2017 Wisconsin Football Thread

[pacopete4]

I just simply do not buy the "these are kids and students" argument. EVERY other NCAA sport has a true tournament at the end - including EVERY other level of football. We're talking even down to the division 3 level, where UW-Whitwater (with non-scholarship athletes) have played several seasons of 15 games.

 

This all boils down to money. They make so much money off the ridiculous bowl system - that they've let it essentially dictate their post season for decades now.

 

Yes, this is exactly it. Anyone who makes a claim that these D1 kids should have time off should take the time to inform themselves that they are the only ones who do not have a playoff system.

[tmwiese55]

They're playing with a whole different level of physicality, pressure, and travel. Along with great in season demands on their training and time. That said, I'd argue the lower levels should be reduced too. Just because someone else is doing it doesn't mean you should too. But fine, run them into the ground. Moreover, the guys at the D1 level have the draft to worry about. So now you're making them risk injury again for free.

 

That said, my biggest points against expanding is just that all it does is move the argument down a few spots. And second, that I prefer these big regular season showdown which essentially are the playoff. Third, it reduces the chances of the best team actually winning. yea we all love upsets. But i'd be annoyed as hell if I'm Bama and go undefeated and have to play a 3 loss team that shouldn't even be there. BAd interception/call/fumble etc goes against you and you're out. Or your QB gets hurt in that game that you shouldn't even have to be playing etc.

 

ETA: I also just looked up and a couple D3 and FCS teams, prompted by remembering Bama playing one this week. Seems D3 teams only play 10 game reg season and FCS play 11. I don't know off the top of my head the structure of each's tournament though.

[Samurai Bucky]

We're talking even down to the division 3 level, where UW-Whitwater (with non-scholarship athletes) have played several seasons of 15 games.

If you are strictly talking from a "number of games" and physicality standpoint, you are correct. However a D3 school doesn't have the travel requirements of a D1 program.

 

UW Whitewater Destinations: (http://www.uwwsports.com/schedule.aspx?path=football):

Bloomington, ILL

Moorhead, Minn

St. Louis, MO

Oshkosh

River Falls

Stevens Point

 

Wisconsin Destinations: (http://www.uwbadgers.com/schedule.aspx?path=football)

Provo, UT

Lincoln, NB

Champaign, ILL

Bloomington, IN

Minneapolis, MN

Indianapolis, IN

 

I am not sure about the D1 schedule, but I am sure that nobody goes to class the day before away games due to travel requirements. So from the academic standpoint, I believe a D1 schedule is more demanding.

[FVBrewerFan]

You pretty much proved the point without realizing it, no difference in travel schedule. A bus trip for UWW to St Louis, Moorhead, Bloomington takes as long or longer than any trip UW has. Even Provo, the longest distance is a shorter trip (flying) than bus ride for UWW to St Louis or Moorhead.

 

Yea, it's a tough schedule for any level. Boo hoo. It's also tough for student who work, some full time, while they go to school.

[brwrsfan]

My biggest problem is that it's absolutely ridiculous to have a major sport that doesn't really determine a true champion. I'm sorry but when you have 130+ teams and only FOUR have a chance to win the title, that's just kinda silly. . They've also made it virtually impossible for any time outside of the Power 5 to ever win one as well. Every other sport in the world has one essentially (that I know of at least), except NCAA Football (at the division 1 level only).

 

I don't know what the answer is, and four teams is better than the 2 and the 0 before it, so maybe it's just a matter of time, but they need to figure out a way to have a real tournament in some fashion.

[Fear The Chorizo]

As stated before, it's all about the money & the bowl system why D1 football doesn't have a full blown playoff...but, I think the next step in this should be expanding to a 6-team playoff.

 

Top 2 teams get a bye, while teams 3-6 play a round of games the saturday of Christmas weekend (would be Dec 23 this year). That gives teams #3-6 three full weeks after conference championship week to rest up and prepare. Winners of playoff games that weekend then play teams #1 and #2 on New Year's weekend, with the national championship then being played the week after New Years just like it currently is. A 6 team playoff compared to 4 is better because it guarantees all 5 power conferences get at least 1 team in if they are deserving, plus it leaves at least 1 spot open for the best at-large bid (best power 5 conference team not to win its conference or a deserving non-power 5 conference team). I think 6 teams is better than 8 because it rewards the top two teams with a bye, putting more emphasis on overall regular season performance (SOS, quality of conference, eye test, etc). Those top two could even be decided following a formula similar to how the BCS did it, with teams 3-6 selected by a committee.

