That is exactly what is so hard to swallow (for me included). It is all very subjective... riiiiiiiiight up until NOW ... when the results on the field (the playoffs) will be all that matters. It is a frustrating deal. It really seems to me if guys like Herbstreit REALLY believe what he's saying... then they'd like us to back 30+ years and 'vote' on a national champ. Of course, no one is endorsing that... so, we're left having to 'put up' with the double-talk. ... and everyone sees right through it. I just wish these folks would be honest and not pretend it is a great system/process to determine a champion.
I hope you’re right with the “right up until now” part….
For decades, we had the beauty pageant presided over by pretty much anonymous coaches and AP voters who coronated a “national champion.” Most of the teams in contention never even played a common opponent, but that was no matter. It was a CLEARLY bogus and biased system, but it was the “best college football could do.”
WHEN COLLEGE FOOTBALL FIGURED OUT HOW TO MONETIZE conference championship games (30 years ago), they sold it to us as the first step in “settling it on the field.” It would lead to clear conference champs who would be matched in bowl games and take some of the ambiguity out of the national championship voting. Result: same ol beauty pageant.
WHEN COLLEGE FOOTBALL FIGURED OUT HOW TO MONETIZE a true national championship bowl game (25 years ago), they sold us on the BCS… the “closest thing we could ever get to a playoff,” given the bowl structure of college football. No longer would the #1 play #12 while #2 played #8… no longer would we split national champs, it’s gonna be 1 vs 2 on the field, baby! Not to mention, all of the old biases are gone… computers, metrics, statistics are going to INSURE we have the true 1 vs 2 matchup… not some silly voters. Result: cyber beauty pageant.
WHEN COLLEGE FOOTBALL FIGURED OUT HOW TO MONETIZE a four-team mini-playoff structure, we were told, “we’re finally there! College football playoff!” Conference championship games are now the de facto first round and the four big conference winners face off head to head! Playoffs baby!! Oh, and by the way, computers suck. They gave us crappy matchups based on flawed data and we don’t want that anymore. We have a committee of experts who are COMPLETELY IMPARTIAL and will weigh all of the same data and metrics and standards, but won’t be subject to the wild results spit out by computer models. Result; still a beauty pageant.
WHEN COLLEGE FOOTBALL FIGURED OUT HOW TO MONETIZE a 12-team playoff structure….
The only constant that I see is that when some new structure appears to be more profitable than the old way, we will be fed a song and dance about a huge movement toward quality and impartiality and transparency. The 12 team playoff will be glorious for at least a couple of years, I’m sure.
