The Real Difference With a Playoff

Now that the Presidential Oversight Committee (Gordon Gee's counterparts, yay!) has approved the playoff plan, we finally have a playoff. The whole world is different now

Except it isn't different at all. We have increased the access to the national championship from 1.6% of  eligible teams to 3.2% of eligible teams. We've gone from a two team playoff to four team playoff. We've moved the discussion from one to three teams 'getting screwed' to three to five teams 'getting screwed.'

The only real change is who is picking the teams for the playoff. We've gone from six computers, 115 former coaches, players, media, and administrators, and 59 coaches (or their proxies) making the decision on two teams to a committee of "knowledgeable" people, of a relatively small number, deciding what four teams will compete.  Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound any more likely to solve the legitimacy issue than the old way would have.

No, we are not getting a new world order in selecting a champion. We are getting a new world order in how we pick those that are playing for the championship.

And although it is worth a whole other post, I'll say we are going backwards in the money parity race. Don't think so? Bet you Boise State and TCU (and others) are more glad they changed conferences than they were three weeks ago. The day of the mega-conference is coming. If the pace of change in the summer of 2011 was dizzying, then the pace of change in the spring and summer of 2013 is going to knock your socks off.  With four slots on the table, the Pac 1x/B1G confederation, and the current SEC/Big 12 champions bowl, there is too much pointing to those with the most to gain continuing to consolidate the money (which is where the constant schedule strength talk is coming from). If that happens, there will be a big upheaval as programs go looking to ensure their place on that tit.

I know it is just a hunch, but it is a good one.

TD

-Blutarsky points out a feature (or bug) related to the money (Get the Picture)
-Notre Dame AD drops a hint at where this selection committee thing is going (South Bend Tribune)

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