Sunday, December 5, 2010

Division 1-A playoffs 2010

No, the NCAA doesn't have playoffs for Division 1-A (FBS). They should, but they don't.

And, if they did, here's the right way to do it.
  • 16 teams: the 11 conference champions, plus the top 5 teams -- as determined by the BCS formula -- that do not win their conference.
  • The conference champions are seeded 1-11, as ranked by the BCS formula, followed by overall record.
  • The non-champion teams are seeded 12-16, as ranked by the BCS formula. This is similar to the NFL system, where the division champs are the top seeds, even if a wild-card team has a better record.
  • At each round, highest seed hosts lowest seed, second-highest seed host second-lowest seed, and so on.
  • Teams eliminated in the first round are still bowl-eligible.
  • The second round (quarter-finals) are can be combined with bowl games.
  • The third round (semi-finals) can be combined with top-tier bowl games.
The Field of 16

Here are the 11 conference champions, plus the top 5 non-conference champions, for your field of 16:
  1. Auburn (Southeastern, #1 BCS)
  2. Oregon (Pacific 10, #2 BCS)
  3. Texas Christian (Mountain West, #3 BCS)
  4. Wisconsin (Big Ten, #5 BCS)
  5. Oklahoma (Big 12, #7 BCS)
  6. Boise State (Western Athletic, #11 BCS)
  7. Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast, #13 BCS)
  8. Central Florida (Conference USA, #25 BCS)
  9. Connecticut (Big East, #26 Coaches)
  10. Miami University (Mid-America, #29 Coaches)
  11. Florida International (Sun Belt)
  12. Stanford (#4 BCS)
  13. Ohio State (#6 BCS)
  14. Arkansas (#8 BCS)
  15. Michigan State (#9 BCS)
  16. Louisiana State (#10 BCS)
With this field and seed, here are the first-round games:
  • Louisiana State at Auburn
  • Michigan State at Oregon
  • Arkansas at Texas Christian
  • Ohio State at Wisconsin
  • Stanford at Oklahoma
  • Florida International at Boise State
  • Miami University at Virginia Tech
  • Connecticut at Central Florida
Most people that don't like this, don't like teams like Florida International being seeded above teams like Arkansas. That would be solved if Arkansas had been their conference. FIU won theirs, and get the better seed as a result.

My plan is simple. My plan makes sense. My plan would work. The NCAA just needs to do it.

But they won't. Because their top priority isn't to make sense.

2 comments:

  1. This is as good a fix as any other I've seen. But would we have to trim the reg season down a little? Seems like the kiddies would get pretty worn down playing 16 or so games.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Only 8 teams have 1 extra game. 4 have 2 extra games. 2 have 3 extra games.

    1-AA/FCS, Division II, and Division III all have more than 16 teams in their playoffs, which means 5 rounds. It's not a problem for them, and their student-athletes actually have to go to class.

    ReplyDelete

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