2022 College football playoff participants named

[vallygolf]

The playoff committee deliberated late into the night and have officially named the four participants for 2022:  1. Alabama 2. Clemson 3. Ohio State 4. Georgia (Or Oklahoma if undefeated).

 

Why do we even play games?  The rich in this system only get richer, and the have nots... have not a chance.  Heres looking to the same thing next year🤢🤮🤮

[jholz]

I do love the game on the field, but outside of that, college football has been and always will be something of a joke - at least until they correct the obvious injustices on which the system is built. The CFP is simply a canard that provides the basest semblance of legitimacy to a deeply corrupt system. 

 

As with everything in this country, if it keeps making the rich richer, we're all for it. 

[tiderider]

[RSinSG]

The playoff committee blatantly makes decisions intended to protect certain conferences. This year THE Ohio State got in in spite of a short soft schedule. However this year did show that there is no reason to not expand the playoffs to 8 (for now) as teams showed they can prepare for a game with short notice.

[GHIN n Juice]

I was talking about this last night with some guys.  The playoff is actually worse than the BCS.  It is limited to, at best, 6 teams that might be selected.  It has really made college football unwatchable unless you have a specific school you follow.  Personally, I’ve become much more interested in college basketball since the new process has failed so badly in football.

[tiderider]

this year showed what should be done, imo ... limit regular season to 10 or 11 games (it used to be 11 till the 90s, at some point; was 10 before the 70s or so) ... get conference titles done the week of tgiving ... this allows you to expand playoff to 8 teams ... have set sites for each round, based on geography, as best as possible ... ignore bowls and their archaic associations ... will never happen, but it's what should be done ... 

 

[vallygolf]

Im fine with 8 as long as it includes all power 5 conference champions and then the top 3 group of 5 conference champions (here is where the committee could be useful).  Basically you have byes for the top 3 teams (the occasional upset ala march madness would be phenomenal), and the lesser seeded conference champions get a chance to play each other.  College football only has merit if a conference championship means something.  Do away with money grabs known as conference championship games, play more conference games, and crown a champion.  Let champions duke it out in an 8 team tournament.  There is no room in an equitable system for A&M, Georgia, or non acc champion Notre Dame to be included.  Conferences can crown their champions however they wish, but they only get one participant.....unless they want to look at a 16 team scenario.

Edited January 12, 2021 by vallygolf

[jholz]

The thing that always kills me is when I think of how popular and profitable a March Madness style playoff for college football would be - seriously, 64 teams. All conferences have a shot. 

 

Second, get rid of the "student athlete" nonsense and start paying these guys. All they are doing now is wasting money on nonsense that nobody needs. This comes from an alum, and instructor, at an SEC school. The "education" many of these players receive is, in an of itself, a crime. 

[vallygolf]

I think that education portion is a bit more of a problem at SEC schools.  Not anything the school does or doesnt do, just the caliber of athlete (football especially) they recruit has professional aspirations.  Not conducive to valuing an education.  As both an athletic TA and Tutor during my college days (post doctorate) at both a Pac12 and SEC school, the caliber of student was as stark difference as the caliber of athlete.  

 

The problem is that a march madness style tournament (obviously 64 would be too many) would mean more money for everyone.....except the SEC.  They hold all the cards and nobody seems to have an appetite to challenge it (namely ESPN and other Media).  Myopic though, as less people are tuning in to watch less competitive games.  No doubt that Alabama is tops in the land, until there is a reward system in place for top players to seek enrollment at other universities it will be the case in perpetuity.  As is Nick Saban can walk into your living room and say.  All we have to do is win one or two tough conference games including the championship and even if we lose one of those you are for sure in the playoffs, and will be on national TV to promote your pro career.

[jholz]

26 minutes ago, vallygolf said:

I think that education portion is a bit more of a problem at SEC schools.  Not anything the school does or doesnt do, just the caliber of athlete (football especially) they recruit has professional aspirations.  Not conducive to valuing an education.  As both an athletic TA and Tutor during my college days (post doctorate) at both a Pac12 and SEC school, the caliber of student was as stark difference as the caliber of athlete.  

