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00:00Joining us from Sporting News on Twitter at TSN Mike, Mike, happy holidays, happy early New Year. How are you?
00:06I'm very well. Happy New Year to you as well, Adam
00:10so just I appreciate that just before the holidays just before Christmas you wrote about how that just
00:17Disgusting I mean embarrassing first round of the college football playoff with blowout after blowout after blowout
00:23Like I was tweeting about it at the time
00:25like my god the first year of the new format how the committee must be feeling right now with all the judgment going in and
00:31Then Indiana with that stinker that it had until I guess, you know
00:35Put up some too little too late points toward the end of the game to make the score a little bit more respectable
00:40But it was bad
00:41the question is though because you know you wrote about how the maybe the format the 12 team format needs to be
00:47Reassessed and fixed and and just how ugly it was can all be forgiven now in this
00:54Quarterfinal round if we get four good games
00:57What what is it ultimately due to the committee and to the sport where we're at expanding from 4 to 12?
01:03Well, I think in some ways if we had four good games
01:06it would it would
01:08Affirm the decisions that the committee and and the college football playoff at large made
01:14Relative to the construction of the playoff and I know they have input from conference commissioners and such
01:19III love the conference college football playoff being 12 teams. I think that it absolutely is essential
01:27I don't think there's any other word
01:29Essential that there be automatic qualification for the five highest ranked conference champions
01:35It's not a real playoff without that
01:37But there's no rule that says and certainly this doesn't apply in the NCAA men's basketball tournament
01:43There's no rule
01:44It says you have to get an advantage seed because you want a conference
01:48Lots of teams get number one seeds in the NCAA tournament without winning their conferences either regular season or
01:55The the tournament that happened with Tennessee in 2019 Pitt in 2009 off the top my head examples
02:02One neither their regular season or conference championships, but we're judged to be one of the four best teams
02:07so I don't think that
02:09Seeding Boise State and Arizona State into the quarterfinals was the right call everything else they did was great
02:16But doing that
02:18disadvantaged the first round
02:20Made it made it so there were more mismatches
02:22I mean Indiana versus Boise State might have been a great game
02:25But we'll never know and you look in the quarterfinals and you've got Ohio State going in as a favorite
02:32Against the team that's with an undefeated record and was the number one overall seed in the tournament. That doesn't seem right
02:38That seems like there's a miss mismatch and seeding there and then you have a double-digit seed favorites
02:45That Kate that had to play in the in the first round and are now playing against quarterfinal opponents that got seeds
02:51So I think the same about the NFL
02:54I mean the fact that either the Vikings or the Lions are gonna have to go on the road and play against an eight or
03:00Nine win team in a couple of weeks is ridiculous
03:03But I think that the college football playoffs should have
03:06Followed the example of the superior postseason and that's the NCAA tournament not the NFL playoffs
03:13Do you think the expanded format?
03:16Really kind of further waters down these bowl games. It's like people should have been maybe people were but not to the degree that
03:23Ordinarily, they would be you should have been
03:26Elated tap like New Year's Eve and we've got Alabama against Michigan
03:30I know these two schools these programs weren't this year what they have been
03:34Historically, certainly it wasn't the Rose Bowl last year in seeing them this year and then you sprinkle, you know
03:39All around college football saying that all right. Well, how do I if I'm a better?
03:43How do I even wager on this game knowing that all the coach left or all the coordinators have left?
