5 things you need to know about the new playoff format
Over the next few weeks, we will be taking an in-depth look at the upcoming college football season. Want more? Read our full preview.
There will be no bigger difference in college football this season than the addition of the College Football Playoff. Much to the excitement of fans throughout the nation the BCS is no more, making way for a system that will give more teams a chance to win the national championship.
While not drastically different than the previous system, there have been a number of changes that will affect the way the top team in the land is determined.
Here are five things you need to know about 2014's new playoff format.
Top 4 vs. Top 2
Arguably the biggest change is the addition of two more teams into the mix. Under the old system, the two teams atop the BCS standings at the end of the season would earn trips to the BCS National Championship, leaving everyone else to wonder what might have been.
Now that number will double, with four teams earning a shot at the championship. The top four teams will be determined by a selection committee and then compete in two semifinals before the two winners meet in the title game.
Humans, not computers, will make the final decision
Speaking of the selection committee, the 13-member panel will have total say in which four teams will gain entrance into the College Football Playoff. The USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 still exist, but they will not play any factor in determining the top teams.
Fans will also no longer have to worry about how their teams stack up in the computer rankings. The BCS used six computer ranking systems that held a lot of sway in determining the top two teams in the final BCS standings, but with the introduction of the playoff, those rankings no longer exist.
While some may complain that computers don't have a personal bias like the 13 people that will make up the selection committee, there are rules prohibiting members from voting in favor of schools to which they have an attachment.
Bidding will determine the site of the National Championship Game
During the 16 years of the BCS, the championship game rotated between the four BCS Bowls: the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. While all of those bowls will still have important roles, they will no longer host the championship game.
Instead, the host site for the National Championship Game will be determined via a bidding process, not unlike the NFL's selection of Super Bowl venues. The first three sites have already been selected, with AT&T Stadium hosting the first championship in 2015, the University of Phoenix Stadium hosting in 2016, and Raymond James Stadium in 2017.
7 bowl games in the mix
As previously mentioned, the four games once known as the BCS Bowls (Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta) will still play a major role in the process. Those four, along with the Cotton Bowl and Peach Bowl, will rotate in pairs each season as the semifinal games.
The Rose and Sugar Bowls will be the inaugural semifinal games, the Orange and Cotton Bowls will get the honor the year after, and the Peach and Fiesta Bowls will be the semifinal games during the third year of the College Football Playoff before the whole rotation starts over.
Top-seeded teams will get advantageous placement
With the host of the BCS National Championship determined well in advance, there was no real advantage to being the higher-seeded team entering the game. That could change under the new format.
When deciding which teams will play where, the selection committee will attempt to give the higher-seeded teams a location closer to home. This would allow for more of that team's fan base to make the trip to the semifinal game, and provide some benefit to entering as a highly-ranked squad.