Watered down playoffs

[92Dragon]

I know that it eventually all works out in the end and the best team ends up with the gold ball, but these first round matchups are a joke for the most part.

If TSSAA is going to allow a 1-9 team into the playoffs, why not just let everyone in? 

[TheCommissioner]

31 minutes ago, 92Dragon said:

I know that it eventually all works out in the end and the best team ends up with the gold ball, but these first round matchups are a joke for the most part.

If TSSAA is going to allow a 1-9 team into the playoffs, why not just let everyone in? 

I miss the days when the top teams went to the playoffs and the rest went to bowls.  It was a big deal to achieve bowl eligibility during the year

[92Dragon]

38 minutes ago, TheCommissioner said:

I miss the days when the top teams went to the playoffs and the rest went to bowls.  It was a big deal to achieve bowl eligibility during the year

Yes! I remember when only the top 2 teams in a region went to the playoffs. I miss those days too.

[BarneySox2007]

The average school goes in a hole the first game or two because nobody comes especially if it rains.

[92Dragon]

15 minutes ago, BarneySox2007 said:

The average school goes in a hole the first game or two because nobody comes especially if it rains.

True. And if I'm the fan of a 1-9 team, am I going to travel 2+ hours to watch them play the defending state champions? Probably not.

[MSURacer]

I still think the state just needs to bite the bullet and go back to 5 classes for publics and 2 classes for privates. The top 4 in each region making the playoffs and the current postseason quadrant alignment should both be kept. We used it from 1993-2008, and I still believe it was the cleanest, simplest, and most optimal system we have ever had IMO.

Even as a die hard fan of a school that has been a direct beneficiary of expansion (2 gold balls and 1 silver in the current system with a fair shot at another this season), I will freely admit that sacrificing quality in favor of quantity ($$$) has largely been a complete mess.  

[HTV]

2 hours ago, BarneySox2007 said:

The average school goes in a hole the first game or two because nobody comes especially if it rains.

Yep.  After the home team pays for staff and the visiting team pays its bus bill and a meal, there is normally a red number on both game balance sheets.  

But the T$$AA puts up a big black number on its balance sheet, and that's all that matters.  

And that last sentence was sarcasm, just in case you didn't get it.  

[BarneySox2007]

17 minutes ago, HTV said:

Yep.  After the home team pays for staff and the visiting team pays its bus bill and a meal, there is normally a red number on both game balance sheets.  

But the T$$AA puts up a big black number on its balance sheet, and that's all that matters.  

And that last sentence was sarcasm, just in case you didn't get it.  

Couple years ago we had two bad rain games right in a row at Maryville on the first two games and and there wasn't 600 people at each and that's being generous and all I could think was what a blood bath the school was taking while the TSSAA was busy as could be milking the cow for all it could get. Then I thought about what about the programs that are smaller. How are they going to adsorb a hit like that.

[Cactus Jack]

I think that 6 classes are too many.  I would like to see it go back to 5 classes, with 4 teams in like it was until 2008. The first round 4 teams are sometimes really bad and have to travel to get killed at the 1 team from the other region now. If they went back to 5 classes, that might make some of those 4 teams a little better.  Some regions only have 5 or 6 teams and only the top two are very good, so yes, I think the playoffs are too watered down, But, I doubt the TSSAA is going to give up the dollars although maybe tiny in those first-round games by dropping a class. 

[chs1984]

I was going to say make a rule that you have to have at least 5 wins to be in the playoffs, otherwise the other team gets a bye, but then you would have schools scheduling cupcakes for non-region play. 

[Indian]

Bye games first round can really throw teams off 

[chs1984]

25 minutes ago, Indian said:

Bye games first round can really throw teams off 

You’re probably right. Tried that in ‘93 didn’t we?