For those who think college football is the greatest sport in the world...

[UKS2H]

You must really hate playoff sports, eh?

I can't see how it could be the greatest sport in the world when you can't even prove who the best is because of money-hungry sponsors and greedy commissioners of conferences.

Everyone knows the current system is really not fair to teams who aren't in the monster conferences.

I just ask how it can still be the greatest if there is no real national champion on a regular basis?

[gerntz]

You must really hate playoff sports, eh?

I can't see how it could be the greatest sport in the world when you can't even prove who the best is because of money-hungry sponsors and greedy commissioners of conferences.

Everyone knows the current system is really not fair to teams who aren't in the monster conferences.

I just ask how it can still be the greatest if there is no real national champion on a regular basis?

Because every game is superior to any game in other sports. It's very easy.

[ukcatfan]

You must really hate playoff sports, eh?

I can't see how it could be the greatest sport in the world when you can't even prove who the best is because of money-hungry sponsors and greedy commissioners of conferences.

Everyone knows the current system is really not fair to teams who aren't in the monster conferences.

I just ask how it can still be the greatest if there is no real national champion on a regular basis?
You are an example of it.....it keeps people talking and posting.

It is funny you are posting on a team board in the best football conference.

Why don't you go out into the world and bring up the teams not in the monster conferences.

[UKS2H]

I never said I didn't like football. I have been to hundreds of football games and played myself.

I am just saying that it's OBVIOUS it's a load of crap the way the national championship is decided.

How can anyone disagree by now? Amazing.

[UedK]

I never said I didn't like football. I have been to hundreds of football games and played myself.

I am just saying that it's OBVIOUS it's a load of crap the way the national championship is decided.

How can anyone disagree by now? Amazing.

I agree with your take on the national championship.

I don't make the connection between that and footballs status as a great soprt.

[UKS2H]

I agree with your take on the national championship.

I don't make the connection between that and footballs status as a great soprt.

I didn't say football wasn't a great sport, and I'm not surprised at how popular college football is. I am just asking how college football, with its history of how they crown a champion, is ever considered the best.

I love football and would actually care about it a lot more if they made some type of play-in to where at least several top teams would get a chance.

I can't imagine what the NFL would be like if they just voted in the teams who play in the Super Bowl, and there's A LOT LESS TEAMS in the NFL, too.

[bret1555]

There is a school of thought that this type of controversy is EXACTLY why college football is so popular. My list is as follows:

1) Absolute, undisputed champion when it comes to the regular season. Every game counts more than any other sport. . . Start out 0-3 and you are done for the championship - this isn't true in any other sport.

2) Greatest rivalries and traditions, bar-none. You can have Yankees/Red Sox, Cowboys/Redskins, Green Bay/Chicago, Cameron Crazies, Rock Chalk Jahawk, et. al. I will take the Little Brown Jug, the Little Claret Jug, the Boot, the Ten-Gallon Hate, Paul Bunyan's Axe, Stealing the Goat/Mule, and the Beer Barrel (R.I.P.) I will take Harvard/Yale, War Eagle/Roll Tide, OSU/Michigan, Howard's Rock before SC, Traveller, FSU/Florida on Thanksgiving weekend, The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the Red River Shootout, Good Old Fashioned Hate, and of course, the Army/Navy game.

3) It is the last sport where coaches still matter.

4) Appy State. . . Or Stanford. . . Or Pitt. . . Even though NCAA B-ball probably has the lead when it comes to upsets, college football isn't far behind.

5) Variety. . . Most NFL offenses are just variations of the same schemes. In college football you have the Spread, the Spread-Option, the Wing-Option (I just love Navy's offense), the Chuck and duck, the good old I formation, the Pro I and Pro Split, the Ace, and even, occasionally the Wing-T. In the NFL, you have the 3-4 or the 4-3. . . In college you might find both those, but also the 3-3-5, 4-4, 52, 3-5-3, etc. Not to mention that there is also always some crazy man (a'la Joe Lee Dunn or Mike Leach) that pays NO attention to convention and blitzes 90% of the time or throws the ball 80 times a game.

