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The high volume of opt-outs in bowl games is the worst of the unintended consequences of the CFP.
"When the NCAA switched to a 4 game playoff system, it pretty much made all of the other bowl games irrelevant. Most kids want to play for a championship. When that's no longer an option, everything else seems useless."
I'll say it yet again: this argument makes no sense. The scenario of no longer having a championship to play for didn't suddenly come to be when the playoff was created. It has existed for a long as bowl season itself has. The games count, just like all the ones leading up to them. Blaming the playoff for this new-found lack of interest is as arbitrary as the disinterest itself.
Now, don't get me wrong, I actually think bowl season has gotten out of hand in general. There are way too many bowls now that are essentially glorified commercials, and teams don't even need to have good seasons to be invited to them, making the cash grab all the more obvious. But there are still those that teams have always happily played in (until recently) and the solution to this sweeping problem is not to treat every single non-playoff bowl game as though it is inherently meaningless. Knock it down to 10 or 15 games so that even making it to a bowl is an achievement, and give them all real names, not The Corporation X Bowl, and I think it will go a long way toward restoring the perception of the CFB post-season. Not that that'll ever happen; I just think that's where the problem fundamentally lies, and it doesn't really apply to the New Years Six games that are now being written off as meaningless depending on where they are in the rotation.
In years gone by if you weren't in one of the three big bowls you weren't winning the NC. Nothing has changed in reality it's just renamed the College Playoffs. Kids used to play for pride and school. Now they play for themselves, it would seem. It's a me first generation.
@E_Roc , you just validated the point that I was making. Yes, to the fans and some players the game still matters as it can give momentum leading into the next year. However, for those seniors who know that they won't compete for a championship, it may be better for them to move on. The corporations have taken over the bowls and made it about their companies and not the kids and the NCAA has allowed it, thus my statement about NCAA ruining it for money and nothing more.
If it wasn't about the money then NCAA would switch to a 16 game playoff without hesitation which would include some Group of 5 schools. But they won't because those schools don't generate the $ dollars like the Power 5 schools. These college athletes see the business for what it is...
I don't see how I did any such thing, and my point never had anything to do with building momentum for next year. This year's bowl game counts on this year's record. To the extent that the sport itself has any meaning, so does any game that's being recorded in a team's history. That didn't change with the creation of the playoff.
I think you must have misunderstood my point about the corporatism, but I'm just going to let that be. Nor will I get into everything I see wrong with the idea of playoff expansion, as I've previously gotten into it multiple times and it's practically a force of nature at this point that I'm tired of pushing against.
Your argument that more games would somehow amount to less money for sponsors is perplexing, not sure what else to say about it.
All I realize now is UGA will not be getting Azeez's brother. I was hoping he would transfer to UGA to play with his brother.
But I do hope Johnson changes his mind, and plays in this game. He is going to be needed.
I would not be suprised to see UGA get beat. Cincy is coming to prove something. If they have the chance to run up the score, they will. They believe they deserved to be in the playoff, I won't argue against it. Why not, undefeated and conference champion. If they were in, and got smoked by Ala, then at least it would finally stop the talk about group of 5 teams being in the playoffs.
GO DAWGS!!
Good point about this becoming "symptomatic". Absolutely. And honestly that comes down to the coaches, staff, and their philosophy/strategy (whatever you want to call it). I also think players were very disappointed in our results this season, so the motivation isn't there and they opt out. Kirby has to instill the desire to want to stay and compete and convince the players that they are better off staying that "extra" year. I think since the transfer portal has come into effect it's just made things worse. The players know that they have a limited time to get a chance to start, get film, stats, and enough playing time to start making money in the pros. Of course, most of these guys will never go pro and some players think they are better than they really are. Kirby says he leaves it up to the players. Saban usually gets directly involved in that decision and coaches the player to make the best decision for themselves. Maybe there is your difference. Was Fromm left on his own last season to make that decision to hit the draft? That was probably a mistake on his part. Did Kirby get involved? Don't know.
Saban is a master. He loses his best coaches to other teams every season and has to almost start from scratch sometimes. Yet, he keeps the ball rolling. He loses multiple 1st round draft picks every season, but manages to reload without skipping a beat (other than maybe last season where the program did hiccup a bit). I just think he's got an incredibly elite program over at Bama, and it's going to be hard for any coach to recreate that on a consistent basis. But, I expect Kirby to keep trying.
Making the playoffs changes everything. So that's what we've got to do.
Folks, I see a lot of comments about the CFP making the bowl games irrelevant and ruining the bowl season which leads to more players opting out. WHAT? That just doesn't make sense.
First off, there are well over 30 bowl games currently and MANY of them are irrelevant. You even have teams (during normal years) that are barely above .500 going to a bowl game. Ludicrous. THAT kind of thing is what has made many bowl games "irrelevant". We have ruined the bowl season over the last 20+ years. It seems like almost every team gets a 'consolation' prize of being invited to a Bluebonnet Toilet Bowl. No one wants to watch a 6-5 team play a 6-5 team. This year it is even worse. Teams with losing records are getting invited to bowls . Get rid of 1/3rd to 1/2 of all the bowl games and concentrate on teams with at least 8 wins during a normal season. If you can't win 8 games then you don't deserve a bowl. Period.
The problem with the college football playoff is that it isn't big enough. Most other non-FBS Div I and II conferences (FCS) have extensive playoffs (usually 10-16 teams....think ND State, James Madison, Montana, etc). There is absolutely no reason why the CFP shouldn't be at least 8 teams. Use the highest profile bowl games as your quarter, semi, and final games. Rotate them around just like we do now in the CFP. This would bring MUCH MORE EXCITEMENT around the field of teams instead of the shoulder shrug and "Oh Brother here we go again" as we watch virtually the same teams play each year in the CFP. You would make the bowl games MORE relevant with more teams in the playoffs. You'd also have less players opting out overall if they were in that field of 8+ teams.
DJG76...totally agree. Really good post:
"So when you commit to play for The University of Georgia and sign your name to that scholarship CONTRACT it really means nothing.....The promises made to team mates, team, coaches, fans, school is nothing but ingenious BS ? Well young man, in my book you have also given up the lifelong distinction of "**** GOOD DAWG". I wish you well and pray you will one day grow a pair and learn to man up when faced with an obligation that doesn't seem convenient or self serving!"
Preach on brother.....maybe its time for the fans to opt out and see how that works out for the selfish QUITTERS = Opt Outs. Its very expensive to go to one game let alone the season ticket route. And this is how we get repaid for supporting them with our money and time. Opt Outs=QUITTERS=Selfish.
See ya....don't let the door hit you on the way out. BTW pay back the money you stole and take your preaching of "unity" and shove it in the garbage...phonies..... There is no unity on this team apparently.
Geez I am TIRED OF THIS BS every **** year.