Moody column: College football playoff needs to be expanded


We are just a couple of days a way from college football’s first playoff.

I think the best match-up of the day will be the Oregon-Florida State Rose Bowl contest.

You get to see two great quarterback in Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Florida State’s Jameis Winston in this one.

I like the Ducks in this one, 30-24.

Ohio State’s Cinderella run will end against Alabama. You give Nick Saban a month to prepare for anybody, and he’s going to come through with a great defensive game plan.

I do applaud Urban Meyer’s coaching job this year, losing two quarterbacks and still putting together one of the best teams in the nation. How many teams can lose two QBs in the same season and still win a title? I don’t know of too many.

I like the Tide 35-14.

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That being said, I still don’t like the idea of a four-team playoff. I think it’s a step in the right direction, but it should be 8 or 16.

The NCAA holds 16-team playoffs in other divisions, and yes I know there is always going be people out there who thinks they got screwed, but the gripes would be a lot less with an 8 or 16-team playoff.

The NCAA is a body that’s afraid to get with the times. It needs to get out of bed with the bowl games. Trust me when I say this, a 16-team football playoff championship would draw a bigger TV contract than the NCAA Tournament.

I’m not saying get rid of the other bowl games, not at all. I just think 6-6 teams shouldn’t get a post-season bid.

•••

I’m kind of lukewarm about the Casey McGehee signing to replace Pablo Sandoval.

McGehee is 32, and had 53 RBI last year at the break, but managed just 23 RBI in the second half of the season. Not brutal numbers, but not great either.

Wasn’t there anybody younger?

Reports say Sandoval felt disrespected by the Giants, which is why he chose the Red Sox.

The Giants did disrespect him in the sense the team seemed to spend the bulk of the money on pitching with the exception of Buster Posey and Hunter Pence. I don’t have ANY issues with Posey’s contract. He’s worth every penny. If I’m Sandoval, I complain more about the contract the Giants gave Tim Lincecum more than the one Pence got.

Pence? He’s a gamer and hustles his butt off in the field and on the bases. He drives me nuts at the plate, because he’s a tad inconsistent. I want him on my team, but I’m not sure he’s worth the $17 million a year I believe he got. I could see 14 or 15 million instead. After all. he’s not a consistent .300 hitter or a 30-homer guy. There are rumors the Giants would be interested in Ben Zobrist of Tampa Bay. Zobrist is one of the most versatile players in baseball. He can play outfield and three infield positions. He hit 10 homers with 52 RBI last season.

Zobrist or Gregor Blanco in left? I take Zobrist despite the fact he’s older than Blanco.

And, as I said before, what was wrong with Posey at third? If the guy could play shortstop in college, I have to think he could handle third base in the majors.

I was a Sandoval fan. Despite his girth, he moved pretty well in the field, reaching a lot of balls I thought he had no chance at. His arm was good.





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