The more I think about the TD they took off the board for Michigan

[LisaM]

the more frustrated I get!

Everyone is acting as if it was some kind of giant upset! No! It was #2 versus #3.

Everyone is acting as if it was a blowout. No! It was a one score game.

Everyone is claiming Michigan blew it with their mistakes; okay, but TCU also had 3 turnovers and a few blunders, like trying to run it back but bumbling it so that they started on their own ten.

No, it really comes down to the six points they inexplicably took off the board. I don't get it. It was called a TD. By rule, it was a TD.

If a 19-year old kid in tears has to face the media after a game, then a replay official who deliberately went against the rules and handed the game to TCU should too.

Also, I will never consider it a true playoff until there is home field advantage. That game should have been played in Ann Arbor, not some steamy Southern enclosed sauna.

[Irish_Dem]

1. I agree with most of your points.

And I am a dyed in the wool OSU fan.

I think Michigan played a good game, and got screwed over on some of the calls.

Don't agree on the home field advantage however. Should be neutral territory.

[LisaM]

2. For the title game, yes.

But for what is termed a playoff, nope. Do you think Green Bay or Buffalo fans would agree to a neutral site semi final in some place like Dallas?

[hlthe2b]

3. I tend to agree on the TD pullback call... The rest, not so much...

Playoffs are in non-home fields to give some impartiality as well as ensure no weather cancellations. Given Mercedes Stadium (UGA v OSU) was about as steamy as they come and the artificial turf tripped up multiple players, I suspect OSU might want to make similar claims on that score, but... On the MI v TCU call, did the MI coach contest the call? Has he since?

That said, I think MI fielded an incredible team this year. TCU was an unexpected surprise, but I can't say they did not play extremely well. Either team would have deserved that win.

Both playoffs were just about as good as they could be--well worth the one-month subscription to ESPN I had to make to watch them.

[LisaM]

5. That was a home field advantage for Georgia; agreed.

The problem is that they are creating a hybrid bowl-playoff scenario.

In every other football 'playoff', the higher-seeded team gets a home field advantage. Every single one.

Until a Southern team has to come up north and play in weather, I personally won't consider it a playoff. Your mileage may vary!

[Ferrets are Cool]

6. It's not about fairness...it's about dollars.

These games create a lot of tourism dollars. The bowl system attempts to find locations where people can come enjoy a vacation stay AND a game.

[LisaM]

7. I don't think they should have changed the old system!I

I loved it. A wide open bowl system and 26 happy teams.

But since they did, give the northern schools respect and let us host playoff games. It sucks that they don't. Nothing would make me happier than seeing Alabama playing in the snow.

The way they have it set up, no northern team will ever win.

[hlthe2b]

8. Technically, No. Sanford Stadium in Athens--72 miles away, would be home advantage..

Yes, it is closer to UGA than it was for OSU, but all of these public venues are to maximize attendance and $$$$. And there is no way they will opt for these playoffs to risk winter cancellations-- just as much for the audience (if not more) than the teams.

[LisaM]

9. Let's call it de facto home field advantage.

Among other things, we're talking about conditions.

I went to the Michigan-Illinois game in late November. It was 11 degrees with the wind chill and I stuck it out till the end.

Don't tell me you wouldn't enjoy seeing a Texas team play in those circumstances, including dealing with a rabid Michigan alumni base.

Either have playoffs or don't. I can't believe everyone who supports college playoffs doesn't want to see games in home stadiums! (For the record, I liked the old system, but that's gone the way of the dodo).

[hlthe2b]

11. Well, as a Coloradoan, cold and snow hasn't helped the Broncos, CU, or CSU

that's for damned sure-- at least in recent decades. Can I survive in the stands? Yeah. I have in the past. But the weenies paying the $$$$ certainly won't.

