Note to College Football: Get Rid of the Bowls and Improve the Playoff Model

Note to college football: it is time to get rid of the bowls and improve the playoff model.

My first memory of watching an entire college football game was January 1, 1969, when Rex Kern and a group of “Super Sophs” led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 27-16 win over the USC Trojans and their Heisman star, O.J. Simpson.

The Rose Bowl was the epitome of tradition. A great parade, followed by a matchup between the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions. Sure, there was 1942, when the game was moved to the campus of Duke University due to fears of a Japanese West Coast invasion (or terrorist attack) during World War II. But for more than half a century it was synonymous with the Big Ten and Pac-10. That ship sailed a long time ago with the coming of the BCS Era. I’ve gotten over it.

When it comes to college football I’ve been a traditionalist and have dragged my feet on most changes, including the BCS and the rampant conference realignments. In terms of declaring a national champion, I’ve never felt like we had to have a perfect system, free from any controversy. It never bothered me that many years there were multiple champions crowned. It was never more than two and it wasn’t like boxing where there might be three welterweight champions at one time. But now that we’ve made the first move to a four-team playoff  for the NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision – the only division in college football without a playoff – I want to finish the transition.

Here is how I would to it:

1. KILL THE BOWLS. Put the antiquated bowl system out of its misery. Some bowls still draw decent TV ratings and make money for host cities (usually), but it’s not uncommon to see half empty stadiums. If we just can’t kill the bowl games, at least mortally wound them. Make them the equivalent of the NIT basketball tournament – something for thealso-rans. The bowls were designed to combine vacation with football anyway, so this really isn’t a huge departure from their historical roots. Fans and players of good but not great teams will still get a reward. I think an expanded playoff model would dwarf the bowl money, but for those worried about  loss of revenues, this would assuage those fears.
   

   The Bear and JoePa are dead.  RIP. The bowls should be too.

2. END THE  WARM WEATHER BIAS. It’s not enough to get rid of the bowls. The top division of college football must also do away with the warm weather bias rooted in the bowl system. The bowls were created by the tourism industry. Midwesterners didn’t want to travel to Green Bay for New Year’s, so balmy vacation spots rolled out the red carpet and became the host cities. Football, at its best, is an outdoor sport that is played in all-weather conditions. Making the postseason a temperate weather event leads to a definite advantage for southern teams and a decided disadvantage for cold weather teams. For anyone that argues that the games won’t be as good in cold weather, ask the NFL how that’s worked out. Think Cowboys versus the Packers in the 1967 NFL Championship Game – aka The Ice Bowl.  The best college football players will be heading for locations like Chicago, Boston, New York, Cleveland, Buffalo, and other frozen tundra soon enough. Might as well get used to it.
3. EIGHT IS ENOUGH. Make it an eight team playoff. The champion from each of the five “power conferences” will be automatic. Then fans and ESPN pundits can gnash their teeth as they debate the merits of three at large teams. If ESPN gets its way, it will be three teams from the SEC West. So be it. We will still have a geographically diverse, truly national championship tournament. Will that get rid of controversy? Of course not. Three or four teams will have legitimate claims to get the final at large bid. Should we go to sixteen games then? That’s what they do in the other divisions of college football. I say no. Many of the players in the final eight will be close to earning a paycheck playing a violent game during a very small time frame. I don’t see any need to put them at further risk. Heck, I could live with four teams even if my team doesn’t make it this year.
4. HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE. First round should be a home game for four of the teams based on seeding.  There will be no empty stadiums. Regular season performance will be paramount in moving on. Yes, a Florida or LSU or Arizona State or USC or Miami might have to play a game in Columbus or Ann Arbor (not likely) or somewhere else north of the Mason-Dixon Line. That means travel—and thermal underwear.
5. THE SEMIS. I would then move the final semifinals to a neutral sites, alternating East-West and North-South venues every other year.
6. THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. Let cities bid on the championship game just like cities do for the Super Bowl. College football would make a ton of money. But instead of giving that money to further bloat coach’s salaries or the NCAA coffers, the funds could be pooled and go to player stipends. Hard to argue that.

If we have to have a playoff to crown an undisputed champion – and it’s been decided long ago, we do – let’s not stop with a committee of politicians making just four picks that guarantee at least one recognized power conference gets left out in the cold. Let’s get rid of the outdated notion of winter vacation at a warm-weather bowl site as a reward for players and fans – unless it is truncated from the championship playoffs.

It’s time for college football to do away with the bowls and improve the playoff model.