Worst Seat In The House: The way it should be

One of the things that I wish is to have been able to play in the high school football playoffs but those wouldn’t happen until four years after I graduated. I enjoy watching playoff games with match ups between teams that typically never play against each other.

It would have been fun to play against some very good teams as there were at least five really good teams that played across the state in the fall of 1969. But we could only think about what might have been after the season was over.

Watching the FCS playoffs at Roos Field in Cheney the EWU Eagles will be playing in the semi-finals on Saturday against the Maine Black Bears. Yes, Maine has to travel cross country to Cheney, Washington to play on the red turf.

EWU has been there before having lost on the last play of the game two years ago in Cheney against Youngstown State. As fans we were crushed. But I will always remember a December Friday in 2010 when the Eagles defeated Villanova on their way to a National Championship.

In the final four, Number 1 seeded North Dakota State (NDSU) is playing the Number 5 seed South Dakota State (SDSU) and EWU the Number 3 seed is playing Number 7 seed Maine. Notice that the Number 2 seed Weber State was knocked out of the playoffs by Maine last Friday night and SDSU dropped Number 4 seed from the playoffs on Saturday. Which means nothing is guaranteed when it comes to playoff football even though the higher seed gets to host the game.

When teams are 13 games into the season there are plenty of injuries. EWU is playing with a backup QB but Eric Barriere is a special talent. Describing what he does when he makes big plays is one of those things you really need to see in person. I can’t do it justice in writing it has to be experienced live. The Eags are also playing with backup defensive players that have grown up quickly and have done an admirable job in high pressure situations.

What I’m trying to relate to you is that when there are 24 teams invited to play for a championship you never can be sure who will make the final grade because of a lot of things. Teams haven’t played against certain defenses or offenses. Last week EWU played UC Davis for the second time in a month. The Aggies were manhandled by EWU in November but they are well coached and they changed up what their defense was doing and it made it difficult for the Eags to make blocks and it showed at inopportune times throughout the game.

It was a wild game and I expect Saturday’s matchup to be a typical semi-final game where both teams will leave everything on the line and give maximum effort. If you’ve never been to a college semi-final football game I suggest going to Cheney on Saturday. There will most likely be tickets left and the experience is worth it.

I know I’m beating an old nag when I keep telling everyone that the FBS would be far better off including at least 8 teams in a playoff format with the high seed getting the home field game. Wouldn’t it be nice to see other teams than Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma locked into place? Guess who gets the best recruits year in and year out?

But the bowl games rule out and the money is too big for the college presidents to give an okay to something more than four teams at this point in time. I’m a real football fan and just love watching a playoff game from some great seats in Cheney.

I would imagine there would be good money in playoff games and I guarantee that if a team is in the playoffs and not in a bowl every player is going to play in the post season. There are a lot of players that won’t play in a bowl game thinking there is a chance for injury which could hurt the professional careers, which means the bowl games don’t mean very much to these players.

I will be in Cheney on Saturday watching a Division I FCS semi-final football game with the winner going to the National Championship game in Frisco, Texas in January. A true playoff system is the way it should always be. It is just too much fun.