03:47Oh the the best players have sat out because they've declared for the NFL drafter
03:51Oh, look how many guys aren't playing because they're in the transfer portal to where it's like it feels like you have JV teams out
03:57There high school teams out there. I know that wasn't the case specifically with Alabama, Michigan
04:02But do these games just feel that much less important? I think I think that's fair to say they're important to the schools
04:10that
04:12That that have the teams in the games
04:14If you're a pit fan, you wanted to see them beat Toledo or you're a Alabama fan
04:19You wanted to see them beat, Michigan. I think it matters to them and it gives
04:23Networks good programming that people watch because they like football and it is something to wager on
04:30Although it is a challenge to figure out how teams are going to perform
04:35When they are not whole and we but that's been a problem really in college football
04:41Starting probably 20 years ago when coaches started taking jobs and leaving before the bowl games. That's probably when it began
04:48I remember specifically when Brian Kelly left Cincinnati
04:52With an undefeated team to go take the Notre Dame job
04:55That was sort of the apotheosis of that particular practice and then you started to see players opt-out and then you started to see the transfer
05:02Portal have an impact as well. So all of that has watered the ball games down a bit
05:08but I've always said Adam that the reality is that the people who
05:13Claim that the Bulls have been good for college football
05:16Aren't telling the truth. The Bulls have always been good for the Bulls and that's really all that's all the further it goes
05:22If you're a player in one of those games, you got a nice trip and maybe a good swag bag
05:27But the games never were consequential beyond whatever game was designated as the national championship game in that particular year
05:36You mentioned before the Lions and the Vikings and of course, they have such an important week 18
05:41Matchup coming up to determine not only who wins the NFC North
05:44but who gets that first round by that number one overall seed in the NFC going into the postseason and
05:50I've been saying for months, you know Bill's Lions Bill's Lions. That's the Super Bowl. I believe we will get
05:56It's the Super Bowl that I certainly want as a fan. I think it'd be wildly entertaining
06:01But what I'm wondering is, you know that by week it does matter
06:04If somehow and I don't believe this will happen
06:06But it could if somehow Minnesota does win this week 18 matchup and we see Detroit
06:11Have to play in the opening round. They don't get that rest already dealing with a bunch of injuries the Lions
06:17Does the possibility of Dan Campbell's squad advancing all the way?
06:22Become just a little bit more unrealistic. Do you look at the Lions differently than if they get the one seed?
06:29Well, it becomes a much greater challenge
06:31When the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 05
06:34They were the first team that was seated at the bottom of the bracket
06:38They were a six at that at that they were the sixth seed even though they were a double digit win team
06:43Because again the nature of the playoff seating
06:47They were they were the lowest team in the bracket and they had to win at Cincinnati
06:51at
06:53Indianapolis and then at Denver in order to advance to the Super Bowl
06:56So it is a daunting challenge and it does make it more difficult and it kind of makes it more annoying
07:02When you're a team like Minnesota, excuse me or Detroit we're talking about
07:06Your team like Detroit that's been fantastic all year and they make you go on the road
07:11It's it's ridiculous. And it's so I think I think there's a little bit of annoyance at that as well
07:16That you have to go prove it against the team that clearly isn't as accomplished as you are
07:22And because of the playoff format still existing as it does you have to do that so it would be
07:28Whoever has to take that that lesser seat in this case
07:32Is at a significant disadvantage without a doubt. There's a lot to play for in that lions vikings game
07:39So in that this week you wrote about
07:42A vote against as you put it nick saban being the commissioner of college football
07:46I think we we need mike to talk about that because I think it's a it's a it's a it's a
07:51We need mike decorcy to be the commissioner of some of these sports whether it's college football or the nfl
07:56We need you to come in and rewrite some of this stuff and make it make more sense
08:00I I would I would love that, uh, especially because uh, roger goodell gets paid north of 30 million dollars
08:06Uh, so if I could come in and do it for a year and rewrite some of that stuff
08:10Uh, and then retire on that 30 mil, I think that would be a nice deal
08:13So I don't know if you have any influence on that i'm all for it
08:16Not that I don't love the jobs I have now but heck
08:19Yeah, I mean that one I guess it feels a little thankless
08:23But there are a lot of thankless jobs that you could have that don't pay you north of 30 million dollars a year
08:27So, you know, i'll i'll take that one. That sounds pretty good. Mike decorcy again over at uh, sporting news and calmness
08:33He's based out of pittsburgh. Uh, we really appreciate you hopping on with us here for all coast to coast. Happy new year to you, man
08:39Happy new year adam and everybody listening as well