Wisconsin Football: Badgers’ AD bashes CFB Playoff process
Wisconsin football hasn’t come close to reaching a College Football Playoff and Badgers’ AD Barry Alvarez says the system has too many inherent flaws.
It doesn’t matter where we are in the college football calendar, the battle for College Football Playoff expansion marches on. The latest criticism of the four-team format comes from Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez.
Oddly enough, the Badgers have never had a true shot at being named to a single Playoff berth. Even during their best years, they’ve fallen to other Big Ten powers in the East, finishing second-best and on the outside looking in. Realistically, Wisconsin needs to win the Big Ten or see the Playoff field expanded. Alvarez gave a telling non-admission as to which of those is more likely to happen.
During an interview broadcast by Wisconsin Athletics, Alvarez sounded off on his Playoff gripes:
"I was never satisfied with (the BCS) and thought four (teams) really helped college football. I thought that would be it. But when our league is left out of the Playoff three years in a row, I’m not happy about that. I don’t think we have followed the criteria set by the commissioners in naming those four teams."
To a large extent, this sounds like sour grapes. As the Athletic Director at Wisconsin, Alvarez is tasked with doing what’s best for Wisconsin, not necessarily what’s best for college football as a whole. The nation has already seen underwhelming Big Ten teams reach the Playoff. The Big Ten Conference has scored a point in the Playoff since Ohio State won it all in 2014.
Credit Alvarez for trying. He’s doing what he can to promote the potential for success at a non-blue blood program that’s probably not going to reach a four-team Playoff any time soon.
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Whether it’s not following criteria or some other rationale, the Playoff detractors will continue to make their cases until the format changes or the contract runs out. Buckle up, college football fan. We’ll be hearing this narrative for a while.