There's been much discussion the last few years of what an SEC playoff would look like since the national championship game has pretty much been decided in the Georgia Dome in early December. This discussion has gained volume among Georgia fans since the loss to Bama last month. Many of us have wondered what it might look like if the SEC just said eff it...we'll settle this thing on our own.
Hoodawg laid this out for me on the twitter last week. What do you think?
East
semi
|
East
final
|
West
final
|
West
semi
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida
|
Texas A&M
| |||
Georgia
vs
(winner)
|
vs
|
Alabama
vs
(winner)
| ||
S. Carolina
|
LSU
|
Let's take that layout a little further shall we? The first round action could be a home game for the higher seed. So in the East for last season, Florida would host the Gamecocks which adds weight to the last couple conference games should the one seed have already been determined. So the 2 seed from each division gets an extra Saturday of gate receipts, just as the one seed does in the semi-final. It all leads up to the SECCG in Atlanta, or even on a rotating basis with New Orleans.
Dates? How about round one the first Saturday of December, round two a couple weeks later and then the final would be the first Saturday of the new year.
The cons, of course, are numerous. For one, it reduces the number of teams that get a taste of post-season by about two each year. The discussion and arguments would center on the haves and the have nots within the conference, much like that discussion that's been recurring the last several years on a national level. That could hit close to home and get pretty ugly. Scratch that could...make it a would.
Also, there's the issue of the bowls. Some of you might scoff at that statement, but the fact of the matter is that bowls have a long standing tradition in college football. The Southeastern conference is not immune to that. An institution like the bowl games that have been around for so many years creates long standing and deep rooted relationships. Would the Sugar Bowl be happy if SEC money just up and left? More directly, would the SEC be able to sever that tie? If details were worked out, would the SEC bowls be satisfied as the host of these playoff games as some sort of consolation and compromise?
Lastly, money. This would be a pro for the SEC playoff. An argument can be made that the games listed above would've outdrawn the BCS games this year by far in terms of attendance and television viewership. Year in and year out this sort of playoff structure with deep and talented SEC teams would have much more than a regional draw. Even if the rotation of teams stayed relatively the same (again...the haves and the have nots), it would be better entertainment than say FSU vs Oklahoma/USC vs Michigan in a BCS bowl. Or even those teams in the new NCAA playoff chart.
Again, just typing out loud here. It's the off season and this kind of thing is better than watching NBA basketball to me. By far. So again, what do you think? Not necessarily in terms of feasibility. I think we can all agree that this isn't going to happen.
But we can dream and we can discuss.
Lastly, money. This would be a pro for the SEC playoff. An argument can be made that the games listed above would've outdrawn the BCS games this year by far in terms of attendance and television viewership. Year in and year out this sort of playoff structure with deep and talented SEC teams would have much more than a regional draw. Even if the rotation of teams stayed relatively the same (again...the haves and the have nots), it would be better entertainment than say FSU vs Oklahoma/USC vs Michigan in a BCS bowl. Or even those teams in the new NCAA playoff chart.
Again, just typing out loud here. It's the off season and this kind of thing is better than watching NBA basketball to me. By far. So again, what do you think? Not necessarily in terms of feasibility. I think we can all agree that this isn't going to happen.
But we can dream and we can discuss.
