FCS Expands playoffs to 20 teams

[Montana Bison]

It's going to start in 2010, i believe, What do you all think of it. The playoffs will start a week earlier. Good or Bad?

[Bisontug]

It's going to start in 2010, i believe, What do you all think of it. The playoffs will start a week earlier. Good or Bad?

Bad. My sentiments are shared from a post on the YSU board also:

"I do not want to see the number of teams making the post-season expanded - 16 teams making the playoffs is enough. YSU did not deserve to make the post-season last year. They lost 3 league games and that is not good enough to make the post-season. If you cannot finish either 1 or 2 in your own league then you have no business being in the post-season. The regular season has to have validity. "

Being in the GFC, there might be 4 teams every year that get in under the new format... Is 4th in the conference deserving of the playoffs ?? IMO, nope... I totally agree with the Penguin guy... if you can't be at the top of your conference, you stay home... Let's keep the goal at winning the title game instead of getting into the playoffs... Placing 1 or 2 in the GFC will make you that title contender..

[lakesbison]

yea, reward the teams that come in 2010, but not us in 2008, 2009, gee THANKS!

[cbline]

It's going to start in 2010, i believe, What do you all think of it. The playoffs will start a week earlier. Good or Bad?

Bad. The more teams you admit, the less special it is to be a playoff team.

[stevdock]

It is a necessary evil in my opinion. The two teams that got AQ's have earned them by scheduling tougher competition and I think this will only help them schedule tougher teams. The Great West will probably get an AQ also eventually. So that is why it is necessary. And then at the same point they are still going to give out to at large bids or one when Great West gets one. Would you rather have three at large bids taken out when these three get AQ's? This still helps the power conferences still get a few teams in each year.

[NDSUstudent]

Bad. My sentiments are shared from a post on the YSU board also:

"I do not want to see the number of teams making the post-season expanded - 16 teams making the playoffs is enough. YSU did not deserve to make the post-season last year. They lost 3 league games and that is not good enough to make the post-season. If you cannot finish either 1 or 2 in your own league then you have no business being in the post-season. The regular season has to have validity. "

Being in the GFC, there might be 4 teams every year that get in under the new format... Is 4th in the conference deserving of the playoffs ?? IMO, nope... I totally agree with the Penguin guy... if you can't be at the top of your conference, you stay home... Let's keep the goal at winning the title game instead of getting into the playoffs... Placing 1 or 2 in the GFC will make you that title contender..

I don't see anything wrong with a fourth place Gateway or CAA team getting in.That 4th bid was earned due to respect for how tough your conference was and its not like that fourth place team is some weakling either. Delaware was the 4th CAA team in and they only made it to the title game.....

[Jdubs21]

its a tough call, some teams are great but get plagued with injuries and have a couple losses but once players come back start playing really tough or are in an elite conference where 3 losses is not uncommon, so 4 more teams doesnt really bother me, and the best team has to win every game to be the champion no matter how many teams are let in, so it really puts the test to see how good teams are and their stamina to go a little deeper into the season

[IndyBison]

Bad. The more teams you admit, the less special it is to be a playoff team.

You would not be a fan of the Indiana High School playoffs then because everyone makes it. Not only that, but who plays who and who they play is a blind draw. You could have 2 undefeated teams play each other in the first round while 2 teams that have not won a game play each other. An undefeated team could also have to travel to a winless team in the first round.

Don't bring up changing it to the locals because they think they have the best tournament in the country (even though they are the only one to do it for over 20 years!).

[imabison]

It's going to start in 2010, i believe, What do you all think of it. The playoffs will start a week earlier. Good or Bad?
Gateway commissioner asked the conference teams AD's to not schedule any out of conference games after 2010 for now. The result of this will be no bye week.

Could this jeopardize the next Bison Vs Gopher game I thought they were talking 2010 or 2011.

This was on WDAY this evening.

[56BISON73]

20 teams??? The only question I have is when will they then expand that number???? Keep expanding the number of teams and you will have the same BS as the big schools with 34 bowl games. They HAVE to draw the line. Not everyone can be in the playoffs. PL

[NDSUstudent]

20 teams??? The only question I have is when will they then expand that number???? Keep expanding the number of teams and you will have the same BS as the big schools with 34 bowl games. They HAVE to draw the line. Not everyone can be in the playoffs. PL

Its only been 20 years since the playoffs were expanded, it might be about time. The NEC and Big South were at the point where they qualified for auto bids and choosing not to expand would have caused some majors issues down the road.

[WYOBISONMAN]

I don't like it. It will be a significant limitation on out of conference opportunities.

[TransAmBison]

Expanding playoffs just lets in teams that have no business being in the playoffs. DII might not be a great example since it is watered down already, but the expanded playoffs now just bring in more patsies.

[RedRiver]

Gateway commissioner asked the conference teams AD's to not schedule any out of conference games after 2010 for now. The result of this will be no bye week.

