this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
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College Football
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| /c/CFB Poll Top 25 |  |
|---|---|
| 1. Oregon |  |
| 2. Texas |  |
| 3. Notre Dame |  |
| 4. Penn State |  |
| 5. ~~SMU~~ |  |
| 6. Ohio State |  |
| 7. ~~Indiana~~ |  |
| 8. Georgia |  |
| 9. ~~Tennessee~~ |  |
| 10. South Carolina |  |
| 11. Arizona State |  |
| 12. Boise State |  |
| 13. Alabama |  |
| 14. Ole Miss |  |
| T-15. Iowa State |  |
| T-15. Miami |  |
| 17. BYU |  |
| 18. ~~Clemson~~ |  |
| 19. ~~Army~~ |  |
| 20. Colorado |  |
| T-21. Syracuse |  |
| T-21. UNLV |  |
| 23. Louisville |  |
| 24. Illinois |  |
| 25. Baylor |  |
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I followed college ball there in the late 2000s while dating a US girl. As a hockey fan it was a fun experience to learn about the game, and the fans, until it came to the stakes involved on judging how to filter over 120+ teams into a playoff system of bowls that couldn't accommodate all of the teams in a fair way. At that stage there was even pressure on Obama to get involved to "fix" the system.
I'll take the grueling best of 7 playoff series over that noise every time. Mind you the tailgating and the fan culture was still the tops. Such a great time.
Oh man, the weird cultural and historical quirks that led to interscholastic, nominally amateur "U23" football being a top 5 sports entertainment business in the US could fill volumes!
And basically yes, every single system designed to name a champion is doomed in a sport with (1) no enforced parity (either by salary cap or by relegation), (2) a huge number of teams nominally in the same tier, (3) a 12-game regular season, and (4) vast and barely concealed corruption. Honestly, the stupidity of college football is a non-negligible part of its charm.
100% and I feel like the bowl system was a much better reflection of this than any playoff will ever be. The ridiculousness of 2+ schools claiming the same titles on a regular basis, and everyone else mostly agreeing both claims are valid but still bickering over which is more valid, was a big part of the sport's charm.