Impact and Preview for the New College Football Playoffs

     2014 will mark the end of the BCS era and the beginning of the new four team playoff era. It is a major step for all of college football, and it should make the game better. The biggest challenge to making a playoff is being able to determine the true champion in the most clear way possible without taking meaning away from the regular season. In my opinion, a four team playoff is one of only two possible ways for the NCAA to accomplish both of those goals. Four potential champions over two, three playoff games over one, the nations top games back on new years day, and that much needed human element to determine who plays for the ultimate prize.

Most exciting sport gets more intense

     College football's regular season is the most dramatic, exciting, and drama filled season of any sport. The problem with the BCS, was that that great season had a very anti-climactic finish every year. People were arguing that an eight team playoff was needed and that four teams would still be too flawed. Where the four team playoff will definitely have its issues, it is the best thing that has happened to college football since the introduction of a national championship game back in 2006. 8 teams would be too many, as teams would be able to lose two, or sometimes ever three games, and still have a shot at a title at the end of the year. Also an 8 team playoff would be too tough on the competing teams. The champion would have to win three games against top opponents to win a title which would extend the season into almost February, and would physically take so much out of the players that they wouldn't be at 100% for the championship game. The four team system is perfect for it. To make it into the new playoff, a team will need to have lost less than two games (maybe someone could make it with two but it would be very challenging) through the season and win their conference championship. This system shouldn't take meaning away from the regular season, as teams will still have to give their all every week. Add in the debate to be had about potential playoff teams, and the season will continue to be intense  and exciting year in and year out.

New Years Day has Meaning Again

     Over the past few years, the top BCS games, including the championship have been drifting further and further into the month of January. The new four team playoff will hold its semi final games in a double-header on new years day. New years has been the highlight of the entire season of college football for over a century now, and bringing these two big games back to new years day will be huge for college football's image and fans.

Champions Finally Decided by Humans

     The BCS rankings were usually accurate, but people didn't care if they were right or not. All they saw was that the two teams playing for the national championship were decided by computer rankings. That has now changed with the beginning of the new 13 person selection committee. They will be able to provide the much needed human element to picking the top four teams. Teams will be selected based on strength of schedule, how they did against top teams, how they have handled injuries and other problems, and overall who plays better than who rather than a weird number system based on the different polls. This will help greatly in determining which four teams really deserve to play for the championship. Another great thing about the selection committee is their rankings top 25 rankings, which will be released weekly starting on October 28th and ending after the regular season concludes. This will provide everyone with much debate every week on what teams need to do to get into the playoffs, or not fall out of the top four. Another great addition to it is that the new chairman of the selection committee Jeff Long will be providing the public for reasons for why teams are ranked where they are, which should clear up what teams priorities should be to try and make the playoff.

Nothing is Perfect

     The new playoff is a huge step for college football, but it will have problems. The biggest problems facing the playoff will be the same problems the BCS had. There will be more than four schools that people think will deserve to get into the playoffs. Instead of #3 and #4 feeling left out, it will be #5 and #6. Another flaw of the new playoff system is that it will essentially has a base format for who will make it every year. Each season it seems that the SEC champion is almost guaranteed to make the playoff. The same can be said about the champion of the Big 10. There are then two spots left which will usually be taken up by one of the other three power conference champions or the second place team in the SEC. The problem with this is that the non power schools will not have a chance to make the playoffs. There will always be certain teams in the playoffs and many teams will be left out even with a perfect record.

2014 Predictions

     The playoff is here and the biggest question right now is who will make the inaugural college football playoff. I think that the number one seed will be Florida State. This is the only spot that I am locking a team into before the season. The Seminoles have gotten even better from last years national title and while their strength of schedule is tougher than last year, it is still easy enough to go 12-0 in the ACC. The number two seed will be the SEC champion. That team will most likely be the winner of the Alabama-Auburn Iron Bowl match-up at seasons end. The only other SEC team that i think might make it is Georgia if they can roll through the SEC East and beat one of those two in the SEC championship. The three seed will most likely be the champion of the Big 10. This team will probably have just one loss, were the top two will be undefeated. With Braxton Miller's injury, Michigan State and Wisconsin should be the only teams capable of winning the Big 10. The final team in the playoff will be the most debated topic all season. If a school from the Big 12 or Pac-12 finished undefeated they would be guaranteed to get in, but assuming the Pac-12 and Big 12 champions both have one loss, you then have three possible teams, as you can also add a one loss SEC school to the mix such as Auburn or Georgia. I think the team that makes it will come down to what priorities the selection committee takes over other things. If strength of schedule matters more that how dominant you are, then the one loss SEC school could make it, but otherwise I could see the Pac-12 school make it. I also think it could come down to what teams are in competition to determine who makes it in.

     No matter what you think of the new playoff system, its here to stay and it will bring the weekly excitement of college football to a whole other level.