Who Really Deserves to Be in the 2024 Playoff?

[FishDuck Article]

The 12-team Playoff is here and let all fans rejoice! That is, until Round 1 began and we saw just how large the disparity is between the highest-ranked teams and those lower in the bracket. The results were rather clear cut across this first round. The better rosters destroyed their lower-ranked roster competition. Coaching and game prep had very little ...

Who Really Deserves to Be in the 2024 Playoff? | FishDuck

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The 12-team Playoff is here and let all fans rejoice! That is, until Round 1 began and we saw just how large the disparity is between the...

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

There is a myth being perpetuated by ESPN and their gang of mouth breathers that the CFP should have the “12 best teams” competing for the championship. That’s very unlikely to happen because of the automatic bids for conference champions. There are a couple of things that have come out of the chief mouth breather, Kirk Herbstreit’s, pie hole that I would like to counter.

 

Best vs. Most Deserving:

He said this in reference to Indiana and SMU after their playoff performances. It’s not about who is best or more deserving. It’s about who “earned” their way in through their 12 game regular season performance. The three 3-loss teams that Herbie was honking for didn’t earn their way into the playoffs.

 

Ranked Wins:

Whenever I hear this I like to counter with the term “unranked losses”. These are obviously losses against unranked teams. Bama had two unranked losses and Ole Miss had three. A few playoff teams had one unranked loss (Tenn, Clemson, OSU and ND). The only way to overcome multiple unranked losses is to win your conference which is what Arizona State did.

 

Who you beat is more important than number of wins:

This was probably Herbstreit’s most idiotic comment. By his logic, NIU, Michigan and every mid-tier SEC team should be in the playoff. This is proof that lobotomies should be considered for SEC bias.
 

I agree that the SEC is a very tough conference, but so is the NFC East (historically) in the NFL. I don’t see them getting the benefit of the doubt for beating up on each other. If the SEC teams feel like they should get special consideration because their conference is too hard then they should find another conference to play in. I know of one on the West Coast that has a few openings.

 

 

[30Duck]

Two things have come out in the fallout of the 1st round, 1, it was the format's fault, not the Committee's and 2, ESPN has no shame. Herbie, come on. You say, "No offense to Indiana, but they shouldn't be in the Playoff" but completely ignore Tennessee's performance, and join the chorus spouting that 3 loss Alabama deserved to be in the Playoff of the 12 best teams?

 

If the opening round had given us the games that would have been without the automatic byes for the conference champs it almost assuredly would have delivered a better product, then, and moving forward.  Penn State's No.6 stroll to the championship game compared to No.1 Oregon's gauntlet, is the most egregious result of the faulty format.

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

Some of the first round teams have an easier path to the semi finals than does Oregon, but at least one team (Texas) lost multiple starters due to injury. Oregon could also get Harper back with the time off, but nothing has been announced yet.

[David Marsh]

They can fix the format but the blowouts will continue... Just later. 

 

I made a post about what the.playoff would look like if the teams were the same but the seeding was just 1-12 based on ranking. 

 

In that scenario Oregon would play the winner of Boise State and Indiana. That game would probably be exciting and fun to watch. The other first round games would be interesting as well. 

 

But the second round would have become the meat grinder for most teams outside of maybe Ohio State and Notre Dame. The second round would be a slaughter instead of the first round. 

 

There just aren't many teams of the caliber to belong in the playoff and NC hunt. 

[30Duck]

On 12/26/2024 at 8:34 AM, David Marsh said:

But the second round would have become the meat grinder for most teams outside of maybe Ohio State and Notre Dame. The second round would be a slaughter instead of the first round. 

 

Yes, and now they're planning to expand it even more? The idea of 'less is more" doesn't re$onate with the Powers That Be when it comes to crowning the FBS Champion. 4 wasn't enough. 8 would have worked this year. 14 would have quieted Herbie and Finebaum because Alabama would have made it in.

[GeotechDuck]

Good article!
 

The Alabama situation is hilarious.  First they lose to a 6-6 Vandy team. Then, after losing again to Tennessee in late October (who got blasted by tOSU in the playoff), they got rolled by three scores and didn’t score a TD against a team with 2 conference wins in late November. 
 

If that happened to any team outside the SEC, they wouldn’t be ranked in the Top 20.  
 

