What if football was no different from other sports?

[ErikG]

If you didn't break each regular season class into 2 postseason classes and employed the 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 system, look at these matchups we'd have this year and tell me they're not more appealing than what we're about to officially hear later this morning from the TSSAA (or, for that matter, what we'll get next year with the introduction of the Upward 32). If it's o.k. for these schools to compete against one another in all other sports, and if it's o.k. for them to compete against each other in a football regular season that largely determines who makes the postseason, it automatically follows that they should be grouped together for the football postseason. There would be just as many playoff games through the semi-finals as we currently have (124) but half as many state championship games. So that the TSSAA doesn't lose out on it's precious revenue, play the semis (6 public sector games) at a central site and then let the higher seeded semi-final winners host (as GA does) the state championship games (how about that for a great high school football environment?!).

 

**The current District 13 with just 4 members is problematic but not nearly so much in my mind as next year's Upward 32.

 

Wouldn't this Class AAA bracket look good for next Friday?!

Region 1

#1 Science Hill

#4 Morristown East

 

#3 TN High

#2 Sevier Co.

 

#3 Morristown West

#2 Dobyns-Bennett

 

#4 Sullivan Central (thanks to a 2-team expulsion)

#1 South-Doyle

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Region 2

#4 Farragut

#1 Oak Ridge

 

#3 Campbell Co.

#2 Knox West

 

#3 Hardin Valley

#2 Anderson Co.

 

#4 Clinton

#1 Maryville

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Region 3

#4 Warren Co.

#1 Ooltewah

 

#3 Bradley Central

#2 Cookeville

 

#3 Stone Memorial

#2 Cleveland

 

#4 McMinn Co.

#1 Rhea Co.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Region 4

#4 Tullahoma

#1 Blackman

 

#3 Riverdale

#2 Shelbyville

 

#3 Lincoln Co. 

#2 Oakland

 

#4 Smyrna

#1 Lawrence Co.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Region 5

#4 Kenwood

#1 Hendersonville

 

#3 Gallatin

#2 Rossview

 

#3 Springfield

#2 Beech

 

#4 Mt. Juliet

#1 Henry Co.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Region 6

#4 Cane Ridge

#1 Ravenwood

 

#3 Centennial

#2 Overton

 

#3 McGavock

#2 Franklin

 

#4 Independence

#1 Hillsboro

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Region 7

#4 Cordova

#1 Hardin Co.

 

#3 Dyer Co.

#2 Millington

 

#3 Bartlett

#2 Munford

 

#4 Brighton

#1 Arlington

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Region 8

#4 White Station

#1 Ridgeway

 

#3 Collierville

#2 Melrose

 

#3 Memphis East

#2 Houston

 

#4 Germantown

#1 Whitehaven

 

 

 

Personally, I'd pay to go see a lot more of these 1st round matchups than what we're about to be dealt. And isn't that what the majority of folks believe fuels the TSSAA's decisions?

And, of course, there's the added benefit of maintaining/ maximizing regular season gates by staying with the more localized 3 classes as opposed to the travel that's about to be imposed with a questionably premature reclassification period.

Edited November 1, 2014 by ErikG

[TomJoad]

"Upward 32" LOLZ!

[pigskinred]

Never work. Makes too much sense and looks too exciting!

[tnwareagle]

This is how it should be. We have way too many classifications in football and way too many people going to playoffs.... I liked the way it was in 1978. What was wrong with that? Teams earned the right to play on.

[ErikG]

Never work. Makes too much sense and looks too exciting!

It does look exciting, doesn't it? With no rooting interest at all I can easily pick out local games I'd love to go see -- and I haven't even bothered yet with Class A and Class AA.

[youthsportsPIX]

Erik this would be so much better.  As others have said that would make to much sense.  

[hillrider]

Why not use this?  it is better than the top 32.  TSSAA is clueless!!

[Footballfan27]

Looks better than the TSSAA bracket

[titans1221]

Of course it looks better if you are a 6A school. Look at how many 6A vs. 5A match ups you have in that 1st round. Very few 5A schools would get through the first round.

[anotherback]

Look there's no place for logic and reason at the T$$AA. Now I have the plan. You take each district make them play each other, then you make them play a few teams out of district during the regular season.You following? Good. Now you take their record with head to head then points scored then given up then coin toss as tie breakers for seedings in post season. Ok now you take everybody in the state and break them down into 5 classifications and send everybody to the play offs. Doesn't matter who wins by the end of December we would have the same teams we always have but all the fans would get to say we went to the playoffs and the powers that be would make more money. Yes we may have to start the other sports later but we could just go to school year round to justify that and put the burden were it truly belongs not on the T$$AA but the same tax paying fans. Huh huh. I know right.

[ErikG]

Of course it looks better if you are a 6A school. Look at how many 6A vs. 5A match ups you have in that 1st round. Very few 5A schools would get through the first round.

 

I had not even looked at what the current 5A vs. 6A matchups would be -- simply thought it far more straight forward, consistent, sensible and, certainly, interesting. Again, if it's acceptable for these schools to compete against one another all the way through to the state championship in other sports, and if their results vs. one another in the football regular season largely determines who makes the football postseason, why would you deviate from that competition grouping just for the football playoffs? If it's solely about money, I offerred an alternative with the semi-finals being at a central site rather than the finals. I love the thought of championship games being played in high school stadiums. 

 

So I looked at which schools are currently 5A and which are 6A and found there to be 20 opening round matchups in this "what if" scenario between schools currently in different playoff classes. Of those 20, I consider the following 8 matchups to favor the 6A schools:

 

Sevier Co. over TN High

Dobyns-Bennett over Morristown West

Maryville over Clinton

Blackman over Tullahoma

Riverdale over Shelbyville

Oakland over Lincoln Co.

Smyrna over Lawrence Co.

Hendersonville over Kenwood

 

Notice that half of those involve District 7AAA teams. Does anyone really believe that a larger student enrollment is the vital edge those schools would enjoy over their more rural, small-town counterparts in District 8AAA?

 

I consider 2 of the opening round matchups (between current 5A & 6A playoff teams) too evenly paired to be able to pick a clear favorite:

Gallatin @ Rossview & Memphis East @ Houston.

 

Finally, of the 20 matchups between current 5A and 6A playoff teams, I consider the following 10 to favor the 5A schools:

 

Oak Ridge over Farragut

Anderson Co. over Hardin Valley

Ooltewah over Warren Co.

Rhea Co. over McMinn Co.

Henry Co. over Mt. Juliet

Hillsboro over Independence

Hardin Co. over Cordova

Munford over Bartlett

Ridgeway over White Station

Melrose over Collierville

 

So that's 10 favoring 5A, 8 favoring 6A, and 2 toss-ups. I'm sure many could disagree with a couple of these perceived favorites, but it hardly looks to me as though the current 5A teams would have any problem holding their own in the opening round.

 

**And I do want to add congratulations to all the teams competing in this year's playoffs and wish all good luck and good health. Nothing here is intended to detract from their accomplishments.

Edited November 4, 2014 by ErikG