📡 In a broken system, regional dominance by Southeast ruining college football

[Bama News]

In a broken system, regional dominance by Southeast ruining college football

There is only one correct solution.

www.al.com

Here’s the only proof needed to know college football’s postseason is broken, and that major changes are needed to fix it.

In the first five years of the College Football Playoff, no team from Texas or California has earned a berth in the four-team playoff, and the best team in Florida, Central Florida, hasn’t lost a regular-season game in two years and has been stonewalled by the selection committee.

It’s circumstantial evidence of a fraudulent postseason, but also a smoking gun of a broken system.

Texas, California and Florida are the three recruiting hotbeds of the country for college football players, and represent the largest population centers of football-loving fans, yet those three states have only produced one participant in the College Football Playoff. In the first year of the new system, Florida State played Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

Since then, nothing.

Meanwhile, teams from the Midwest — Michigan State, Ohio State and Notre Dame — have combined to score three points in the College Football Playoff in the last four years. Three points in three games! One field goal by Notre Dame against Clemson in the most recent college-football semifinal and that’s it.

Teams from Pennsylvania and the Virginias, three other epicenters for college football, have yet to make the playoffs.

Amazingly, the company entrusted with advancing the sport of major college football in this country, the College Football Playoff Administration, LLC, is instead changing it into something predictable, boring and exclusionary.

This offseason, when conference administrators meet to discuss how to improve the game, there needs to be serious discussions about expanding college football’s current postseason. An eight-team playoff isn’t enough, but it’s a good start to course correct a sport that’s going off the rails.

In the last four years, Alabama and Clemson have accounted for half of all the teams in the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma has been selected in each of the last two years, and just replaced its second consecutive Heisman Trophy winner with Alabama’s backup quarterback. That is an unhealthy concentration of power for a sport that is an incubator for corruption designed for the rich to always get richer.

There are several major problems with college football, and they’re all interconnected. For now, however, look past the media-rights deals and bowl agreements that have led to this mess, and the coaching salaries and bloated budgets that reinforce a broken system. A four-team College Football Playoff is a fraudulent, sick joke for determining a national champion, and is affecting the long-term health of the sport.

If college football wants to remain nationally relevant, then it needs a playoff that includes teams from throughout the country. It’s that simple. Regional dominance by the Southeast is ruining college football as we know it.

It’s not the fault of college football in the Southeast, of course. Schools here are just dominating a broken system year after year by out-recruiting everyone else. The sell is an easy one. The best players in the country want to give themselves the best chance of playing for a national championship. A handful of teams are now hoarding all the talent because entry into the playoff is so difficult to obtain.

Alabama’s starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, is from Hawaii, and grew up a fan of teams in the Pac-12. Alabama’s starting running back, Najee Harris, is from California. Alabama’s star receiver, Jerry Jeudy, is from South Florida. They came to Alabama to win national championships with Nick Saban and then go onto the NFL, and good for them.

It’s not good for the sport, though.

Currently, Clemson is ranked No.1 in recruiting for the class of 2020 thanks to four five-star recruits. The quarterback is from California, the running back and cornerback are from Florida and the defensive tackle is from Maryland. Only one of their 14 commitments are actually from South Carolina.

Alabama and Clemson have played for the national championship in each of the last four years except for one. In 2017, Alabama played Georgia, another team in the SEC. Last year, there was serious discussion of putting two-loss Georgia into the CFP over Notre Dame. Why? Because Georgia was that much better.

Notre Dame got in with one loss, but the Fighting Irish were inferior in every other way.

Is reform coming to the College Football Playoff?

Not if the SEC has anything to say about it. Just last month, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told me, point blank, that the SEC is completely happy with a four-team playoff.

“No, I think four works,” Sankey said. “It has worked, it does work and will continue to work. We will be attentive to conversations, but fundamentally that’s my statement.”

It works for a few teams in the SEC and Clemson. That’s great for us here in the Southeast where college football will always be king.

Here’s the problem, though. When you’re king of a broken sport, what does that really mean?

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

I wonder if it would still be considered broken if the b10g and pac12 were dominating it?

I have my doubts. Instead we would be reading about the dominance of perennial powers and basking in the glow of feel good journalism

 

[TUSKtimes]

Didn't UCF, who has been undefeated the last 2 regular seasons just lose to an SEC team that was missing about 12 starters from sitting out for the draft or to injuries? Fraudulence is where you find it. And what Texas or California team would you put into the playoff the past 5 years? You could have an 8 team playoff and those teams still wouldn't qualify.

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

I know the author talks about expanding the playoff but I also get the feeling he wants to talk about "balancing" the recruiting playing field also. I really think that will be the next rallying cry of the have nots.

 

[TerryP]

I really think that will be the next rallying cry of the have nots.

I've already seen it suggested that college football should adopt a system that's similar to how the NFL draft works. There, you'll find your champions with the last picks...it was suggested that every championship team should have a scholarship docked for the next recruiting cycle.

 

[UAgrad93]

I've already seen it suggested that college football should adopt a system that's similar to how the NFL draft works. There, you'll find your champions with the last picks...it was suggested that every championship team should have a scholarship docked for the next recruiting cycle.

Let me see if I am reading this correctly. So schools get to pick the kids and NOT the kids pick the school of their choice? So a kid like the Grimes kid, who is an UA legacy and 5 star prospect would be forced to attend a school that, lucky for them, they suck ass in football and received a higher "draft status"!!!! WTH????
We would then see the forced end of the transfer portal because no kid wants to attend a school that wins 1-3 games every year, with no TV exposure, and become the answer to some shitty trivia question. The transfer portal will explode!!!!

 

[TerryP]

@UAgrad93, if I told you that was the brain child of a LSU fan would you be shocked?

 

[UAgrad93]

@UAgrad93, if I told you that was the brain child of a LSU fan would you be shocked?

Not in the least!!!!

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

What not make everybody play two innings....

 

[TerryP]

 

[bama alum]

What not make everybody play two innings....

While we're at it, get @AOC in on it. Nostradumbass surely has a solution that'll work.

 

[sean]

hmmm.....let's see.....

the SEC wins 7 BCS championship games in a row (2006-2012)

"the bcs is broken 'cause the SEC keeps dominating it! we need a playoff!"



those in charge agree and we start with the playoff format in 2014...

"teams from the southeast are dominating the playoffs (i.e., a broken system)! we need a change"



what I think needs to happen is other teams need to start having better players and/or coaches. do they really want us to sit here and say, "sorry about our teams dominating so much. here...have a spot in the playoffs and we'll give you a participation trophy."

lol...fuck that! and them! this is college football. all these people crying about parity and shit just need to realize that balance will only come with more teams being better prepared and winning more games.

 

[planomateo]

<-- This guy isn't a fan of Goodman.

 

[TerryP]

<-- This guy isn't a fan of Goodman.

Barrett Sallee has decided he's going to fued with Goodman on the playoffs.

Hack to hack on whether expansion is good for the playoffs.

It's a Sallee article...barner. Geez...still gonna link it.

 

[bama alum]

^^ Have I missed something? When did Sallee try to start making sense?

 

[OldPlayer]

Win and you get in. What's so hard to understand?

 

[BAMAneck]

Remember the B.C.S was a broken system because there is no way that the SEC would have won so many BCS championships in a row if their opponents weren’t hand picked by a bunch of computers that had the programs entered to lean a certain way and other goods teams didn’t have a chance to get in and win .

And then the repeat of the BAMA vs. LSU game for the championship really sent them reeling.

Bottom line is , it will always be a broken system until they figure a way to get their conference in the playoffs consistently and stop the south’s dominance.