 

The problem is that a march madness style tournament (obviously 64 would be too many) would mean more money for everyone.....except the SEC.  They hold all the cards and nobody seems to have an appetite to challenge it (namely ESPN and other Media).  Myopic though, as less people are tuning in to watch less competitive games.  No doubt that Alabama is tops in the land, until there is a reward system in place for top players to seek enrollment at other universities it will be the case in perpetuity.  As is Nick Saban can walk into your living room and say.  All we have to do is win one or two tough conference games including the championship and even if we lose one of those you are for sure in the playoffs, and will be on national TV to promote your pro career.

 

I wouldn't say that the difference is as much between conferences as it is sports. The ACC is just as bad as the SEC when it comes to this kind of thing. For the major sports - Football and Basketball - the problem is endemic throughout the system. Baseball players, however, tended to be good students. 

[Hogan9]

2 hours ago, vallygolf said:

Im fine with 8 as long as it includes all power 5 conference champions and then the top 3 group of 5 conference champions (here is where the committee could be useful).  Basically you have byes for the top 3 teams (the occasional upset ala march madness would be phenomenal), and the lesser seeded conference champions get a chance to play each other.  College football only has merit if a conference championship means something.  Do away with money grabs known as conference championship games, play more conference games, and crown a champion.  Let champions duke it out in an 8 team tournament.  There is no room in an equitable system for A&M, Georgia, or non acc champion Notre Dame to be included.  Conferences can crown their champions however they wish, but they only get one participant.....unless they want to look at a 16 team scenario.

I like this idea except for the byes. The committee could rate all of the conference champions (five P5 and three best from G5) and let them play in the four top bowls (Orange, Sugar, Rose and Fiesta).

[Jose c.]

Coaching matters if urban we're to go say Texas or USC they would be in the mix within 3yrs. The train wreak of Florida St and my team Michigan should be in the discussion every 5yrs but coaching has killed them. So yea it will be those same teams, I think A&M will makes some noise soon. As much as I hate the same teams those kids are serious about winning so who could blame them.

[blaird]

I think the current CFP system is fine the way it is....for the most part, they get it right every year and the best two teams are playing for the NC. The top 4 this year was prob correct though an argument could be made for A&M over ND. Either way, Im not opposed to an 8 game system (more meaningful football for me to watch) but people will still complain about the 7 and 8 seeds and who got hosed. It happens in the basketball tournament every year and they have expanded to like 68 teams.

[vallygolf]

46 minutes ago, Hogan9 said:

I like this idea except for the byes. The committee could rate all of the conference champions (five P5 and three best from G5) and let them play in the four top bowls (Orange, Sugar, Rose and Fiesta).

The bye was metaphorical, in the scenario I presented the top 3 power 5 teams played the 3 group of 5 champions the committee ranks in the first round.  Most often this would be an easy win for the top teams.  This year would have been Liberty vs Alabama,  Costal Carolina vs Clemson, and Ohio State vs Cincinnati 

[MtlJeff]

I think it's likely there will always be 3-5 schools that completely dominate. But it's no guarantee that 10 years from now it will be Alabama. There always seems to be "runs" that these schools have , usually based on having the "it" coach who builds a program that churns out pros and that snowballs into recruiting

 

Once Saban leaves or Dabo leaves Clemson, most likely other programs usurp them and they fall off a bit. There was a time not too long ago when Florida and Florida State dominated, before that it was Nebraska. etc. 

 

There will always be a "rich" but it seems to change every decade

 

BTW Alabama is just too good right now LOL. I mean they are just a pro team. It's insane how easy they made it look against OSU who themselves are awesome. How do you even grade Mac Jones? Do people realize that Tua's receivers last year were Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Devante Smith and Jaylen Waddle? How on earth do you grade Tua? He's throwing to 4 first round picks being coached by former NFL head coaches at OC and head coach

 

I mean, how do you compare a guy like Josh Allen at Wyoming to guys like Tua coming out of Alabama

 

 

[jholz]

26 minutes ago, MtlJeff said:

I think it's likely there will always be 3-5 schools that completely dominate. But it's no guarantee that 10 years from now it will be Alabama. There always seems to be "runs" that these schools have , usually based on having the "it" coach who builds a program that churns out pros and that snowballs into recruiting

 

Once Saban leaves or Dabo leaves Clemson, most likely other programs usurp them and they fall off a bit. There was a time not too long ago when Florida and Florida State dominated, before that it was Nebraska. etc. 

