Roundtable Wednesday: Let’s Fix The CFB Playoffs and Talk Big 12 Hunger Games

Here at Pistols Firing, we use Slack to communicate back and forth. Sometimes this is constructive. Other times we riff for 20 minutes on Mike Gundy’s golf game. We’re going to try and do an informal roundtable every Wednesday about whatever is going on this week and post it here.

It’s going to be pretty slangy and GIF-y and not meant to be anything serious. We’re just here to talk about OSU the way we all do in real life. If you need to brush up on any of the contributors, you can do so here.

Kyle Porter: OK @everyone who can do it, let’s roundtable! Question is what would you do to fix/change the playoff, if anything?

Kyle Boone: Bring back the BCS system and move it to a playoff format.

Sam Aldrich: Expand to 8 teams — 5 major conference winners, 3 wild card spots.

Kyle Cox: I have to agree with @sam.aldrich and @porter on that. eight would fix a lot, not all. Maybe just set an actual guideline that makes sense and stick to it? Combine BCS-type system with a committee. Wse the committee only for the tie breakers and to veto any obvious flaws in the system. Has to be high majority to overrule computers.

Caleb Deck: Who’s better at math, me or a calculator? Calculator, by a larger margin than I can count. Point being: computers are important and objective instead of biased and subjective. I have no idea why they decided to rebrand the whole championship system for more equality and clarity and removed the most “fair” and objective thing about it all. Makes absolutely no sense. There’s definitely a place for a committee and for a bit of subjective discussion and debate (see OkState vs CMU *loss*) but the computers are important for sure

Porter: Everybody plays the same number of conference games and has a conference championship. Five conference champs — if the Big 12 is stupid enough to have its teams have a rematch for the conference title, that’s its own problem. Three wild cards so you get the Boise States or this year apparently Ohio State. Top four get home games in first round. Semis and finals are at current bowl sites. $1 trillion idea. Make it rain.

Everybody has a path to the title, and you can’t (legitimately) complain if you don’t make it.

Aldrich: Texas A&M will still complain

Porter: Texas A&M would complain if the national title was an agronomy contest.

Justin Southwell: Sorry, @porter, we need a plan that makes a little less sense. It’s too logical. Try again.

Steven Mandeville: I like the idea of requiring explanations for placement… at least make them admit the hypocrisy.

Cox: How about we take all the schools that are in the top-25 on the last week of the season, give them lottery balls based on blue-blood status. Alabama and Ohio State get more than say West Virginia. Then we do an NBA Draft-style lottery for the rankings. They’ve never had an controversy with that.

Porter: What if coaches just competed on Legends of the Hidden Temple and the winners moved on to the playoffs?

Chris Knox: 

Southwell: Any coaches? Like Coach Glass could represent Oklahoma State?

Porter: Andre Sexton would crush.

Boone: I’d nominate Coach Arroyo…he seems like he could be a warrior in the ring.

Aldrich: It’s a Hunger Games scenario, you pick your champion.

Porter: Big 12 Hunger Games between football and basketball coaches, who wins?

Boone: Bob Huggins would win .. Just sit on his opponents.

Cox: I think Shaka would be sneaky-tough to beat.

Porter: Bill Snyder wins the Big 12 Hunger Games. Zero doubt.

Aldrich: 

Caleb: Jim Grobe would last a long time. He’s really good at dodging controversial encounters.

Porter: Whoooooooo.

Boone: That’s fire Caleb. Bringing it!

Caleb: I see several Survivor-style alliances starting I’m just not sure who could get more on board or how loyal they would be. Gundy-Stoops-Patterson-Kliff would probably be strong. Underwood-Self-Lon? Not so sure about that….

Porter: Who goes out first?

Boone: Scott Drew would probably just forfeit. I’ll go with him.

Aldrich: It’s not even a question- Bruce Weber immediately eats nightlock berries and dies.

Porter: I think everyone would turn on Drew and offer him as a sacrifice to President Snow. Man, how good was the real Hunger Games. I think I got pneumonia because I didn’t sleep for three days because I read through the entire trilogy.

Caleb: Can we cite previous coaches? If so, Mangino goes out first. Other than that I’m not sure if Snyder makes it to the start…

Aldrich: Is President Snow Bob Bowlsby?

Porter: How insane would Dana be in a Hunger Games dome? He’s definitely on point with a bow. Like, in real life. Not in this made-up Hunger Games series.

Boone: So Kirby Hocutt is definitely the gamesmaker, right? He just thinks up a bunch of random crap to try and bring down all the participants.

Porter: The odds are ever in your favor (if you’re OU and not West Virginia).

Aldrich: Too bad the Big 12 Hunger Games would probably get flexed to 11 AM and televised on FS1.

Porter: That was a walk off. OK, would you guys rather have Jawun Evans for two more years or Mason Rudolph for one?

Aldrich: One more year of Mason — we’ve got a real shot to win the Big 12 next year if he returns, and Underwood will probably need more than this year and next to be a Big 12 title contender in hoops. Plus, we’re in great hands with this guy taking the reins at point.

Boone: I’d take Mason Rudolph for one more. BrUnderwood will have Trae Young and Zach Dawson next year, but next year the football team will be ready to take a B12 title. I’m not sure they will be able to do that behind Keondre Wudtee.

Southwell: Mason Rudolph for one. We need another Big 12 Championship and he gives us the best chance. Kansas will probably continue to win conference championships in basketball regardless of if we have Evans, as much as I’d like for him to stay.

Porter: I’d take Rudolph, too, I think. CFB Playoff is in play next year with Rudolph (unless they change it to Supermarket Sweep rules). That’s not true of OSU in hoops, I don’t think, in the next two years.

Aldrich: Rudolph coming back also probably means The President stays. We all know how the stud QB-WR combo returning for one more year turned out in 2011…

Boone: With Chuba, Justice Hill and J.D. King next year, he may never even have to throw the ball.

Cox: Rudolph for one year  just because he means more to the football team than even Evans does to bball. plus football is king at this point. Who knows if it will ever go back to bball.

Porter: I just saw this, I’m in tears!

SHOCKING INTERVIEW WITH BIG 12 ASSOCIATE REGARDING OKLAHOMA STATE NIGHT GAMES pic.twitter.com/H71zua9CO4

— Zachcoin® (@YaaaBoyZach) November 13, 2016

Southwell: Lastly, I just wanted to point out that OkState hasn’t lost a game since being crowned the 1945 National Champions.