I could go on, but those are the biggest reasons.

[The Old School JPS]

You must really hate playoff sports, eh?

I can't see how it could be the greatest sport in the world when you can't even prove who the best is because of money-hungry sponsors and greedy commissioners of conferences.

Everyone knows the current system is really not fair to teams who aren't in the monster conferences.

I just ask how it can still be the greatest if there is no real national champion on a regular basis?

The current system isn't unfair to teams that are not in good conferences. If anything, those teams get an unfair advantage and teams from good conferences are penalized. Look at Hawaii - they play a bunch of zilches all season and will get a BCS bid ahead of many teams that would embarrass them but aren't 12-0 because they faced tough schedules. The Big East and Big Ten champs go all season playing a lot of weaklings and then do not have to play a conference championship game. If you're in the SEC or Big XII you play a difficult schedule all season and then have to play in a conference championship game.

One reason college football is so great is that every game counts, every week counts, every loss is huge. In the NBA and elsewhere (including the NFL) you can finish the season .500 and still be in the running for a championship. What happened early in the season is close to irrelevant. In college football, in even the first few weeks of the season you have immensely important games that eliminate teams from championship consideration (Cal vs. Tennessee, LSU vs. Virginia Tech, etc.).

[UedK]

I didn't say football wasn't a great sport, and I'm not surprised at how popular college football is. I am just asking how college football, with its history of how they crown a champion, is ever considered the best.

I love football and would actually care about it a lot more if they made some type of play-in to where at least several top teams would get a chance.

I can't imagine what the NFL would be like if they just voted in the teams who play in the Super Bowl, and there's A LOT LESS TEAMS in the NFL, too.

For me college football is the tops. Playoff or not I just love the game. Personally the way plays out now does not affect my love for the game and I make no connection between the mess every year to get to a so called national champ and the actual game.

I would, however, like to see a real playoff and a real champion. I do agree with you if a true playoff were instituted the game's public popularity would go through the roof, mine is already there.

[UedK]

............................

One reason college football is so great is that every game counts, every week counts, every loss is huge. ...................



Very good point JPS.

[bret1555]

You must really hate playoff sports, eh?

I can't see how it could be the greatest sport in the world when you can't even prove who the best is because of money-hungry sponsors and greedy commissioners of conferences.

Everyone knows the current system is really not fair to teams who aren't in the monster conferences.

I just ask how it can still be the greatest if there is no real national champion on a regular basis?

I also don't understand why college presidents, doing what is best for their schools, is "greedy." There is a reason so many support the bowl system. . . Because the bowl system is better for more teams than a playoff would be. Many people talk about the success of the NCAA Tournament, but there really can be no comparison. . . 64 teams and 16 teams are not a good comparison. There would be much fewer games, so I think many people overestimate the revenue that would be generated by a playoff. Bottom line is this, the Bowl system rewards more teams in every Div. I-A conference than a playoff would.

[largebluej]

There is a school of thought that this type of controversy is EXACTLY why college football is so popular. My list is as follows:

1) Absolute, undisputed champion when it comes to the regular season. Every game counts more than any other sport. . . Start out 0-3 and you are done for the championship - this isn't true in any other sport.

2) Greatest rivalries and traditions, bar-none. You can have Yankees/Red Sox, Cowboys/Redskins, Green Bay/Chicago, Cameron Crazies, Rock Chalk Jahawk, et. al. I will take the Little Brown Jug, the Little Claret Jug, the Boot, the Ten-Gallon Hate, Paul Bunyan's Axe, Stealing the Goat/Mule, and the Beer Barrel (R.I.P.) I will take Harvard/Yale, War Eagle/Roll Tide, OSU/Michigan, Howard's Rock before SC, Traveller, FSU/Florida on Thanksgiving weekend, The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the Red River Shootout, Good Old Fashioned Hate, and of course, the Army/Navy game.

