NASCAR fans can only laugh as NCAA football fans unleash complaints

The proposal of a 12-team tournament for the NCAA football postseason was believed to address all shortcomings in previous format structures.

It was certain that every game would provide an exciting 38-35 spectacle, ensuring no one would feel disappointed when the final standings were announced. The top eight teams would qualify for the quarterfinals, the top four would advance to the semifinals, the two strongest teams would make it to the championship, and ultimately, the best team among them would be crowned champion.

Things were looking incredibly promising. There wouldn’t be any more grumbling, unfair advantages, skewed outcomes in games, or questionable choices made by the panel. Instead, we could expect fairness, balance, and harmony to prevail.

That is, until the new format was actually implemented.

In simpler terms, two teams that weren’t among the top eight teams in the competition got automatic passes to the quarterfinals. However, two of the top 12 teams missed out on being part of the 12-team bracket. None of the four teams with automatic passes were considered favorites for the quarterfinals. Regrettably, none of those teams made it to the semifinals. Also, only one of the initial eight matches wasn’t a lopsided victory decided well before the end of the first half.

As a die-hard NASCAR fan, does any of this strike a chord with you? A better way to phrase it might be: Does anything here feel unfamiliar or out of place for a NASCAR enthusiast like me?

So far, the greatest victories haven’t been claimed by the top teams from their respective conferences, but rather two teams that lost their conference title games, a team that couldn’t cope with losing a crucial rivalry game (as a 24-point favorite), which knocked them out of conference championship contention, and a team not associated with any conference. Interestingly, only one of these four teams entered the playoffs following a defeat.

It’s not shocking given the new 12-team format, which is said to rescue us from a four-team format that failed to produce even three competitive games within a single season in its past 10 attempts. However, many fans are expressing dissatisfaction with this format and believe it needs to be adjusted (immediately).

They feel that the regular season doesn’t really matter, and they’re not totally wrong.

However, NASCAR enthusiasts find themselves in a position where they can only chuckle, as they’ve been expressing discontent with their playoff system for the past 20 years or so (more specifically, the last 11 years).

The driver who ended last season in 15th position among the regular season standings unexpectedly claimed the title. This surprising victory came despite him not participating in four out of the nine playoff races that culminated in the championship final at Phoenix Raceway.

It’s almost as if Boise State or Penn State are being granted an automatic ticket to the championship game without having to play any other games first (or, in Penn State’s case, being given two passes for not playing their conference championship game – hang on a second…).

Joey Logano from Team Penske triumphed in a five-overtime race, thereby securing his playoff position. Interestingly, even if he had ended up in last place (34th) during the regular season, he would have still made it to the playoffs. This is similar to what happened with Harrison Burton from Wood Brothers Racing; despite ending the regular season in last place, his win was enough to get him a spot in the 16-driver postseason as well.

After that, Logano took the necessary steps to progress through the playoffs, triumphing in the initial races of both the round of 16 and round of 8. Consequently, he was essentially competing for nothing in the remaining races of each round. He subsequently clinched the winner-take-all season finale, but despite his late-season victories, he still couldn’t manage to secure a top 10 position in total points at the end of the season.

Is there a need to revise the new NCAA format, given that our team was overwhelmingly defeated by stronger opposition at the crucial moments, regardless of whether it was in the first round or not?

Was it your belief that each matchup in the expanded College Football Playoff would automatically result in a nail-biting, extended overtime game?

Was the tournament with eight additional teams, essentially using random placement, truly an effective resolution?

It’s clear that the number of truly exceptional college football teams is significantly less than twelve, and the regular season’s outcome doesn’t decisively determine who the champion will be in the end. This concept has long been debated among NASCAR fans in their own sports scene.

Instead of having approximately half of all full-time drivers competing in the playoffs, could we consider a system where just one victory during the regular season’s 26 races guarantees a driver’s entry into the postseason?

In a completely different context, wouldn’t it be intriguing if the contenders for NASCAR’s playoffs were chosen by a group of decision-makers instead?

It’s not contested that both formats need enhancement. Interestingly, the same type of discussions seem to recur in other sports, even ones involving a ball where some people believe playoffs are indeed suitable, as suggested by NASCAR enthusiasts.

In simpler terms, some people argue that in NASCAR, the regular season isn’t meant to be the ultimate decider, similar to other team sports like football and baseball. However, contrary to this viewpoint in NASCAR, some college football fans believe that the regular season should carry more significance in their sport as well.

2025-01-09 17:02

Curse of being Michael Jackson’s child – from heroin addiction to ‘little talent to offer’ and war with grandmother over money