FBS about to learn what UNI, FCS already know about playoff

CEDAR FALLS - As Northern Iowa football coach Mark Farley wrapped up his final media luncheon of the season on Monday, he had time to look forward into the future of his team.

A part of that reflection came out of a question regarding the College Football Playoff selection. With the exclusion of Baylor blamed on the Bears' non-conference schedule and inclusion of FCS opponents, those matchups could be in danger.

And for Farley, that's an unfortunate reality among the big time programs.

'It's just too bad, because we should play each other,” Farley said. 'I think they still will. I don't think you can get all those teams playing purely Division I. Both sides need those.

'We're talking about the very elite of the elite that you might not be dealing with. Others have to find a way to build their programs and sustain their programs by still playing FCS quality teams to help them grow their programs. I don't think that's going away, I think we're talking about the elite programs in the country who may want to position themselves a little differently.”

It makes sense, though, why those teams are going to go away from pulling down their strength of schedule, Farley said.

It's plain to see - as long as the playoff is at four teams - programs who schedule tougher in the non-conference are going to be rewarded, as opposed to the alternative.

'I think long term, after those guys got left off for playing those teams, I think you can rationalize why they think that way now,” Farley said. 'Over the course of time that will be a factor in this at that level. You're not going to get to play those teams because they got left off and punished.”

Farley allowed himself a bit of prognostication, though, in his next breath. Sure, with four teams this is an even bigger deal.

But it's probably not going to be a gigantic factor for long. Once everyone gets a look at how this plays out with four, Farley doesn't think it'll be long before there's an expansion.

'I don't know what they're doing up there, but I'd guess they're going to have eight teams real quick,” Farley said. 'And that's the way it should be. Put them in a bracket and play this thing out. The fans will see, when they're playing all or nothing it's a different game, a different attitude, a different everything instead of just a bowl game.”

This was a case where Farley got to be a fan of the game and have some sort of an 'I told you so,” moment for his brethren in FBS. The difference between a playoff and the bowl structure is immeasurable, he said. And soon a whole lot of people are going to figure that out.

How that affects teams like his on the FCS level will play out over the long term, but he's going to enjoy watching them make the same discovery his level made a long time ago.

'It's not just a bowl game. It's what we play for,” Farley said. 'You might get nicked up that day, and then you have to go play the next week. You don't get two months to get ready for a championship now; you get one week to get the guys back on the field to play.

'And they're going to be playing for all or nothing like we play for. It's not just a trip, a ring, a watch and an iPad. They're going to go through a bracket system where if you lose, it's devastating. If you win, it's exhilarating. That's what college athletics should be about, and that's what's great about the bracket system.”

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