College football is officially underway; and this year a new system will be in full affect to define the championship. National Collegiate Athletic Association Football will introduce a new playoff system that will determine the national title for the NCAA Division I Football Subdivision (FBS).
This will be the first time the NCAA football championship is determined by bracket competition. The new playoff era will bring new regulations to the table.
The system will replace the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), the previous college football title system that used computer rankings to select participants of each bowl game. Instead, a committee of 13 experts will select teams and seed them. Members of this committee include experienced coaches and players, and also athletic directors from the five major conferences. This way, college football can avoid split national championships.
The controversy occurred at the end of the 2003 Division I Football season when Louisiana State University finished #1 in Coaches Polls and University of Southern California finished #1 in Associated Press polls, both losing one game each. That same year, three non-BCS teams finished with one loss, Texas Christian University, Boise State and Miami (OH) sparked debates of the BCS being unfair to mid-major conferences.
According to ESPN Associated Press, during the selection process for the committee, organizers said they wanted the staff to be geographically balanced. Collegiate administrators and journalists were added to the staff in this effort. Familiar names on this committee are former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The FBS conferences will manage the College Football Playoffs, whereas the selection committee will select the top four teams and assign them to their playoff destination. The winner of both semifinal games will advance to the championship game. The committee will rank and assign the other teams to the New York’s bowl. The committee will rank and assign them to what is now called New Year’s Bowls.
One of the changes from the previous BCS rules will be no limit on the number of teams from each conference that qualify for a championship playoff berth. According to College Football Playoff regulations, the committee will focus on the strength of each team’s schedule to determine who deserves to play for a title. The selection committee is responsible for considering geography, avoiding regular season rematches and trying to create the most creative matchups possible.
I believe the new playoff system will enhance the level of competition in NCAA Football. In this system, there will not be any “what-ifs” because the teams will have to earn their chance to play for a title. No matter who’s the opponent, whether good or bad, how the team plays will be measured. Teams can’t afford to schedule a random Division III school for homecoming and expect the committee to honor a blowout. Results on the scoreboard still matter, but now scheduling weaker non-conference opponents will only be seen as wins against lower level competition. Due to increased emphasis on strength of scheduling, teams have to consider playing more challenging games. More changeling games will bring more excitement for fans for years to come.