But, unless they are going to compress the schedule (and the last couple of weeks of play against unranked teams or home rivalries would be on the block) then I don't see how we do the playoffs in home stadiums. But, I do prefer outdoor stadiums and real turf, that's for sure. And, as for cutting out games that allow the "lesser" teams a chance to play or even pull an upset, I cringe a bit at that. It will be sad if the only schools that have a chance to pull off a nationally-ranked team in the future will be limited to the largest universities, of the South, the upper MW, and CA, OR, WA.

[LisaM]

13. Okay, so you have ceded the national title to southern teams.

I, personally, would like to see more winners from the north but it will never happen the way it is now.

[hlthe2b]

14. How have I ceded National Championships to Southern teams?

Are you saying that MI, OSU, Utah, OR, WA, Penn can (and others) can only win in snow? Or in their own stadium? I dare say that Michigan showed that was not the case to home-advantage OSU recently.

But look at the reshuffling of conferences. They will soon no longer be even remotely regional. (i.e., USC and UCLA joining the big 10 conference in 2024):

Ohio State University.
Penn State University.
Michigan State University.
Rutgers University.
University of Minnesota.
Purdue University.
University of Illinois.
University of Wisconsin.

I may have questioned SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma, but at least these schools were still somewhat regionally aligned.

[LisaM]

16. No, I am saying southern teams can't win in snow.

Many of them would be eliminated from the title game.

Look, my dad was a football coach. I have been going to games since I was three. Bad conditions are part of the package, and as a lifelong fan, I accept (and revel in) that.

[hlthe2b]

17. Then you just want to disadvantage teams based on weather... Hmm, okay

I want to see the best play and players, myself. And as an avid skier, snowshoer, once upon a time, winter camper, I have no fear of cold and snow, but this is not a winter sport. Even if it were, there is no physiological reason to believe southern players could not prevail in cold or even snow unless altitude is an issue. And last I checked, neither OH, nor MI nor PENN are at altitude.

Given global warming, that may sadly cease to be an issue much longer.

[LisaM]

18. Totally agree about the altitude.

I think teams should have to come to the heights in a playoff .

I am not talking about title games. This is a playoff scenario. What got you into a playoff should count, and fans should factor in, too. You disagree, okay.

I liked the old system, but if they want football playoffs, have football playoffs.

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. I am NOT a Michagan fan, but that was one of the most atrocious calls in my memory.

And in this age of instant replay, it comes across as inexcusable.

[world wide wally]

10. Every college playoff game should be held in Buffalo, NY

[LisaM]

12. LOL. That would be fantastic!

My larger point is that some teams have to build for the conditions they play their season in. Until southern teams come up north (which they never do in the cold) we won't have a playoff. We have bowls, not the same thing.

[MichMan]

15. The losing team fans are always fixated on one or two calls that went against them

and ignore all of the ones that went their way.

TCU got called for a roughing the passer penalty that appeared to be quite overzealous officiating, a dubious pass interference call, and another play where Michigan receiver was given a completion on a pass that clearly went off the turf first. On that one, Michigan hurriedly had a quick snap on the next play before it could be challenged or reviewed.

There is a lot of complaints from fans about the targeting call that was not given on the last play of the game. Michigan had 4 downs and couldn't gain a yard, but somehow, if they were given one more opportunity, they would have marched 65 yards down the field for a TD, with 20 seconds left and no time outs.

Jim Harbaugh is now 0-6 in his last 6 bowl games as coach of Michigan. The team was way overconfident they were going to win and Harbaugh made some boneheaded coaching decisions.

[LisaM]

19. I agree with you on those calls.

TCU was also given a pass on a cheap shot targeting call at the end that should have extended the game. "Christian", my foot.

None of those calls took points off the board.

[MichMan]

21. Any of those other calls could have led to more points on the board or prevented some, depending.

[LisaM]

27. Sure. But points weren't literally removed.

By rule, it was a TD. Period.

[Doc Sportello]

20. Would you like some cheese with that whine?

Sheesh, they have been playing national title games in the south since ... forever. No one, not the vast majority of fans, tv execs, or coaches, wants to see a title or playoff game in a blizzard. The biggest bowls and most of the smaller ones are in the south and always have been: Pasadena, Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, New Orleans, Atlanta, etc.