3) It is the last sport where coaches still matter.

4) Appy State. . . Or Stanford. . . Or Pitt. . . Even though NCAA B-ball probably has the lead when it comes to upsets, college football isn't far behind.

5) Variety. . . Most NFL offenses are just variations of the same schemes. In college football you have the Spread, the Spread-Option, the Wing-Option (I just love Navy's offense), the Chuck and duck, the good old I formation, the Pro I and Pro Split, the Ace, and even, occasionally the Wing-T. In the NFL, you have the 3-4 or the 4-3. . . In college you might find both those, but also the 3-3-5, 4-4, 52, 3-5-3, etc. Not to mention that there is also always some crazy man (a'la Joe Lee Dunn or Mike Leach) that pays NO attention to convention and blitzes 90% of the time or throws the ball 80 times a game.

I could go on, but those are the biggest reasons.

AMEN BROTHER!!!. . . you are not alone, there is actually a growing number of people who are coming to the realization that the absence of a playoff in the highest level of college football is not one of the seven signs of the apocalypse and in fact is key to the fact the sport produces the absolute best regular season of any sport, bar none. .. . .I heard one of the talking heads put it this way last week, "there is a lot more to our sport than the crowning of a national champion". . . .

[rsjones1983]

The only advantage to the regular season in every other sport is seeding for the playoffs right? So big rivalry games like the following: Yankees/Redsox, Cats/Cards in bball, lets say Cowboys/Redskins in football are all meaningless? The argument that the regular season means more than playing off and crowning a real champion is foolish, and college football is losing credibility each season that they continue without one.

[The Old School JPS]

I disagree 100%. What I think is foolish is sports like the NBA where everyone and their mother gets a postseason invitation (and even then they have best-of-seven or so series). What I think is great is that every single week of the college football season has immense implications for who can lay claim to being national champion - and even conference champion. That's special, and exciting, and no other sport has it. I don't consider that to be an argument against a playoff, but it's part of what makes college football great (and it can continue to operate that way even with a playoff IMO).

[bret1555]

The only advantage to the regular season in every other sport is seeding for the playoffs right? So big rivalry games like the following: Yankees/Redsox, Cats/Cards in bball, lets say Cowboys/Redskins in football are all meaningless? The argument that the regular season means more than playing off and crowning a real champion is foolish, and college football is losing credibility each season that they continue without one.

I don't think that rivalries in any other sport have the same level of passion that college football rivalries do. ESPECIALLY not MLB. . . Most of those teams play multiple times a season, so each meeting is simply not as important.

Even the biggest college Bball rivalries are nothing compared to their football counterparts. UNC/Duke is no OSU/Michigan. UK/UofL is no Auburn/Alabama. I could go on forever, but the point is, no sport has the passion of college football.

[UKS2H]

I also don't understand why college presidents, doing what is best for their schools, is "greedy." There is a reason so many support the bowl system. . . Because the bowl system is better for more teams than a playoff would be. Many people talk about the success of the NCAA Tournament, but there really can be no comparison. . . 64 teams and 16 teams are not a good comparison. There would be much fewer games, so I think many people overestimate the revenue that would be generated by a playoff. Bottom line is this, the Bowl system rewards more teams in every Div. I-A conference than a playoff would.

Sadly, I think the world is turning towards rewarding everyone more. It's funny that you mention how great it is to reward teams but then in another post you say that too many teams are rewarded a playoff spot in other sports. I really don't understand why rewarding everyone is better, either. It's like telling people "okay as long as you have a team and win some games you can make the postseason". This is simply stupid and has ruined a lot of our high school sports because we are afraid to hurt peoples feelings. It's sports, not the Equal Opportunity Lender, you should EARN your position.

And, there would be more revenue because there would be more games!

If you think an 8-team playoff would eliminate some of these toilet bowls in which teams who go little to no better than .500 get to be "rewarded" with, you are wrong. The sponsors will never go for that because the crowds come and if there is money to be made, there will be bowls played.