 

There will always be a "rich" but it seems to change every decade

 

BTW Alabama is just too good right now LOL. I mean they are just a pro team. It's insane how easy they made it look against OSU who themselves are awesome. How do you even grade Mac Jones? Do people realize that Tua's receivers last year were Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Devante Smith and Jaylen Waddle? How on earth do you grade Tua? He's throwing to 4 first round picks being coached by former NFL head coaches at OC and head coach

 

I mean, how do you compare a guy like Josh Allen at Wyoming to guys like Tua coming out of Alabama

 

 

 

As usual, @MtlJeff points out something really insightful. I would say that Allen is at least three times the player compared to Tua. To do what he has done in Wyoming and Buffalo is clearly remarkable, yet we're always focused on the hype surrounding players coming from national championship teams.

 

As a high level athlete in two professional sports, I will tell you that for every Tua or Trevor Lawrence, there are 10 to 20 guys with a similar or higher level of talent who never get noticed. So much of sport is about marketing. The CFP is no different. 

Edited January 12, 2021 by jholz

[Jose c.]

20 minutes ago, jholz said:

 

As usual, @MtlJeff points out something really insightful. I would say that Allen is at least three times the player compared to Tua. To do what he has done in Wyoming and Buffalo is clearly remarkable, yet we're always focused on the hype surrounding players coming from national championship teams.

 

As a high level athlete in two professional sports, I will tell you that for every Tua or Trevor Lawrence, there are 10 to 20 guys with a similar or higher level of talent who never get noticed. So much of sport is about marketing. The CFB is no different. 

Is it hype?Tua did win a national championship his fresh yr,The performance he had against Georgia was legendary. Tua did have a down yr but NFL systems matter. I think it's a little early to make that comparison.  To compare Wyoming's    competition  against Alabama's kinda levels things.Will be interesting to see what Trey Lance does in the NFL.

Edited January 12, 2021 by Jose c.

[jholz]

7 minutes ago, Jose c. said:

Is it hype?Tua did win a national championship his fresh yr,The performance he had against Georgia was legendary. Tua did have a down yr but NFL systems matter. I think it's a little early to make that comparison.  To compare Wyoming's    competition  against Alabama's kinda levels things.Will be interesting to see what Trey Lance does in the NFL.

 

All we really have to do is look at statistics. How many quarterbacks drafted in the first round have successful professional careers? Not many here lately. If you look at draft order and success in the NFL, one gets the sense you would be better off throwing a dart at a board. Yet, every year the QB of the winning CFP team is crowned as the second coming. 

 

I realize I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but we can't all be Canadian, can we?

[MtlJeff]

8 minutes ago, Jose c. said:

Is it hype?Tua did win a national championship his fresh yr,The performance he had against Georgia was legendary. Tua did have a down yr but NFL systems matter. I think it's a little early to make that comparison.  To compare Wyoming's    competition  against Alabama's kinda levels things.Will be interesting to see what Trey Lance does in the NFL.

 

I don't mean to imply that Tua isn't a great QB. At the end of the day you have to be supremely talented to even be recruited by Alabama. Trevor Lawrence was regarded by some as the top high school QB prospect EVER...So these guys have chops

 

But i'm just saying some guys are late bloomers (Like Allen). How difficult is it to grade these prospects vs guys like Tua or Mac Jones who are coached by NFL coaches and throwing to 1st round picks behind NFL offensive lines. 

 

Scouting is probably much harder than it was. And i wonder if we will see guys at smaller programs fall through the cracks, though i suppose that has always happened.

 

Sometimes i think about how guys like Kurt Warner (or even Tom Brady) got very lucky to even get shots at running teams. It makes you wonder at other guys out there that didn't. Kurt Warner has led 2 teams to 3 super bowls, and was basically never highly recruited

[Jose c.]