 

The bowl season can keep chugging along with the top 6 teams in a playoff compared to the top 8...and it could focus even more on pairing conference head to head matchups to help settle each year's debate about which conferences are the toughest.

[tmwiese55]

My biggest problem is that it's absolutely ridiculous to have a major sport that doesn't really determine a true champion. I'm sorry but when you have 130+ teams and only FOUR have a chance to win the title, that's just kinda silly. . They've also made it virtually impossible for any time outside of the Power 5 to ever win one as well. Every other sport in the world has one essentially (that I know of at least), except NCAA Football (at the division 1 level only).

 

I don't know what the answer is, and four teams is better than the 2 and the 0 before it, so maybe it's just a matter of time, but they need to figure out a way to have a real tournament in some fashion.

 

It's decided by the regular season and every major conference team plus ND/BYU have a chance.

 

But yea that's where my theory on 4 conferences comes in. Eventually the high major D1 will have to just separate themselves from the rest as far as rules and regulations go anyway. Four 16 teams conferences, each with a conference title game becomes a defacto 8 team tournament and the rest can still do the bowl system as is.

 

And going to 6 teams just makes you argue between teams 5-8 instead of 3-6 like it is now, doesn't change anything.

[owbc]

As stated before, it's all about the money & the bowl system why D1 football doesn't have a full blown playoff...but, I think the next step in this should be expanding to a 6-team playoff.

 

This is the first proposal in this thread that I can get behind. I have yet to see a convincing argument for an 8-team playoff that doesn't result in mediocre teams getting in and/or making it too easy for the top teams to get in. The Pac-12 shouldn't have a representative this year. Neither should any non power-5 team. Other years are different. A flexible system (i.e. having a human committee) accounts for this Auto bids do not. An 8-team auto bid proposal would also greatly diminish the significance of this week's Wisconsin-Michigan game. Wisconsin has already clinched the B10 West, so one could argue that this weekend's game would be almost meaningless under the 8-team format.

 

I don't buy the idea that a larger playoff bracket would do a better job determining a champion. The best way to determine a champion is for the best teams to play each other, not for the best teams to play mediocre teams. 1 vs. 8 matchup does nothing to help determine a champion and only increases the chance that an inferior team will be named champion because of the randomness of an individual game.

[OnaBadger58]

As stated before, it's all about the money & the bowl system why D1 football doesn't have a full blown playoff...but, I think the next step in this should be expanding to a 6-team playoff.

1 vs. 8 matchup does nothing to help determine a champion and only increases the chance that an inferior team will be named champion because of the randomness of an individual game.

I cannot see the NCAA going to a 6 team playoff. If your going to expand the playoffs by a round, the NCAA will want the maximum number of games/dollars possible.

 

I would prefer the 8-team playoff. The power 5 conference champions, the best non-power 5 conference team, and 2 wild card teams. If a team wins three games in a row beating all top 8 teams, are they really inferior?

[tmwiese55]

As stated before, it's all about the money & the bowl system why D1 football doesn't have a full blown playoff...but, I think the next step in this should be expanding to a 6-team playoff.

 

This is the first proposal in this thread that I can get behind. I have yet to see a convincing argument for an 8-team playoff that doesn't result in mediocre teams getting in and/or making it too easy for the top teams to get in. The Pac-12 shouldn't have a representative this year. Neither should any non power-5 team. Other years are different. A flexible system (i.e. having a human committee) accounts for this Auto bids do not. An 8-team auto bid proposal would also greatly diminish the significance of this week's Wisconsin-Michigan game. Wisconsin has already clinched the B10 West, so one could argue that this weekend's game would be almost meaningless under the 8-team format.

 

I don't buy the idea that a larger playoff bracket would do a better job determining a champion. The best way to determine a champion is for the best teams to play each other, not for the best teams to play mediocre teams. 1 vs. 8 matchup does nothing to help determine a champion and only increases the chance that an inferior team will be named champion because of the randomness of an individual game.

