Playoff? Get ready for your Boise-types to have less access
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:03 am
CBSSports
Playoff system? Get ready for your Boise State-types to have less access
Dennis Dodd
By Dennis Dodd | Senior College Football Columnist
Tommy Bowden already sees what's coming in a college football playoff. His Tulane team was one of the first test cases of something called the Bowl Championship Series 14 years ago.
The Green Wave were one of only two undefeated teams during the 1998 regular season. Tennessee was the other. Tulane finished 10th in the regular season, eventually beating BYU in the Liberty Bowl. Tennessee went on to win the national championship.
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"Our schedule was just not very tough," said Bowden, who coached those 12-0 Conference USA champions. "I was getting a lot of calls from reporters. I just told them up front, 'I don't think our schedule merits me being in.' "
A team that produced an NFL quarterback (Shaun King) and one of the first refined zone-read, spread-option offenses, made its case beating the likes of SMU, Navy, Memphis and Army.
"I coached in the SEC for 11 years," said Bowden, who also worked at Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky. "I was so familiar with how that league was week to week-to-week ... That's kind of been my analogy. The schedule is such a huge factor -- schedule and margin of victory. Anytime I have voted [in the coaches' poll] those have been the two major things. Those guys like Utah and Boise, they just don't play the strength of schedule."
The outcry for those non-BCS teams, as you may have noticed, became louder and more shrill over the years. Five such programs finished undefeated regular seasons since 1998. Only one non-BCS school -- TCU in 2009 and 2010 -- finished in the top four.
Considering that TCU is now in the Big 12, no current non-BCS school has finished in that top four which figures to be the cutoff for the playoff beginning in 2014.
The growing realization is that access to the sport's new postseason will be worse for the have-nots. Worse, meaning the six power conferences are now down to five, at most, thanks to Big East realignment. Worse for those suddenly finding themselves outside of what is increasingly being referred to as the Big Four: Big 12, SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten. Teams from those leagues have won championships in 16 of the past 18 years.
Worse, meaning thanks to realignment two of those five schools -- TCU and Utah -- have moved up to power conferences.
Worse, in that it looks like for the first time since 1994, Notre Dame won't have at least de facto automatic access to a major bowl. Four years before the BCS was born, the Irish got into the 1994 Fiesta Bowl at 6-4-1. No more it would seem. Unless something drastic happens, Notre Dame is going to have the same access to the playoff as ... Army.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... ess-access
Playoff system? Get ready for your Boise State-types to have less access
Dennis Dodd
By Dennis Dodd | Senior College Football Columnist
Tommy Bowden already sees what's coming in a college football playoff. His Tulane team was one of the first test cases of something called the Bowl Championship Series 14 years ago.
The Green Wave were one of only two undefeated teams during the 1998 regular season. Tennessee was the other. Tulane finished 10th in the regular season, eventually beating BYU in the Liberty Bowl. Tennessee went on to win the national championship.
More on college football
Related links
"Our schedule was just not very tough," said Bowden, who coached those 12-0 Conference USA champions. "I was getting a lot of calls from reporters. I just told them up front, 'I don't think our schedule merits me being in.' "
A team that produced an NFL quarterback (Shaun King) and one of the first refined zone-read, spread-option offenses, made its case beating the likes of SMU, Navy, Memphis and Army.
"I coached in the SEC for 11 years," said Bowden, who also worked at Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky. "I was so familiar with how that league was week to week-to-week ... That's kind of been my analogy. The schedule is such a huge factor -- schedule and margin of victory. Anytime I have voted [in the coaches' poll] those have been the two major things. Those guys like Utah and Boise, they just don't play the strength of schedule."
The outcry for those non-BCS teams, as you may have noticed, became louder and more shrill over the years. Five such programs finished undefeated regular seasons since 1998. Only one non-BCS school -- TCU in 2009 and 2010 -- finished in the top four.
Considering that TCU is now in the Big 12, no current non-BCS school has finished in that top four which figures to be the cutoff for the playoff beginning in 2014.
The growing realization is that access to the sport's new postseason will be worse for the have-nots. Worse, meaning the six power conferences are now down to five, at most, thanks to Big East realignment. Worse for those suddenly finding themselves outside of what is increasingly being referred to as the Big Four: Big 12, SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten. Teams from those leagues have won championships in 16 of the past 18 years.
Worse, meaning thanks to realignment two of those five schools -- TCU and Utah -- have moved up to power conferences.
Worse, in that it looks like for the first time since 1994, Notre Dame won't have at least de facto automatic access to a major bowl. Four years before the BCS was born, the Irish got into the 1994 Fiesta Bowl at 6-4-1. No more it would seem. Unless something drastic happens, Notre Dame is going to have the same access to the playoff as ... Army.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... ess-access