That's pretty much it. Even during the wire service polls and BCS eras, there was a lesser chance of getting it wrong. These new "innovations" carry a greater chance of producing fallacious outcomes. Conducting more games featuring less than excellent teams will give rise to additional aberrant vicissitudes. It's inevitable.
Undoubtedly, a 14-team playoff situation improves Carolina's chances to get a national championship more so than the current 4-team situation. On3, in back testing the 12-team playoff scenario, proved that, finding we would have made the playoffs 2 times. And we did actually finish number 4 in the nation one of those two times. I believe number 4 in the nation fits the definition of "excellence". We don't have the aura and tradition to be placed among the elite automatically. Some teams, like Carolina, need a boost to have a chance. A 14-team playoff gives us that boost by allowing us to prove it on the playing field.
The only team we ever had that played for the SEC title lost that game by the biggest margin in SECCG history. You've got to prove your mettle before beating a name team that is less than stellar in a less than premier bowl.
And that team was a 9-win team, and 22nd in the nation, in a year when the SEC East was down. The next three teams won 11 games each, finishing 7th, 8th and 4th in the nation, yet did not win the SEC East. Two of those 3 teams would have made the playoffs, with the opportunity to prove its mettle. The SEC East championship team would not have.
We will never know, though I doubt that the 2011-2013 teams would have been, especially the one finishing number 4 in the nation. At least it would have had to be on the field, rather than imaginations.
Money. It's all about money. It's always about money. That's why I concluded long ago, during the BCS days, that this was inevitable. I'm just surprised it took this long. How would the 2013 team have fared? The thing is that one never knows what intangibles will be at work on any given weekend. Many, many a time, the best team does not win. The 2013 team might not have actually been the 4th most talented team in the nation. Maybe it was the 4th best coached team. As I said, you never know what intangibles would be in play. I do agree with you though when you say it's not designed to do the best job of identifying a true champion. Things could be worse though: we could be Clemson as they are whining about the SEC/Big 10 pact that screws the ACC and Big 12.
Current and future system is better. It prevents a scenario of a 1984 Brigham Young University type championship.
