A Wishy-Washy Wednesday …

Knowing how I like to have fun with people’s names, one might conclude that the football gods have thrown me a bone this season.  Look at the coaching matchups for this year’s Conference Championship Games:

• Sean Payton versus Mike Vrabel
• Sean McVey versus Mike Macdonald

            Coincidence?  Or a portent of things to come …?

Moving on …  The crowning of Indiana as the College Football National Champion has not generated any controversy, which I think is a good thing.  The Hoosiers played 16 opponents and beat them all on the field and not in some sort of computer simulation or in some mental construct that relies on obscure statistical manipulations.  And yet, there are folks who want to change the system that worked so well for this season.

For contractual reasons, the CFP poohbahs need to inform ESPN by Friday of this week exactly how many teams will be in the CFP next December/January.  I have no idea how or why that deadline came to be; however, I have read reports in several different places alluding to the existence of that deadline.  There is a sentiment to expand the number of teams from 12 participants as has been the case for the past two seasons for a very simple reason:

• More games to put on TV = More revenue generated = Duh!

Also, according to multiple reports, there is a sticking point.  Having a 12-team tournament is awkward; it demands BYE Weeks and all sorts of real and imagined advantages in the system.  From a simplistic view, the number of teams invited to participate should always be a power of two – – 2 teams or 4 teams or 8 teams or 16 teams … you get the idea.

Looking at those numbers that produce symmetrical brackets, you can eliminate from consideration any possibility less than 12 teams.  There is nothing that will convince the college football folks that fewer games are better than more games.  Ergo, expansion is the answer, and it would seem painfully obvious that a 16-team tournament field satisfies the dual objective of “more games” and “no BYE Weeks”.

• So, why hasn’t ESPN been notified already about the expanded field?

According to reports, the sticking point is a different formula for the selection of teams in the expanded field.  The Big Ten supposedly wants a formula where it and the SEC get a fixed number of participants “off the top” and then the Selection Committee can fill out the field.  The SEC wants the Committee to pick the 16 best teams and ignore any quota system.  Personally, I prefer the SEC position in that argument; but if I were a potential beneficiary of the added TV revenue from four extra games, I would not choose to die on that hill.

The latest report – based on unnamed sources who were not authorized to speak on the matter – is that the Big 10 is willing to go along with expansion to 16 teams without their preferred quota system in exchange for a commitment to expand the CFP further to 24 teams by the end of the 2028 season.  Let me channel President Ronald Reagan here:

• “There you go again…”

A college football tournament with 24 teams will require BYE Weeks and it will also add games that are not likely to be nearly as entertaining as ones involving the very best teams.  Expansion to 24 teams – – with the certainty that someone will notice that 32 teams bring back “bracket symmetry” – – is akin to pissing in the soup.  It will increase the quantity of the soup, but it will not improve the quality of the soup.

Hopefully, the Friday deadline with ESPN will come and go with no change for next year giving the conference mavens and the CFP poohbahs another year to come to their senses and decide on how college football will determine its national champion going forward.  My preference would be an 8-team field which is never going to happen.  I am resigned to the fact that there will soon be a 16-team field.  I really object to any expansion beyond that number.

Switching gears …  With Indiana posting a 16-0 record last season, there were references to only one other college football season with the same record.  It happened in 1894 at Yale.  However, upon further review …

• Indeed, Yale played 16 games that season and won them all.  In fact, 13 of the 16 victories were shutouts.
• However, 5 of Yale’s wins that season were not over other college teams.  Five games were against an “Athletic Club” or an “Athletic Association”.
• I am guessing that these Clubs/Associations were “inferior competition” since none of the five opponents scored a single point in any of the games and the cumulative score for the five game was 147-0.

Now you know …

Finally, this from Teddy Roosevelt:

“When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………