that record vs SEC competition they would be ranked higher. Penn State will be left out in the future once those Pac12 teams are on the schedule because they won’t have a guaranteed 10 wins on the schedule every year. This is what it would have looked like this season.

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Wildcard (Rnd 1)
Mizzou> Oregon
Liberty>FSU (upset)
Georgia>Ole Miss
Ohio>Penn

Big 4 (Rnd 2)
Mizzou>Michigan
Bama>Liberty
Georgia>Texas
Washington>Ohio State

Final Four (Rnd 3)
Mizzou>Bama (upset)
Georgia>Washington
(Bye week)

NC
Georgia> Mizzou (in overtime)
 
#17
#17
loservol said:
Wildcard (Rnd 1)
Mizzou> Oregon
Liberty>FSU (upset)
Georgia>Ole Miss
Ohio>Penn

Big 4 (Rnd 2)
Mizzou>Michigan
Bama>Liberty
Georgia>Texas
Washington>Ohio State

Final Four (Rnd 3)
Mizzou>Bama (upset)
Georgia>Washington
(Bye week)

NC
Georgia> Mizzou (in overtime)
Click to expand...
You think Missouri is going to Oregon and beating them in Autzen??? No way that’s happening.
 
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#19
#19
Woodlawn VOL said:
The SEC championship game is a huge game and always will be. I have seen great effort in these bowl games. The system will never be perfect but college football is strong as ever and is only growing in popularity! GBO
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I like that we're going to see legit SEC matchups literally every week next year...there's not going to be any of those "off weeks" where everyone's playing cup cakes. I like the 12 team playoffs b/c it will allow more teams to recruit towards the playoffs, where it's been pretty much a 6 team club the last decade...Bama, UGA, LSU, OK, OSU, Mich...and maybe ND every now and then. Think playoffs have a chance to make conf championships semi like CBB, where it's less important than if you get into playoffs and get hot/healthy at the right time. Those lesser bowls any more are going to just be exhibition games w/ all the transfers/opt-outs.
 
#20
#20
Take 16 bowls, and, make them the playoffs. Take another however many and make them the next round, then on...and on. Cut...the...rest...out.
 
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#22
#22
RDU VOL#14 said:
What’s wrong w/ that?
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I didn't say whether it was wrong or right, but being the 'conference champion' just means less in and of itself other than securing the precious, all important playoff bye. Read the comments in this thread. It isn't about the pride of being a conference champ, but instead the better seed and the playoff bye. And given the fact that almost half the conference aren't traditional SEC opponents, it makes sense, I guess.

Think about it - if UT won the SEC and got a bye, and then lost in their first playoff game, what will be the feeling in VolNation? Hey, we were conference champs? No, it will be the usual calling for the coach's head and ripping the recruiting, the failure to land talent in the portal, etc., etc. It's all about 'bragging rights' and trash talk now, so imagine going to your UGa or Bama buddies or work associates and bragging about being SEC champs. That ought to end up well.

It will probably never happen because of the differences in media payouts between conferences, but the ideal solution in this 'only the playoff matters' world that CFB has become is actually to have four 16-team regional divisions, with the top four in each 'division' having a playoff to determine the 'division champs', and then a 'Final Four' to play for the national title. You don't waste a week on meaningless conference championship games, it is the same four extra games for the teams that get to the final game, and you give 16 schools a 'chance' in a playoff. Let's just go all-in trying to be the NFL.

The idea makes me feel ill, but it seems to be where this whole mess is leading.
 
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#23
#23
Am I crazy for wanting to play in round 1 rather than have a bye? I just think that having that home playoff game rather than a neutral site would be an awesome experience, probably going to be some insane atmospheres. Just think number 8 Tennessee hosting 9 Michigan at 8pm on a Saturday night in December.
 
#25
#25
sami said:
I didn't say whether it was wrong or right, but being the 'conference champion' just means less in and of itself other than securing the precious, all important playoff bye. Read the comments in this thread. It isn't about the pride of being a conference champ, but instead the better seed and the playoff bye. And given the fact that almost half the conference aren't traditional SEC opponents, it makes sense, I guess.

Think about it - if UT won the SEC and got a bye, and then lost in their first playoff game, what will be the feeling in VolNation? Hey, we were conference champs? No, it will be the usual calling for the coach's head and ripping the recruiting, the failure to land talent in the portal, etc., etc. It's all about 'bragging rights' and trash talk now, so imagine going to your UGa or Bama buddies or work associates and bragging about being SEC champs. That ought to end up well.

It will probably never happen because of the differences in media payouts between conferences, but the ideal solution in this 'only the playoff matters' world that CFB has become is actually to have four 16-team regional divisions, with the top four in each 'division' having a playoff to determine the 'division champs', and then a 'Final Four' to play for the national title. You don't waste a week on meaningless conference championship games, it is the same four extra games for the teams that get to the final game, and you give 16 schools a 'chance' in a playoff. Let's just go all-in trying to be the NFL.

The idea makes me feel ill, but it seems to be where this whole mess is leading.
Click to expand...
How would that be any different than if we won the SEC this season and then lost to a TCU or undermanned FSU team? That comes with the territory of being the SEC champion.
 
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