I was looking at the site stats of this blog, and, over its history, I have had hits from the US, Canada, and 3 hits from Bulgaria. I figure "College Football Tourney" must translate into "Free Internet Porn" in Bulgarian.
Anyway, since I am proposing a solution of a feasible college football tournament to sooth the desperate masses, I figured I'd address and solve an NFL debate while I am at it: "To go to 18 games or not to go to 18 games, that is the question." Now, I really don't want to see the NFL going to 18, purely because of selfish reasons. I like cheap(ish) pre-season tickets, and not only will the availability go down by half, but the demand for what games remain will drive pre-season prices up.
But if the NFL decides to go to 18, the players argue that they are physically beaten up after 16 as it is. So here is my solution: players can only play in 16 of the 18 games. NFL player reps get a roster increase that approximates the 12.5% increase in games, and a new strategy develops of who is held out for each game. It may help players' health too, in that a player who is banged up may, today, be right back the next game, whereas, in the new system, the team may decide to give him the two games off while he is sub-optimal. And let the healing begin!
One interesting aspect of 18 games is a possible old school baseball approach to scheduling. If an NFL team played every other team in its conference, and the division foes twice, guess what, it equals 18 games. Voila! Not only a wonderful balance, but conferences would only meet in the Super and Pro Bowls. Please please, thank me later...
One aspect that it would be interesting to do with simulations is how good will those weeks with the 17th and 18th games be? Will it lead to more or less meaningful games in the final weeks? Less reliance on tie-breakers would be an obvious result of including two more contests per team, but maybe the vast majority of games the last two weeks may end up pre-season quality anyway.
But if the NFL decides to go to 18, the players argue that they are physically beaten up after 16 as it is. So here is my solution: players can only play in 16 of the 18 games. NFL player reps get a roster increase that approximates the 12.5% increase in games, and a new strategy develops of who is held out for each game. It may help players' health too, in that a player who is banged up may, today, be right back the next game, whereas, in the new system, the team may decide to give him the two games off while he is sub-optimal. And let the healing begin!
One interesting aspect of 18 games is a possible old school baseball approach to scheduling. If an NFL team played every other team in its conference, and the division foes twice, guess what, it equals 18 games. Voila! Not only a wonderful balance, but conferences would only meet in the Super and Pro Bowls. Please please, thank me later...
One aspect that it would be interesting to do with simulations is how good will those weeks with the 17th and 18th games be? Will it lead to more or less meaningful games in the final weeks? Less reliance on tie-breakers would be an obvious result of including two more contests per team, but maybe the vast majority of games the last two weeks may end up pre-season quality anyway.
And this whole concussion discussion is the rage in NFL circles these days. Why can't we come up with a solution?! After all America, we talked about sending a man to Mars, we can do this can't we? Option 1: Only the offense gets to wear helmets! Option 2: Add a layer of twelve inches of foam to all helmets. Safer, and all of the players look like they sport a 1970's 'fro.
Back to college football, and little change in the tournament projections from weeks two to three, based on the rankings by our good friends at BCSguru.com. I expected Nebraska to jump back into my ten-team tourney after their impressive win over Washington, and Oklahoma to go back out with their narrow Air Force win. But Nebraska stays on the outside looking in, still with poorer computer scores.
And I guess the rule of thumb will be that Boise State and TCU will do what they can to get into the tournament, but their big-time foes that are supposed to make them "legit" will continue to not impress. Oregon State didn't exactly destroy Louisville, and when I saw Virginia Tech trailing East Carolina, it seemed 1980 Reagan-esque ("Here we go again"), although the Hokies eventually pulled away. And what is the deal with a school named "East Carolina" anyway? Sounds like an answer Larry would give to Moe when asked, "Hey knucklehead, what Carolina university do you attend?" Upon Larry answering "East," I can see Moe slapping him and saying, "Why I oughta..."
So here are the new tournament projections:
"In college football, one day you're in, and the next day you're out." -J.K. McKay
OUT-None
IN-None
FIRST ROUND:
In Pittsburgh:#7 Texas Christian (at-large) vs #10 West Virginia (Big East champ)
In Corvallis: #8 Oregon (Pac-10 champ) vs #9 Miami (FL) (ACC champ)
BCS BOWLS (Quarterfinals)
Sugar: #1 Alabama (SEC champ) vs Oregon/Miami (FL) winner
Fiesta: #4 Florida (at-large) vs #5 Oklahoma (at-large)
Orange: #2 Texas (Big XII champ) vs Texas Christian/West Virginia winner
Rose: #3 Ohio State (Big Ten champ) vs #6 Boise State (non-BCS conference automatic)
Semi-finals in St Petersburg FL
BCS Championship in Glendale AZ
And I guess the rule of thumb will be that Boise State and TCU will do what they can to get into the tournament, but their big-time foes that are supposed to make them "legit" will continue to not impress. Oregon State didn't exactly destroy Louisville, and when I saw Virginia Tech trailing East Carolina, it seemed 1980 Reagan-esque ("Here we go again"), although the Hokies eventually pulled away. And what is the deal with a school named "East Carolina" anyway? Sounds like an answer Larry would give to Moe when asked, "Hey knucklehead, what Carolina university do you attend?" Upon Larry answering "East," I can see Moe slapping him and saying, "Why I oughta..."
So here are the new tournament projections:
"In college football, one day you're in, and the next day you're out." -J.K. McKay
OUT-None
IN-None
FIRST ROUND:
In Pittsburgh:#7 Texas Christian (at-large) vs #10 West Virginia (Big East champ)
In Corvallis: #8 Oregon (Pac-10 champ) vs #9 Miami (FL) (ACC champ)
BCS BOWLS (Quarterfinals)
Sugar: #1 Alabama (SEC champ) vs Oregon/Miami (FL) winner
Fiesta: #4 Florida (at-large) vs #5 Oklahoma (at-large)
Orange: #2 Texas (Big XII champ) vs Texas Christian/West Virginia winner
Rose: #3 Ohio State (Big Ten champ) vs #6 Boise State (non-BCS conference automatic)
Semi-finals in St Petersburg FL
BCS Championship in Glendale AZ
| Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Alabama | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Texas | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Florida | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Oklahoma | 7 | n/a | 4 | 5 |
| Boise State | 5 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| TCU | 6 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Oregon | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Miami (FL) | n/a | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| West Virginia | n/a | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Nebraska | n/a | 7 | n/a | n/a |
| Virginia Tech | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Pittsburgh | 10 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
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