IHSAA Tries New Approach to Football Playoff Qualification

First of all, you have to hand it to the Idaho High School Activities Association for admitting there is a problem when a 0-7 and a 1-7 school make the 2A Idaho football playoffs over a 5-3 team. Especially when the 5-3 team beat the 1-7 team 26-0.

Everyone looks pretty silly when that happens as it did this past season so the IHSAA is tinkering with computer rankings based on a system in Colorado that has been successful.

Before jumping in the deep end and going the computer route with all divisions and all sports, they are testing the process in 2A football only.

Questions remain exactly how the new formula will work because we all know computers aren't necessarily the answer to everything nor are computer results without controversy.

For me, the bigger question is how does a 0-7 team qualify for anything? They didn't beat anybody so technically there aren't any tiebreakers that got them in.

The playoff selections are never going to be perfect but when we start a "do over" including a whole new system based on a 0-7 team making the playoffs rather than a 5-3 team, wouldn't it have been easier to throw in a rule saying if there is any question, the team with the better record advances.

The point is, are we just making things more complicated and thus tempting even more controversy. What about good ole common sense that says a 0-7 team deserves a rest, not a playoff berth?

Again I hand it to the IHSAA for addressing the problem and looking for the best solution possible but sometimes the search leads down some winding paths of even more confusion.

I'm all for the common sense formula that if you're 0-7 on the season, you're not playoff ready!

As humans, why do we always have to get computers involved?