A USA Today writer, a congresswoman, and an Air Force General walk into a bar. Then they go to a meeting about who will play in the new college football playoff system. No change this season is as big as getting rid of the Bowl Championship Series and replacing it with a four team playoff system.
For the first time in college football history, there is going to be a four team playoff. Starting in the ninth week of the season, a 13 member committee will start ranking teams based on win-loss record, strength of schedule, and head-to-head results. This committee consists of former and current college football coaches, players and athletic directors. The most notable names of this committee are legendary Nebraska Cornhusker coach Tom Osborne, University of Southern California’s AD Pat Haden, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
But wouldn’t these committee members be biased towards their schools? In the words of the great commentator Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend!” If a committee member is involved in a school, in anyway, he cannot vote for that school. Also, if there are deliberations about their team’s qualification, the member can’t be present. The committee design is geographically balanced and has at least one representative from each of the five major conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac- 12 and the SEC).
Along with a four team playoff, the BCS bowl games have been reshaped. There still are the Orange, Fiesta, Cotton, Peach, Sugar and Rose bowls, but instead of just hosting conference champions, they will host the semi-final games. Over the next 12 seasons, the bowls will rotate hosting the playoff games. This year, the Rose and Sugar Bowls will host the semifinals, and next year will be the Cotton and Orange Bowls.
The first championship game will be in Arlington, Texas on January 12, 2015. The semi-final games will be on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. That will be the usual case, unless those days fall on a Sunday.
In ESPN The Magazine‘s College Football Preview issue, they selected the Florida State Seminoles, Oregon Ducks, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Oklahoma Sooners. Of course these projections are based on computer calculations, which is why this playoff system was built. Hopefully, there will be some dark horses that rise up the polls and perhaps Goliaths that will fall. And that is why we love football, right?