Fixing The Playoffs

[Barney Reinberg]

Football Playoffs Are Here
I know most of the first round games are over, but this is not what this post is about. Mlive’s reporter Steve Kaminski posted an article on 10/19/2018 entitled, “What’s wrong with Michigan’s high school playoff format”. Now, this article is as much about the playoffs as it is regular season scheduling. Some of the better programs find it difficult to find opponents to schedule. Creating long drives and may away games. Even ending some small school conferences and moving them to 8 man football. My earlier post titled “The WMC conference should call an audible on Whitehall”, brings up many of the issues playing up or down in class size, so we will discuss the playoff system and some of the remedy’s Steve Kaminski mentions in his piece.
THE FIX IS IN
1. Keep things as they are. The same six and you’re in system and a few 5-4 teams make the playoff as well. You’re never going to get a consensus among coaches so it’s as good a solution as any.
2. Keep things as they are (with a little tweaking). Give strength of schedule points for each team. This would make MCC a bit happier with their schedule. Of their 8 loses, 6 came from eventual playoff teams. But, they would not have made the playoffs with their win/loss record. You still would need six wins and this does not eliminate the scheduling issues faced by some teams.
3. Everybody gets in. Schedules reduced to 8 weeks and playoffs start a week earlier. Not a bad solution, some coaches feel that teams should “earn their way” into the playoffs.
4. No more conferences. The State would select a six game schedule for you based on class size. Teams would be playing others schools at are comparable in size. The rest of the games would be selected by the schools. I guess to ensure rivalry games. The State selected games would count towards the schools win/loss record for the playoffs. Sounds drastic, but interesting. I think it would benefit MCC with the possibility of playing more Northern schools. For LHS, welcome to old Seaway Conference. I honestly do not know how many division 4 schools are located north. They may pick up games with eastern team like Big Rapids, but for the most part, I see Muskegon area teams. Also, I’m not sure how this type of scheduling would affect teams in the UP. I think this format might be difficult up there.
HERE IS THE DEAL
It does not matter what the State does with the high school playoff format, traditional powerhouse programs with rise to the top. Some schools are “football schools” plain and simple. They’re going to win year in and year out. Not there maybe some outliers. A 4-5 school from the WMC could be more than some 8-1 teams could handle. Outliers may get an upset or two, but they will eventually run into a very good opponent and their season will end. There really isn’t an easy solution to the scheduling problem. Making the playoffs available to more teams will only delay the inevitable a week down the line.
PLAYOFF PREDICTION
There are 256 teams that make the playoffs. In the end, there will be 8 State champions. I don’t know the ratio of public vs private schools (10 to 1?), but I’m fairly certain that the private schools with make a rather large appearance at Ford Field. Schools with football programs have tendency to come through in the end. Not to mention a good recruiting program as well.
https://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/10/whats_w...