The play clock should be reset. The playoffs for college football need to be changed. The rust of idleness was noticeable across the board, as the top four seeded teams had to wait nearly a month after the regular season ended to play again. Let’s head to the booth for replay.
The top four teams—Boise State, Arizona State, Oregon, and Georgia—all lost after falling behind their lower-seeded rivals early in the match. Football is a systematic, rhythmic, and momentum-based game. They lost those crucial advantages by being sidelined for an extended period of time, while their more recent opponents continued to play the routine. The lengthy layoff turned into a punishment rather than a benefit.
Thankfully, this experiment allows the playoff committee to learn and adjust before the following year. Here’s what I think:
Regardless of who wins a conference championship, the top four seeds receive a bye. Teams are seeded 1–12 by the college football playoff committee.
One week following the regular season, the playoffs start early. If necessary, conferences can change the dates of their championship games.
The higher-seeded team’s home field is used for first-round matches.
The winners of the first round are reseeded 5-8.
The top seed plays the eighth seed, the second seed plays the seventh seed, and so on. The second-round matches take place on the home field of the top four clubs that were given the first-round bye.
Semifinals are held at the various Bowl locations on New Year’s Day, just like in years past.
A week later, the championship game takes place.
Let’s move forward.
Salem’s Rick Metsger
Metsger was a sports editor at KOIN-TV before becoming a state senator for Oregon.
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