Could this jeopardize the next Bison Vs Gopher game I thought they were talking 2010 or 2011.

This was on WDAY this evening.

I heard that also. This will give the conference time to evaluate the situation. Some teams could be playing 16 games in 16 weeks. The first thing I thought about when I heard this Gateway directive were the games with the school up north.

[SDbison]

I like the expansion to 20 teams........there are 120+ FCS teams and growing so more playoff opportunity is appropriate. 20 teams means the top 15% make the playoffs. Only a depleted DII had issues with level of competition dropping off after the top 10 teams. Also gives a first round bye to the top ranked teams. Not even close when comparing to FBS where there are now 34 bowls (64 teams involved) and a total of 120 to 130 teams in the sub-division. That means 50% of the teams get a bowl bid. No drop in level of competition there (extreme sarcasm)!

[BisonNeil]

Expanding playoffs just lets in teams that have no business being in the playoffs. DII might not be a great example since it is watered down already, but the expanded playoffs now just bring in more patsies.

I don't agree with that. There is obviously the potential of that happening, but eventually the games will be closer than you are expecting.

DIII is a much better example. There are like 239 teams, and the playoffs involve 32 teams (~13% of teams). In the first round of last years playoffs there were 4 games decided by less than 4 pts (25%!) and 6 of 16 first round games were decided by 10 pts or less (37.5%). I don't think that is watered down, and likely what we will see in IAA.

http://www.d3football.com/playoffs/07/bracket.htm

[56BISON73]

I like the expansion to 20 teams........there are 120+ FCS teams and growing so more playoff opportunity is appropriate. 20 teams means the top 15% make the playoffs. Only a depleted DII had issues with level of competition dropping off after the top 10 teams. Also gives a first round bye to the top ranked teams. Not even close when comparing to FBS where there are now 34 bowls (64 teams involved) and a total of 120 to 130 teams in the sub-division. That means 50% of the teams get a bowl bid. No drop in level of competition there (extreme sarcasm)!


In reality there are usually only 6-8 teams in the FBS that can lay claim to have the supposed right to play in the championship game in any give year. So you cant compare the bowl system with the FCS playoffs because 30 of those bowls arent considered in the running for the number 1 spot.
So 8 teams out of 128 teams is only 6.25%. 6-4 teams shouldnt be in the playoffs. Just as 6-4 teams shouldnt be in a bowl game. PL

[SDbison]

In reality there are usually only 6-8 teams in the FBS that can lay claim to have the supposed right to play in the championship game in any give year. So you cant compare the bowl system with the FCS playoffs because 30 of those bowls arent considered in the running for the number 1 spot.
So 8 teams out of 128 teams is only 6.25%. 6-4 teams shouldnt be in the playoffs. Just as 6-4 teams shouldnt be in a bowl game. PL
I call B.S. PL. How do you know year to year who deserves to be in the playoffs. It is great to see a team that didn't do so well in the early season but kicks ass for the last 7 games to make the playoffs. To say otherwise means you support the B.S. of the BCS. Also some years there are few if any standout teams. Not to mention why not give a very good team a shot at making a run in the playoffs. Crap, they are only adding four teams. This is likely justified based on the increase of teams since the last time the FCS playoffs were changed.

[56BISON73]

I call B.S. PL. How do you know year to year who deserves to be in the playoffs. It is great to see a team that didn't do so well in the early season but kicks ass for the last 7 games to make the playoffs. To say otherwise means you support the B.S. of the BCS. Also some years there are few if any standout teams. Not to mention why not give a very good team a shot at making a run in the playoffs. Crap, they are only adding four teams. This is likely justified based on the increase of teams since the last time the FCS playoffs were changed.

Go back and reread my post. By your response it seems you have misconstrued what I posted.

You are also wrong on that point in the bold as that statement is your opinion and its not based on fact and you are trying to draw a conclusion just because I may not agree with you. Interesting thinking ????

PL

[OldBison]

So 8 teams out of 128 teams is only 6.25%. 6-4 teams shouldnt be in the playoffs. Just as 6-4 teams shouldnt be in a bowl game. PL

While I agree with you that 6-4 teams shouldn't be in the playoffs, that number is a POA. Expanding the playoffs won't allow a team with that record in unless, of course, an automatic qualifier with that record gets in as a conference champ and that is always a possibility with the FCS system regardless of whether it is a 16 team or 20 team playoff format.

There are a lot of teams, however, that start slow and then play great football at the end of the season. SDSU immediately comes to mind, so does SLO. SDSU would have done some damage last year as a 7-4 team had they had a chance, IMHO.

[KC Bison]

Is NCAA IAA completely separate from IA? IA can't even have a 4 team tournament but IAA goes to 20. I don't get it. (I know I'm using old terminology).

[Jdubs21]

because they play bowl games...not a bracket system, and i think a 4-6 team bracket would be retarded, but than again so is that bowl game stuff

[PSUVikings]

Hopefully my Viks are up to par by then