JOHNSON: Playoff system better, not perfect
Published 11:10 pm Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Even the most well known philosophers say that change is inevitable. Nothing stays the same.
College football’s shift to a playoff was long anticipated. But what exactly does it accomplish?
One thing we know for sure will happen is an increase in revenue. I guess a sub-question would be who will receive the extra greenbacks?
Most fans and many coaches and administrators have been calling for some sort of a playoff for some time now.
They have it.
If the goal was to open up the championship opportunities, then mission accomplished. In the four-team format, two more teams will have a shot, which is better that what the BCS system had to offer.
Teams like Boise State and TCU that play a weaker schedule don’t have the national presence and may not produce high television ratings as others, now have a fighting chance at cracking into football’s title game but what about everyone else.
Granted, a team with one 12-0 season in one of Division I’s weaker conferences probably isn’t the nation’s best team, but who says that aren’t either?
The obvious answer is to play it on the field but the situation becomes delicate if a large playoff system is instituted. The regular season is college football’s best asset – it matters. The regular season needs to be protected. Teams must be flawless in their scheduled games to even have a shot at a title, so from the season-opener against Podunk State to the final game versus an arch rival, the season matters.
There is a fine line that college football must walk to allow all Division I teams the opportunity at a championship in any given year but at the same time make it an event for that season’s elite.
The four-team system is better than the BCS at unlocking the door for many programs but some may still find it impossible to reach the knob.
Time will only tell if the system will be a long-term solution.