Does the new play-off system hurt small schools?

• Fly4Fun

  

  With the now "old" BCS system we have seen a rise of smaller schools competing with the big boys. In an effort to remain perfect a lot of BCS schools schedules quite a few cup cakes to beef up the win-loss. This gave small scools a source of income for their athletic programs and also some attention which is used as a recruiting tool. Come to our school, you will get nationally televised games against that school that shunned you.
  
  Now all that has led to the gap becoming more narrow between the BCS schools (especially the weaker ones) and the non-BCS schools.
  
  However, with the new play-off format schools are wanting to beef up their OOC schedule (recent example of course being OSU) and dropping those smaller schools. This will lead to the BCS schools playing other BCS schools more often in the OOC schedule than the non-BCS schools.
  
  They start to lose some of the money they were getting to be cup cakes, they start to lose the spotlight that had been shining on them.
  
  I'm thinking that the gap might start to widen again between the haves and the have-nots.
• ernest_t_bass

  

  Don't really care.
• xKoToVxSyNdRoMe

  

  I'm cool with that. More important games throughout the year. Sure it's cool to see some upsets but I'd rather watch a lot of good teams play each other every week than watch a bunch of lesser teams get beat down. There will still be some "cupcake" games but this means there will be more big match-ups especially early on, so I'm cool with it. It would also make the upsets a little more special since there will be less opportunities for them. With every major team scheduling lesser teams it means there is a much greater chance for an upset to happen. With less of these games, it means an upset would be a bigger deal. Now upsets happen somewhat frequently so it seems to water it down a little as it's not very shocking when it happens.
• Mulva

  

  I'm just waiting for the four 16-team superconferences to emerge. Let the "have nots" become 1-AAA.
• ts1227

  

  It'll eventually lead to a split, where the current BCS and independents become 1-A, and the mid majors become the new 1-AA (and 1-AA becomes basically 1-AAA)
• Azubuike24

  

  ts1227;1282669 wrote:It'll eventually lead to a split, where the current BCS and independents become 1-A, and the mid majors become the new 1-AA (and 1-AA becomes basically 1-AAA)

  In a way, this is how it should be. The only issue I could see would be scheduling. How do you adjust to teams having/wanting to schedule the 1-AA teams? Would there be any stipulation where a 1-AA team could get into the playoff hunt?
• Speedofsand

  

  It will only hurt them if they go undefeated and less than 2 BCS conference teams are undefeated.
• Azubuike24

  

  If the 1-AA teams are considered a "lower tier", do the BCS teams even bother scheduling them? You're going to have 9-game conference schedules and possibly overall schedules reduced to 11 games. Even if it stays at 12, I have a feeling you will see 9 conference games and 3 "gimme home games" with 1-AAA teams or even FCS teams. If all you have to do is get into the top 4 or top 8 for the playoffs, nobody is going to risk losing OOC games knowing they can potentially lose twice in their conference and still get a bid.
• believer

  

  ts1227;1282669 wrote:It'll eventually lead to a split, where the current BCS and independents become 1-A, and the mid majors become the new 1-AA (and 1-AA becomes basically 1-AAA)

  I agree. I've never thought the MAC, for example, was 1-A but somewhere between 1-A and 1-AA...too strong for 1-AA but too weak to compete at 1-A (although that seems to have changed a little of late).
• goosebumps

  

  There are MAC teams that are better year in and year out than Indiana, NW, wake forest, Iowa state and others
• believer

  

  goosebumps;1282894 wrote:There are MAC teams that are better year in and year out than Indiana, NW, wake forest, Iowa state and others

  I can also agree with that which is why I don't really buy-off the "small school" vs "big boys" argument. However, in terms of strength of conferences, fan following, stadium size, etc. there's no way the MAC fits the - um - "big boys" category.
• ts1227

  

  goosebumps;1282894 wrote:There are MAC teams that are better year in and year out than Indiana, NW, wake forest, Iowa state and others

  Then there's Eastern Michigan, who should have never come up to 1-A. The conferences are a mix of schools closer to "haves", and then slam dunk "have not and never will bes"
• Azubuike24

  

  Iowa State and Northwestern have both be good lately. Not great, but certainly more than capable of dominating the MAC more often than not the last 5 years. I'll give you Indiana and maybe Wake Forest, and certainly other teams in the BCS. Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Washington State, Syracuse, etc...