I'm not a fan of TCU but until Michigan beat Ohio State this year the Wolverines were a perennial bridesmaid, no matter who they play or where. If they can't get it in the end zone from a yard out with their vaunted power rushing attack, that's on them, not the officials, or the venue, or the "steamy stadium".

BTW, I am an Oklahoma fan. The Sooners have had to play national title games against Florida, Florida State and Miami in the Orange Bowl. Also had to play LSU for a national title in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. It's the way it is set up, but I don't want playoff and title games played at home.

[MichMan]

22. Yep, Michigan and Jim Harbaugh are 0-6 in their last 6 bowl game appearances, 0-6

Pretty certain the players themselves want to play in warm out of town bowl games, not stay at home in the dead of winter.

[LisaM]

24. Snow bowls are fun.

I don't even care that much about a bowl game, unless it's the Rose Bowl, which started as a post-season exhibition game. When I was little, teams couldn't even go two years in a row. Michigan had a team that had one loss in three years and never went to a bowl game, and even most Michigan fans couldn't tell you that. Regardless of all the anti-Michigan vitriol I was sure I would invoke, that TD, in a one-score game, should have stood.

[madinmaryland]

30. No they are not. Unless you have bottles of schnapps and are playing in the snow

For an hour or so, then it’s not.

I can’t believe we are having arguments about having the final four in a warm climate. Other than Indianapolis and Minneapolis and the Carrier Dome, where would have the championship games.

Might as well have it in Buffalo.

It’s kind of like having World Series games in Colorado!

[LisaM]

31. Ford Field! It's a great facility.

But, I am not talking about the final game. I am talking about the playoff portion. If they want to mimic the pros, mimic the pros.

[LisaM]

23. They didn't used to have "title" games.

This is a new beast.

I would love to see a playoff game in Oklahoma! One of the worst features of all the realignment, in my opinion, was how they took away the Nebraska-Oklahoma game, which I looked forward to every year. It was a true highlight for me.

Snow bowls are fun!!!!! College football should be fun, but they decided to strip that out and create all this pressure. I seriously saw media posts about the dollar value of the Fiesta Bowl trophy! Who cares? If you love football, you want grass and dirt and pride.

[MichMan]

25. Once they let players go to the highest bidder and transfer every year at will, the fun was gone.

If the NFL and NBA need a minor league system let them start one, without the pretense of players pretending to be students.

[LisaM]

26. Just the cherry on the sundae.

When they started the BCS, it was over.

[Doc Sportello]

28. They were often defacto title games or defacto playoffs

And they were always played in the south because that's where the bowl games were held. It was a stupid system beholden to old southern white men that still plays a role to this day. I wish they would do away with the bowls when they go to a 12-team playoff in 2024 but that is unlikely.

Those playoffs will include home games in the first round as the 5-12 teams play, and may include home games for the top four teams in the second round, but I'm not sure about that. As for Nebraska, they made their bed by going to the Big 10 and it cost the sport one of its best rivalries; the Cornhuskers haven't been the same since.

You obviously love college footbll, as do I. But it ain't the same with the playoffs, realignment, transfer portal and NIL.

[LisaM]

29. No, it was better before.

I liked that they opened up the bowl system because a lot of good teams didn't go at all because of the no repeat rule.

The first Rose Bowl was an exhibition game attached to the Tournament of Roses parade and it obviously expanded from that, so it wasn't designed as a Southern institution.

I know the proposed system and I think it's going to suck even more of the fun out of the post season. However, if you're going to essentially dismantle the bowl system and have a playoff, make it a real playoff and give home field advantage. To be clear, I don't want any kind of playoff system but the way they want to do it still doesn't give the top teams any advantage at all, just the middle of the pack teams, which makes no sense.

That said, both playoff games were extremely close, so the committee did their job.

I am watching the Rose Bowl right now and frankly, I wish Michigan was playing in it. It seems way more like a college game than that tension-packed Fiesta Bowl, which barely functioned as a bowl at all.