MtlJeff, all great points and agree, love it when guys show up outa nowhere. Michigan had the Glasgow brothers who are perfect example's. Ryan,Graham,Jordan were all walk ons at U.M all got drafted and are playing in the N.F.L

[tiderider]

tua didn't really play his freshman year until the 2nd half of the title game ... he did bring em back, but that was essentially his 'year' ... everything else was hurts, tho tua probably should've played against auburn ... 

 

far as 'students', no one at a power 5 program is getting an engineering degree ... they're all getting similar type degrees - sociology, general business, marketing/etc ... 

 

grading qbs is probably better/easier at a program like bama since you're throwing to/playing with guys that have a chance at the nfl ... it's not set in stone that ruggs/jeudy/etc will be great in the nfl, but they will at least play in the nfl ... if a qb can make those throws, like jones has all year, it's fairly indicative of how they might perform in the nfl, i would think ... jones reminds me (physically) of tom brady ... decent arm, not the quickest feet, but very quick with decisions ... 

 

allen got noticed because he's tall and has a cannon for an arm ... those two things will get you noticed ... he had a very subpar year his sr year there ... it's not his play that got him noticed as much as his skills ... if you got skills, they'll find you ... 

Edited January 13, 2021 by tiderider

[PappyVanWinkle53]

On 1/12/2021 at 4:33 PM, jholz said:

 

All we really have to do is look at statistics. How many quarterbacks drafted in the first round have successful professional careers? Not many here lately. If you look at draft order and success in the NFL, one gets the sense you would be better off throwing a dart at a board. Yet, every year the QB of the winning CFP team is crowned as the second coming. 

 

I realize I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but we can't all be Canadian, can we?

Ummmm.....Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert (to name a few) are doing pretty well in the league right now.....all drafted in the first round.  Going back a few more years, Aaron Rodgers was also a first rounder and is currently the top rated QB in the league and likely MVP.

 

Sure there have been many first round busts (Johnny Manziel and JaMarcus Russell are the first two that come to mind).....but something we have to also keep in mind about players drafted in the first round is that they often end up with teams that are total disasters....ahem.... Cincinnati Bengals.  I was pretty impressed with what Joe Burrow was able to accomplish despite the worst O-line in the NFL this year (possibly ever)....he was hit or pressured more than any other QB in the league and the Bengals refusal to spend wisely to protect their investment cost Burrow the rest of the season (at minimum) with a nasty injury.

[PappyVanWinkle53]

On 1/12/2021 at 3:35 PM, MtlJeff said:

I think it's likely there will always be 3-5 schools that completely dominate. But it's no guarantee that 10 years from now it will be Alabama. There always seems to be "runs" that these schools have , usually based on having the "it" coach who builds a program that churns out pros and that snowballs into recruiting

 

Once Saban leaves or Dabo leaves Clemson, most likely other programs usurp them and they fall off a bit. There was a time not too long ago when Florida and Florida State dominated, before that it was Nebraska. etc. 

 

There will always be a "rich" but it seems to change every decade

 

BTW Alabama is just too good right now LOL. I mean they are just a pro team. It's insane how easy they made it look against OSU who themselves are awesome. How do you even grade Mac Jones? Do people realize that Tua's receivers last year were Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Devante Smith and Jaylen Waddle? How on earth do you grade Tua? He's throwing to 4 first round picks being coached by former NFL head coaches at OC and head coach

 

I mean, how do you compare a guy like Josh Allen at Wyoming to guys like Tua coming out of Alabama

 

 

For the most part, college football programs have great "runs"....just like teams do in the NFL.  Until this season, the Patriots have been a juggernaut for the past 20 years.  Today, the tide seems to be shifting to teams like KC, Green Bay and New Orleans.  Alabama has dominated college ball for the past dozen years, but teams like Clemson have risen to top tier status; Notre Dame is back; Ohio State is always dangerous; and Georgia is constantly a top 10 program.  There's no guarantee that Alabama will be a top program when Saban is gone.

 

Every once in a while, in both college and NFL, a team comes out of nowhere and has a great season.   LSU last year was one of the best college teams in history.....and they fell off the map this season.  Clemson the year before that was just as good, but has since regressed a bit.