 

Great phrasing, I'll remember this way of putting it.

 

And yea like you said about the auto-bids i'm the same way. I love having these regular season games being huge, that's what makes CFB special imo

[adambr2]

There is no doomsday scenario left where we'll win out and not get into the playoff. Just not happening.

[PeaveyFury]

Agreed. The rankings tonight basically ensure that the 4 spots would be SEC Champion, undefeated Wisconsin, ACC Champion, one-loss Oklahoma.

[JohnBriggs12]

Wisconsin's got the help they needed. Odds were that would happen so I was never too worried about that. Now the hard part will be winning out. Getting through the regular season undefeated would be a tremendous achievement. Beating Ohio State in Big Ten championship game and getting to the playoffs would be fantastic.

[FVBrewerFan]

It is not impossible they would put a one loss Alabama team ahead of Wisc. Not likely, but i would guess at least 10% chance.

[brewcrewdue80]

I don't know with the 6-8 team playoffs. I'm not a fan of 2 loss teams likely becoming a part of that. A number of these teams will play eachother still. Miami beat ND. Will face Clemson. IF it were playoff at 8 teams Strong chance ND/Miami/Clemson would match up again. Auburn/Alabama/Georgia One of them too, when they are facing eachother. The Pac-10 will see that happen at time to like the Big 10 is this year. The Teams don't need to play extra games, they just need to move the conference games earlier by 1 week and not play the 3 cake games or 2 with 1 legit out of conference opponents.

 

I could see instances where if opened to 8, some power teams schedule weaker and focus to get in on their conference play. And others may just schedule bigger non-conference opponents. Either way it works, you're hurting the small schools.

[homer]

That Minny game scares me. Just like those goobers to ruin a perfect season...like in 93.

[tmwiese55]

What I'm most worried about is that this now looks like if OSU wins out and beats us in the title game they'll likely get the 4th spot. Assume Bama, ACC champ, OU for the other spots. Last thing we need is a highly motivated OSU coming at us in that game, I guess I'm still just traumatized from witnessing the 59-0.

 

either way, one thing at a time. Just win this week.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'd rather the badgers play osu in the title game. If they can't beat them then they don't deserve a shot at the natl title. If they do, then it bolsters their SOS to the point where it should be impossible for other conferences to get more than 1 team in and shun the badgers.

 

And if osu beats the badgers, I don't see how they'd leapfrog 1 loss okla, 1 loss miami, or 1 loss ala, 1 loss georgia, or even two loss auburn or Clemson depending on how things shake out. Big ten's only hope for a playoff team is the badgers.

 

I think there are still scenarios where the acc and sec could get two teams in despite an undefeated WI.

[nate82]

The only scenario that would keep an undefeated Badgers team out would be Georgia beating Alabama in their title game with Alabama only having one loss because of that.

 

That is the only scenario that I can think of which would give you Alabama Georgia Miami and Oklahoma as the four teams.

[Fear The Chorizo]

A close acc title game with Miami losing is another option.

 

Auburn edging Bama at home and then getting rolled by Georgia is another...

 

I don't think any of these should keep an undefeated wisconsin out...but they could, especially if the badgers somehow wind up playing Michigan state in the conf. title game to remove any chance of a top ten win on their resume.

[superfly]

That Minny game scares me. Just like those goobers to ruin a perfect season...like in 93.

 

They are hiddddeous.

[homer]

That Minny game scares me. Just like those goobers to ruin a perfect season...like in 93.

 

They are hiddddeous.

 

 

I dunno. They put up 50+ on Nebby.

[CheezWizHed]

I'm not sure how... their coach keeps teaching them crew instead of football.

[AKCheesehead]

I'm not even thinking about whether they get into the playoff picture unless they beat michigan and then retain the axe. After that I may begin to dream.

 

Tomorrow night I'm going to set forth nearly 4k miles on a redeye to take in my first game at Camp Randall since they beat michigan in 07.

[Baldkin]

I'm not even thinking about whether they get into the playoff picture unless they beat michigan and then retain the axe. After that I may begin to dream.

 

Tomorrow night I'm going to set forth nearly 4k miles on a redeye to take in my first game at Camp Randall since they beat michigan in 07.

 

Have fun, man!!