[johnkyblue]

I don't think CFB is the greatest sport in the world. I think that any football game UK plays in is one of the greatest games in the world and I leave it at that.

[wildcatdon]

One reason I dont think you can have a playoff is the number of games to be played and how much time you are away from class..Plus the fact of the wear and tear on the athletes. I dont think we should be going the way of the pros and playing so many games..You surely dont want to get rid of any regular season games as you would lose money..College football is great as it is..I hope it never changes from the way it is,maybe some tweaking here and there as Illinois does not belong in the Rose Bowl,but that is for another discussion...I love the game..

[LiveBlue]

Every week of the regular season in college football has a playoff type atmosphere. The regular season is the playoff.

[badbrad]

No debate that College football is awesome!! What's even more Awesome is that we Kentucky Fans are still talking about it in December! As for the BCS......let's face it. It Blows! How can the "Luckeyes" be awarded a National Championship game? Sure just one loss, but they aren't playing in the SEC either. How is that really fair? LSU has two losses, who cares if they were in OT or not! I'm sure the other two loss teams feel slighted.....and I'm so glad that I'm not a Mizzou fan today.

Bottom line they could do a playoff while still incorporating the Bowl games! limit to 6 or 8 teams and then you wouldn't be playing ball to February. Each week the games would still be as important, I think it would put College football way over the top.

[UKS2H]

Every week of the regular season in college football has a playoff type atmosphere. The regular season is the playoff.

I understand that. But, why is Week 1 a playoff? It's the first game of the season, for goodness sake. How can you judge a team in December based on something in August or September?

[bret1555]

Sadly, I think the world is turning towards rewarding everyone more. It's funny that you mention how great it is to reward teams but then in another post you say that too many teams are rewarded a playoff spot in other sports. I really don't understand why rewarding everyone is better, either. It's like telling people "okay as long as you have a team and win some games you can make the postseason". This is simply stupid and has ruined a lot of our high school sports because we are afraid to hurt peoples feelings. It's sports, not the Equal Opportunity Lender, you should EARN your position.

And, there would be more revenue because there would be more games!

If you think an 8-team playoff would eliminate some of these toilet bowls in which teams who go little to no better than .500 get to be "rewarded" with, you are wrong. The sponsors will never go for that because the crowds come and if there is money to be made, there will be bowls played.

There wouldn't be more games, though. . . There will be fewer. There is no way you can have a playoff with 20 plus teams.

When I wrote about rewards, I was talking about financial rewards. The current system allows an entire conference to share in the riches when teams make bowl games. My comment was about College Presidents obviously liking the bowl system because it will enrich their school(s), regardless of the post-season status of said school. My question is "why is that greedy?" It seems smart to me.

I never said anything about "too many teams being rewarded a playoff spot."

Lastly, I am a high school football coach, so I would disagree that the playoff format has "ruined" high school sports. . . We need to tweak some things, yes, but there is nothing "ruined" about high school sports. Any supposed lack of exceptionalism has nothing to do with the College Bowl System or KHSAA football playoff system, it has to do with parenting.

At any rate, my posts were regarding why I love college football.

[BigBlueManiac]

Bottom line they could do a playoff while still incorporating the Bowl games! limit to 6 or 8 teams and then you wouldn't be playing ball to February. Each week the games would still be as important, I think it would put College football way over the top.
I don't disagree with you at all, but with an 8 team playoff, some numbnutz somewhere would be griping because the number NINE and TEN teams weren't included.
Can't please everybody.

[UKS2H]

I don't disagree with you at all, but with an 8 team playoff, some numbnutz somewhere would be griping because the number NINE and TEN teams weren't included.
Can't please everybody.

No, you can't. But you can give legit teams a chance to win. That's what the 64 team NCAA Basketball Tournament does. As does every other sport in the world in a similiar way. The 65th team always complains, but did they really have a chance to win? Most would say not. The point is, you can't please everybody, but you can give teams who deserve a shot at the title a chance. Can you really say that NOBODY could beat OSU and LSU right now?