SportsNation Knows...Apparently the SEC Doesn't
by Mountaineer Chuck on Jan 17, 2012 11:22 AM EST
in BCS
Email
Print
Recent ESPN SportsNation polls about a BCS playoff reaffirmed what most of America knew beforehand – the SEC states love the BCS the way it is. The rest of us…not so much.
One poll question was, "What’s your take on a 4-team playoff in college football?"
- 62% of America thought four teams weren’t enough.
- 48 states thought that four teams weren’t enough.
- Only Alabama and Alaska thought four was fine. Do they play football in Alaska?
Another poll question asked, "Should a plus-one format use a nationwide committee or the current BCS formula to determine the participants?"
- New Hampshire was the only state north of the Mason-Dixon line to think the current BCS formula was sufficient to the task. I'm glad NH has clout in national politics, because most don't give a damn about what they think about sports.
- Every state west of Texas was in favor of a committee instead of the media determining the contenders.
Strange how the south always seems to think things are fine just the way they are.
Obviously, the "haves" are happy with the way it is. After all, who has won past BCS championship games? SEC teams, Florida State and Texas. Ohio State and USC (although the Trojan win was vacated) are the only non-southern schools to have won a BCS title.
There is a palpable sense amongst the majority of college football fans that most teams don’t have access to the holy grail of college football opportunities. Many SEC fans obviously feel differently. And why shouldn’t they, as 1/6 of their conference was in the championship game this year.
After bowl season I was pumped up to save the bowl system. I still am. But we desperately need the "Plus One" playoff format, if for no other reason than to reign in the SEC. I’ve got no trouble with teams succeeding and being better than others. That’s as American as apple pie. But preventing monopolies and collusion is American, too.
The conglomerate that is Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, LSU and Florida has won 60% of the championships under this system. By winning they’ve multiplied both their finances and facilities by leaps and bounds and put themselves further ahead of others. That means effectively that they want nothing to do with refining a system that has specifically benefited them.
The NCAA cannot continue to allow a system to exist that perpetuates a class of schools getting richer and richer while the rest of America’s football programs are effectively cut out of that same opportunity. The previous system - with its emphasis on polls and media - has provided strategic advantages to the SEC. If it hasn’t, than southern football fans should have nothing to fear by letting the games be truly settled on the field.
12 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I had no idea Barak Obama had a blog for WVU.
‘So what if the SEC has won every matchup in the five previous championships by facing teams outside of its conference. We don’t think it’s fair to other schools. So what if outcomes are actually determined on the field of play. We don’t think it’s fair to other schools. We need to punish the schools that have worked tirelessly for their crowns and find a way to keep them from winning anymore championships.’
Here are the facts.
The SEC introduced divisional play to the rest of the NCAA Div 1 schools.
The SEC introduced the conference championship game.
Four years ago the SEC introduced the “plus 1” system with the top four teams actually having a playoff and the only other conference to back it was the ACC. The Big 10, Big 12, Big East, ND, and PAC 10 wanted nothing to do with it.
The bowls are never going away and they shouldnt. It’s a chance to visit a large venue on a neutral field at great stadiums.
The polls should never, ever be decided by a committee. See the Heisman voting and decades of AP voters before the BCS. In all honesty, the computers are the best equasion for determining the polls along with the coaches poll.
Determining who deserves a shot at the crown is really simple. Just win. This year was a prime example. For OSU, Stanford, Wisky, and Oregon all they had to do was win against teams ranked lower than they were.
Seems to me that no one remembers how the polls were determined before the BCS. It was ten times worse.
but Alabama
didn’t “just win”. I totally think they deserved to be in the game but still.
Sure they did. The only loss of the season came at the hands of the #1 team in the nation.
Everyone else loss to lesser teams. I would have been fine with OSU playing LSU if they wouldn’t have lost to an unranked Iowa State that ended up going 6-7 for the season.
Disney can take all the polls they want
Money talks and BS walks. Sucks that it has to be that way. When the suits realize they could actually gross more in a playoff, things will change.
24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?
Seems like the SEC would want
the plus one, since they probably stand a better chance of having two in the top four than both #1 and #2.
Troll Tide Troll
The four team playoff needs to happen at the very least. I’m not convinced on a committee though. The committee would just be made up of all the same morons that run things now. Look at the NCAA BBall tourney committee now. Granted there’s what 66 teams now, and no matter what you do there will be a team that is out that feels like they deserve to be in. But Every Stinkin Year that committee puts someone in as an at-large that lost to another team that has a similar resume but gets left out.
Looking at this past football season you’ve got Bama, LSU, OSU, Stanford, Oregon, Arkansas, and Boise St. as your top 7 in the final BCS poll. The three that don’t get in to the plus one are obviously going to whine. I for one have ZERO confidence that a committee wouldn’t put Boise St in the playoff just to shut up the “not everyone gets a fair shot at the NC” crowd. Whether it’s the BCS poll or some committee picking the final four it’s going to be jacked up and controvercial every year. The polls may suck, but I feel like the good old boy system is even easier to perpetuate with a 10-20 person committee. It’s still politics.
For what it's worth...
by Something Witty on Jan 17, 2012 3:26 PM EST reply actions
If history is any indication, the less human element that is involved the more fair the process will be.
There’s no way a committee would work. Committee would equal collusion. The politics are the bowls but thats a side show. There are no politics for #1 vs. #2.
College football
would approach the NFL, in terms of popularity, etc., if the system was changed to an 8 team playoff. 16 is not necessary and 4 is not enough (although it would be a GREAT first step). Many argue that the college football season is so great because every week matters. This is flat out wrong. There have been years when there were 3 undefeated teams (Auburn was left out I think?) Every week DID NOT matter to this team. Simply the possibility of a team (with a championship resume) being left out of a BCS championship game is criminal. It can’t happen….I compare it to the judicial system. It sucks that we acquit some guilty but it happens. To convict the innocent is a travesty and can’t happen. We can’t not present an opportunity for the pinnacle of a season to a deserving team simply because they were lower in a preseason poll or because a computer had them behind #2 by .00003 points.
The bowl system is a failure (not for the small programs and would still be useful for the Marshall’s, UCF’s, etc.) in determining appropriate matchups and 2 championship game contenders.
And another thing…..is it really necessarily better that only 2-4 groups of fans have realistic chance of getting into final game during final week of season as opposed to 10-12 (as this would be the number battling out for those 8 spots). This is a topic that just makes no sense to me in terms of how “no-brainer” the solution should be.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
