It happens in every other NCAA sport as well as Pro. *
by TWO (2018-12-12 23:13:59)

In reply to: Are we really OK  posted by HTownND

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True
by Gabby  (2018-12-13 00:03:28)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

It has also resulted in the regular season being meaningless in every other sport. The last major sport where the regular season matters is college football.

The regular season still matters in the NFL
by ndzippy  (2018-12-13 09:15:26)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Partly because home field advantage incentivizes teams to give a shit late into the season, and partly because we're still only talking about 16 games each year.

I think you could preserve the meaning of the regular season by giving teams #1-4 a first-round game on campus.

This year, that would look like this:

- UCF @ Alabama
- Michigan @ Clemson
- Ohio State @ Notre Dame (actually, I don't love this for us)
- Georgia @ Oklahoma

I'm watching all of those games!
I view the regular season as the tournament. Every week is
by Gabby  (2018-12-13 11:01:42)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

win or go home. It is March Madness in the fall. The final four is for all the marbles. Why change a great system?
Problem is, the regular season isn't "fair & equitable"
by ndzippy  (2018-12-13 11:54:30)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Pre-season rankings artificially bolster--and punish--teams before the season even starts. Teams schedule their way to wins. Conferences vary dramatically in terms of quality. Some teams (like Northwestern this year) get super lucky with their conference schedules.

I don't disagree with your larger point, but there's too much variability in college football for me to buy in to your comparison to March Madness. At least the NCAA basketball tournament directors try to create "fair & balanced" brackets.