 

For every "Vanderbilt" or "Wake Forest" in college football, you have a "NY Jets" in the NFL....teams that are perpetually bad or mediocre.

 

Could some improvements be made to the CFP playoffs??  Sure. But the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how you formulate the playoffs....the cream will rise to the top.  No one had a prayer against Bama this year.  Could you imagine what the massacre would have been if Iowa St or Cincinnati had been the 8th seed against number 1 Alabama????  No one had a prayer against LSU last year....the seemingly invincible Bama was humiliate by Clemson 2 years ago.

[vallygolf]

I think it is a fallacy to contend that "playoff formulation doesnt matter".  If 32 teams can legit recruit that they have a chance to make the playoffs it brings more parity than the 6 or so that currently are a "lock to be in".  I accept that there will be ups and downs, but the amplitude of those ups and downs is statistically smaller than any other major sport in breadth and scope.

[altess27]

My avatar will likely bring me some heat in this thread, I'm a die hard Alabama fan and proud to say so. We are on an unprecedented run right now for College Football, something that may never be seen again but as @MtlJeff mentioned plenty of other teams across different sports have gone on great runs as well. 

 

In regards to the playoff, I get that people are tired of seeing the same teams in it every year. That being said, it's not at the fault of the teams that are making the playoffs. Aside from Clemson the ACC is very bad, what happened to Miami, FSU and VT? The blue bloods in the BIG (I'm looking at you Michigan, MSU & Penn State) continuously shoot themselves in the foot which has kept Ohio State in the playoffs. I don't know what's going on with Auburn lately and I can't understand why LSU and UF can only put together a decent team every few years. UGA always tests BAMA but they seem to get upset once every year too. Texas is a mess and the rest of the BIG 12 just isn't that good which keeps OU at the top of their conference. The Pac 12 has had some good teams that always find a way to lose at the worst time.

 

Adding more teams would be great because it would open up the door for non power 5 teams to have a chance to compete for a title but until other power 5 teams start challenging OSU, BAMA, OU and Clemson you are going to continue to see those teams in the playoff. 

[GHIN n Juice]

All I can hope for is the NCAA busting Saban for what I can only imagine are a dozen different violations, giving them the ol’ SMU death sentence, and vacating all of their championships.

 

...please don’t wake me up until my fever dream is over...

Edited January 14, 2021 by GHIN n Juice

[PappyVanWinkle53]

15 hours ago, vallygolf said:

I think it is a fallacy to contend that "playoff formulation doesnt matter".  If 32 teams can legit recruit that they have a chance to make the playoffs it brings more parity than the 6 or so that currently are a "lock to be in".  I accept that there will be ups and downs, but the amplitude of those ups and downs is statistically smaller than any other major sport in breadth and scope.

I'm certainly good with expanding the playoffs....I've long argued to expand it to 8.  I could even see it looking like the NFL where you have 14 teams get in and the top 2 seeds get byes the first week.  It does remove some of the "what if....?".  But I stand by my previous comments: the outcome would have been the same no matter how many teams were given a shot.

 

As far as statistical ups and downs go, are we talking about number of championships or simply relevance in the league?  And how far back are we going??  One could easily make the argument that the NBA suffers from a "parity" problem that surpasses that of CFB. 

[shoot4par]

3 minutes ago, PappyVanWinkle53 said:

I'm certainly good with expanding the playoffs....I've long argued to expand it to 8.  I could even see it looking like the NFL where you have 14 teams get in and the top 2 seeds get byes the first week.  It does remove some of the "what if....?".  But I stand by my previous comments: the outcome would have been the same no matter how many teams were given a shot.

 

As far as statistical ups and downs go, are we talking about number of championships or simply relevance in the league?  And how far back are we going??  One could easily make the argument that the NBA suffers from a "parity" problem that surpasses that of CFB. 

 

8 would be perfect. 

[Jwin323]

The only way to correct what college football has become is to equalize academic standards and budgets at all competing schools. Each division should be based on some formula of that along with enrollment and scholarships available. It will never happen because those schools who currently enjoy these advantages will never give them up.