Of the three loss SEC schools, Alabama is actually the least deserving of the three to be in the discussion IMO.  They certainly don’t clear South Carolina, who won their last 6 games in October and November, three against Top25 teams and one against a playoff team.  
 

Ultimately, I think the committee got it right with SMU and Indiana in the field, and completely agree with the article that there is a huge gap between the Top 4-6 teams and the rest of the pack every year.  
 

 

[Charles Fischer]

On 12/26/2024 at 7:10 AM, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Oregon could also get Harper back with the time off, but nothing has been announced yet.

Harper was in the game in the second half against Penn State, and was key on a couple of plays in our final TD drive.

 

[Charles Fischer]

On 12/26/2024 at 8:34 AM, David Marsh said:

They can fix the format but the blowouts will continue... Just later. 

Great article David, as you present logic that I can swallow, and understand.

 

Many people forget that the first round of any Playoff is supposed to have blow-outs. That is what the correct seeding does, as in the "March Madness" you have No. 1 Seeds playing No. 16 Seeds in the first round, and they usually win by 30 points.  Everyone is used to it and it seems routine now.

 

If the football seeding was done correctly, the blow-outs may have been worse and they should be in the future.

 

[Charles Fischer]

On 12/26/2024 at 8:59 AM, 30Duck said:

Yes, and now they're planning to expand it even more? The idea of 'less is more" doesn't re$onate with the Powers That Be when it comes to crowning the FBS Champion. 4 wasn't enough. 8 would have worked this year. 14 would have quieted Herbie and Finebaum because Alabama would have made it in.

You know, I think I am in favor of 14 or 16 teams now so that all conference champions can get in, and we destroy the old Pac-12 team in the first round. Plus the SEC can get their undeserving teams in the Playoff and...

 

Have Them Show Us How to Do It...

 

[Jon Joseph]

OUTSTANDING, Mr. Marsh, OUTSTANDING!

 

Do you want a field with no controversy? 32 teams combine to form NFL Lite (NFLL.)

 

In the NFLL we have a salary cap, negotiated restrictions on transfers, the ability to trade players, a draft of high school players, an even split of media revenue, and we do everything possible to equalize a team's Strenght-of-Schedule. 

 

The top 2 teams have a first-round bye. Unlike the NFL, the NFLL does not reward division winners; the next best 12 teams make the Playoff field. The NFLL will have a Flex-Schedule so the later weeks of the season will feature Playoff play-in games.

 

The NFFL will have a professional group of on-field and in-studio referees. Reviews will be subject to the same rules used in the NFL. 

 

Your Record is What You Are! All games will be played in stadiums that can be enclosed in the case of inclement weather. Your Brand is meaningless. Where your team is located and the number of humans living in the city where your team is located is meaningless.

 

The NFLL does everything possible to take the human element, except for on-field results, out of the equation. 

 

OK, folks would still find something to beef about. How do you equalize injuries?

 

I think CFB is headed in the direction of the NFFL but I'm in no hurry to get there. Before we get there make logical changes to the PO format. Like, rankings = seeding. DUH! And have a 3rd party, the NCAA perhaps, manage the PO instead of a media company with a vested interest in which teams make the field. 

 

Thanks again, David, for a spot-on take!

 

BURY THE BUCKEYES!

[30Duck]

On 12/26/2024 at 11:25 AM, Charles Fischer said:

You know, I think I am in favor of 14 or 16 teams now so that all conference champions can get in

The Best 12 teams were there. The problem with the seeding was the overvaluing of the Conference Champions. Boise State wasn't better than Ohio State or Penn State because they won the Mountain West. In basketball it works, with 68 teams, to give Conference Champs AQ's. But with 12, winning your conference might be part of your resume', but shouldn't be automatic. 

 

 

[Santa Rosa Duck]

It has seemed to me all season that there were just 4-6 really good teams. As I look back over the past few years of the four team playoffs, it seems that there were only one or two teams complaining that they did not get in. I think the correct number is six not twelve. This is dragging out way too long for me.

[30Duck]

On 12/27/2024 at 10:10 AM, Santa Rosa Duck said:

I think the correct number is six not twelve. This is dragging out way too long for me.

You know, if it was 4 this season, it could have been All B1G. 1. Oregon 2. Ohio State 3. Penn State 4. Indiana. 6 would need some discussion.  Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas, Boise State, ASU?