College Football 2014: A Preview of the New Playoffs
While the historically inept BCS system will be in place this season, next year the Football Bowl Series will be moving to a 4-team playoff to decide the champion of the BCS. It is a slow transition from the bowl format that is in place today, but a transition nonetheless. We’ll take a look at what a 16-team playoff would look like.
Alabama, Alabama, Alabama. Everybody knows that the Alabama Crimson Tide have ruled the college football world handily since 2009 when they defeated the Texas Longhorns in the BCS Championship in Pasadena,California, earning their 13th national title in program history. In 2013, they’re on pace to have a three-peat, with wins in each of the last two BCS National Championships. Only Florida State stands in the way of Alabama and their “dynasty” program.
After this season, it will be a tougher road for the feared Crimson Tide. Playoffs, that’s right, playoffs. Any sports fan knows that playoffs mean upsets, and the Tide have been subject to some shocking upsets over the past couple of seasons. They’ve still managed to win it all due to the current BCS system, and teams losing in front of them. The new college football playoffs will add an element to the game that fans have been begging for. It will have a 16 team format. The top 16 teams in the nation will make it to the playoffs, while the rest of the FBS will play the normal bowl games. Perfect, right? We’ll see. If the format were put in place today, the playoff games would be the following (according to the BCS standings):
Mock Playoff Bracket
1. Alabama vs 16. Michigan State
2. Florida State vs 15. Northern Illinois
3. Ohio State vs 14. Fresno State
4. Stanford vs 13. UCLA
5. Baylor vs 12. Oklahoma State
6. Oregon vs 11. Texas A&M
7. Auburn vs 10. South Carolina
8. Clemson vs 9. Missouri
If these playoffs were in place this year, that’s how the playoffs would look for Round 1. After Round 1, it’d be very hard to predict. Upsets happen, and with this format, it increases the likelihood of something unbelievable happening. This format resembles that of NCAA Basketball and March Madness. Anybody that watches March Madness knows that their bracket is never correct after a couple of rounds. Something happens. Something wild and crazy. Buckle up college football fans. 2014 will be a year of new upsets, and the playoffs will only add more fuel to that fire.
