The Countdown (La cuenta atrás) Bilingual

Why do preseason rankings?
Many people are against preseason rankings. Luckily, the official rankings from the committee don't begin until October. Rankings are interesting for many reasons, but mainly because they give a glimpse of what to expect. Comparing the final rankings with early rankings allows you to see who did or didn't live up to the hype, and what the surprise teams were. While it is usually tough to predict exact records, it is fairly simple to get a feel for how teams will be. Of my top 35 rankings from last year (added at the bottom), only three ended up under .500%. Obviously suspensions and injuries (Ex: Georgia 2013) are the biggest thorns to accurate preseason rankings.

¿Por qué hago clasificaciones de pretemporada?
Mucha gente están contra de las clasificaciones de pretemporada. Por suerte,  las clasificaciones oficiales del comité no empiezan hasta octubre. Las clasificaciones son interesantes por varias razones, mayormente porque te dan ojeada de las expectativas. Comparar las clasificaciones finales con las tempranas te permite ver a quien sí o no satisfizo toda la emoción y cuales equipos sorprendieron. Aunque generalmente es un reto predecir marcas exactas, es bastante sencillo percibir cómo desempeñarán los equipos. De mis clasificaciones de 35 equipos el año pasado (agregada al inferior), sólo tres finalizaron debajo de ,500%. Obviamente suspensiones y lesiones (ejemplo: Georgia 2013) son los espinos más grandes para clasificaciones precisas de la pretemporada.

The BCS is Out, a Playoff is in: Major Changes in College Football Approach

Florida State football's win over Auburn in this year's BCS Championship Game ended several streaks. The team is the first outside of the Southeastern Conference in eight years to win the BCS Championship. The second streak that ended is the BCS itself, or the Bowl Championship Series.

This system was put into place in the late 1990's, where the top two College Football teams at the end of the regular season were matched up for the BCS Championship Game, and eight qualifying teams would play in the other major Bowl Games (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange). The system usually created disaster at the end of the regular season, when well deserving teams were left out of the BCS.

1

Now, the one streak that is sure to continue is the constant change in College Sports. The post season is being changed, the NCAA is having legal issues that could lead to major changes (such as players getting paid) and teams have been shuffling conferences restlessly.

The New Postseason

The big news of 2014 is the new Post Season format. The College Football Playoff begins this season with the top four teams, selected by a committee instead of computers and voters. Will there be questions and disputes? Sure, but a tournament of four is two times better than a narrow two. A playoff would have solved problems in many, but not all, of the BCS years.

Some people think this system will make it even tougher for teams like Boise State to make the National Championship. We've yet to see, but I don't see a playoff of four teams leaving an undefeated Boise State team out three times (such as the BCS did in 2006, 2008, 2009)

Finally, the BCS had six conferences that were automatically qualified for a BCS game. Starting now there are five that qualify for a "Major Bowl." A sixth qualifier is chosen out of the best team out of all other conferences. There are more "Major Bowls" this year, where four of the six rotate as playoff games every year. These bowls are Rose, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, Cotton and Peach Bowls. The Playoff Bowl Games this year are the Sugar and Rose Bowls. The National Championship Game will be at Cowboy's Stadium in Texas2.

 Conference Changes
 

The recent conference shifts first occurred in 2011, and included Nebraska's move to the Big Ten, Colorado and Utah's move to the PAC 12 and BYU's move to Independence. Conferences are almost unrecognizable now. The WAC and Big East are gone (Big East is now the American Athletic Conference) and the Big XII doesn't even have 12 teams.

This year, more teams are jumping ship, including Rutgers and Maryland (Big Ten), Louisville (ACC), etc.


Sources:
1: http://www.adweek.com/files/cfp-teaser-hed-2014.jpg
2: http://www.collegefootballplayoff.com/