Megan Turner
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After its annual spring meeting, a College Football Playoff Management Committee working group said that it “continues to support and believe in the four-team playoff as it is currently constituted” and so does Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
Saban said on The Paul Finebaum Show that expanding the playoffs would ultimately diminish the importance of other bowl games, the Spun reports. The article states Saban went as far as saying an expanded postseason field and lesser bowl games could not coexist.
“I think the playoff, as I said many years ago when we had just two teams in the playoff and expanded to four, that the more playoffs we have the less significant bowl games are going to be,” Saban said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “It’s really not for me, and I don’t even think I’m capable of judging how significant the positive self-gratification that players, programs, and coaches get from being able to go to a bowl game. Now, everything has shifted to the four teams in the playoffs, and the bowls seem to be pretty insignificant. I think if we expand the playoff, you’re going to see a continuation of that trend where the bowl games become less and less significant. Maybe these things can’t coexist. If they’re going to coexist, maybe we should try to leave them pretty much the same.”
The proposed expansion has the potential to greatly benefit teams who have undefeated records but still find themselves off the CFP radar, like non-Power Five programs.
The Spun reports that since the CFP format was introduced in 2014, Saban’s group has been selected six out of the seven years.
The working group tasked with reviewing the situation reviewed some 63 possibilities for change, including 6-, 8-, 10-, 12- and 16-team options and informed the management committee that it continues its work and anticipates making a report to the management committee about the future format at an upcoming meeting.
There’s no need in expanding the CFP. Suppose we have an undefeated Coastal Carolina…Bama, Clemson, OSU would wipe them off the field with back ups.
Most bowl games outside of about 6 were insignificant long before the CFP. Now, not even 6 are significant- just 2. Instead, due a true playoff with 16 teams using the bowl system. Now 14 bowls mean something plus the championship. This plan makes otherwise meaningless bowls playoff games. Saban is not one to talk about meaningful bowl games since he’s almost always in the CFP. His opinion here is irrelevant.
Well of course Nick Satan and the other power players (Clemson, Ohio State, etc.) wants to keep the status quo. God forbid that a Cincinnati or a Boise State crash the playoff party. Considering that Cincinnati put a scare into Georgia in the Peach Bowl, why would the Power Five teams want to give others a chance to pull off a Boise State shocking Oklahoma repeat?
Spare me the fake concern for the other bowl games Nick. You don’t want more games to make it tougher and risk additional injuries. Let’s be honest.
Bowl games were already suffering from poor attendance and now players are sitting out. People are only interested in NY6 bowl anymore and even those outside of the CFP are being impacted. But I guess doesn’t notice since he’s rarely in one.
The only reason Cincy had a chance was because UGA was missing 40% of it’s starting O-line, top CB, a starting OLB and it’s top tackler. If Nick is on the outside and this happened to his team, I bet he’d have a different view…. Nick is about what’s best for Nick.
Nick Saban whining about playoffs is like listening to Charley Brown’s teacher in Peanuts. For you youngins who don’t understand the reference google that shit. I digress, Saban wants things the way they are for two reasons: his team always qualifies and if Alabama has to play one or two more games against really good opponents gasp they may not make the final 2 every season. Despite all the SEC homerism in the media and on here, many seasons the SEC is not the best conference and with so many teams Alabama may have to play a shitty Tennessee team, Vanderbilt and Kentucky or South Carolina as their cross over game, thereby avoiding Florida and/or Georgia. Add to that their cupcake out of conference schedule and hey 11-1 or 12-0 here we come. Saban is a great coach but I don’t believe anything that comes out of his mouth as it relates to college football playoffs and bowl games.
“…how significant the positive self-gratification that players, programs, and coaches get from being able to go to a bowl game.”
Yeah, right. That’s why players are clocking out in more numbers every year and refusing to play in the worthless bowl games. We, the fans, get sure don’t get that gratification.