XFBS League Rules

UPDATED ON MARCH 11, 2012

Most of this league’s rules are the same as the XFL’s rules; however, some minor differences exist to make sure this league more closely resembles what we see in the college-level game today. The rules are divided into 9 parts:
1. Team Ownership Rules. The rules cover the standards for owning a team in the XFBS and managing CPU teams
2. Play Design - AI Rules. These are present to protect us from the flaws in the game which allow the artificial intelligence to be exploited. These rules are considered serious, and carry the penalties listed below.

3. Play Design - Gameplan Rules. These rules define what is required and recommended with regard to mimumum plays in game plans.
4. Play Design - Realism Rules. These rules are present because the XFBS is a simulation of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level in college football. We want games to resemble actual college football games. Violation of these rules does not carry the same penalty as violations of the "AI" rules. Consider these rules as maintaining the "Culture" of our League.
5. PPP Naming and File Format Rules. These rules describe the proper format for PPPs.
6. Teams, Roster and Recruitment Rules. These rules describe the rules regarding XFBS Rosters. They also describe which teams are allowed in this league and how we conduct recruitment.
7. Scheduling and Conference Rules. These rules cover how the league is formatted/aligned and how schedules will be set.

8. BCS Playoffs and Ranking Rules. These rules cover the BCS Playoff System that the league uses to determine its champion.

9. Play Pool Rules. These rules explain how the play pool is managed.

1. Team Ownership Rules

Coach-owned teams:

The success of the XFBS is directly a result of the effort, energy, and integrity of the commissioner, and the level of involvement and activity of the owners. The following rules are to ensure the integrity of the league, and to assure a long future for the XFBS.

Each team will have one primary “owner” who is ultimately responsible for all actions of that team. The owner may delegate certain responsibilities to other people, such as GMs, assistant coaches, etc., but the owner remains fully responsible to make sure the team abides by all rules, and is sufficiently “active” to stay in the league.
No person can hold a role with more than one team. That includes being an owner, GM, assistant coach, etc. If a person is involved with a team, they cannot have ownership/management/coaching involvement with any other team. This is to protect the integrity of competition and to eliminate any conflict-of-interest if the teams were to meet.
Owners are expected to participate and remain active. If an owner is recurrently “absent” from team activities (roster moves, PPPs, recruitment draft, training camp, etc), they will be "retired" and will fall under the computer-owned team rules below. If you’re going to be absent for some period of time (vacations, etc) – send an email to the commissioner letting him know your situation, and arrange for someone else to help with critical team activities in your absence.
If an "owner" does not send in any PPPs nor any roster moves throughout an entire regular season, his team will be listed as "retired" and will fall under the computer-owned team rules below.
If an "owner" does not participate throughout an entire offseason, his team will be listed as "retired" and will fall under the computer-owned team rules below.
New owners/coaches are encouraged to seek out advice from seasoned owners. Usually after a couple of seasons, you’ll be well on your way to building a strong franchise.

Computer-owned teams

The reality of FBPRO in 2011 and beyond is that most of the coaches that used to play this game have retired. To address the decline of available active FBPRO players, we kept the league small for its first season. For its second season onward, we decided to expand the league to 30 teams and explore ways to keep the league fun regardless of its size and number of coach-owned teams. As such, computer-owned teams in the XFBS will be managed as follows:

The commissioner will manage all computer-owned teams including offensive/defensive scheme declarations, roster moves, PPPs, recruitment, and training camp.
Computer-owned teams will use PPPs from various "retired" coaches. The commissioner will ensure these PPPs are from retired coaches that were successful in FBPRO in the past.
Computer-owned teams will use the same set of "retired coach's" PPPs throughout the regular season and playoffs. The commissioner can only make changes to "retired coach's" PPPs in the offseason or if a CPU team goes winless after 4 weeks and/or 8 weeks (i.e. the commish can remove/replace bad plays to give the CPU team a better chance). Offseason changes include adding plays made available to the league via the playpool or removing and replacing plays that were ineffective based on an analysis of log files from the last season. To ensure CPU team plays make efficient use roster talent throughout the season, the commish can substitute players in any CPU team play at any time so long as these substitutions involve players in the same position.
If a computer-owned team finishes TWO CONSECUTIVE regular seasons WITH A LOSING RECORD, the retired coach will be "fired" from that team. What this means is that the commissioner will replace the current set of "retired coach's" PPPs with another "retired coach's" PPPs during the offseason. Retired coaches that have been fired can reappear as assistants for other computer-owned teams (e.g. if a retired coach's PPPs had a great defense, but had a losing record due to lack of offense, the retired coach can be hired as a defensive coordinator for any computer-owned team that needs help defensively to remain competitive). Because there is a finite number of retired coach's PPPs, the commissioner must actively try to extend the life of retired coach's PPPs through PPP enhancements as well (e.g. replacing or modifying ineffective plays).
If a human coach takes over a computer-owned team during the regular season, the retired coach is considered "fired" from that team and his PPPs can be used in whole or in part (i.e. offense or defense) by any other computer-owned team if and only if it currently has a losing record.
If a coach-owned team becomes vacant or inactive at any point, the commissioner will continue to use that coach's PPPs per the rules outlined above for "retired coach's" PPPs.

2. Play Design Rules - AI

Any play that obviously takes advantage of the AI of the game is usually illegal. Please check your plays and keep them legal! If an offensive play works for huge gains against nearly any defense, with practically any players on the field, the play is probably illegal and should be checked before using it.

ENFORCEMENT:

The Commissioner is responsible for PPP Enforcement and will review questionable plays. The Playcheck utility can catch some illegal plays, but not all illegal plays, so coaches must be vigilant as well.

If you feel an illegal play exists that clearly affected the outcome of a game result, contact the Commissioner with the name of the play(s) and the situation(s) where it impacted game results. The Commissioner will then investigate the play(s) and determine if a re-sim is warranted with the offending play being replaced or removed from the gameplan. “Clearly affected the outcome of a game result” means the play must have resulted in a score, a key first down on a drive leading to a score, or it was used throughout the game for a consistent yardage gain (e.g. used 5 or more times with an average of 10 yards or more). If you lost 31-10 and the potential illegal play was used only once for one big gain late in the 4th, it did not affect the outcome of a game result, so please get over it and move on.

If you contact the other coach directly about possible play design violations, results will not be changed. Confrontational behavior is not appropriate.

If the Commissioner's investigation reveals that the play design rule being violated clearly affected the outcome of the game, you will be asked to provide a legal replacement of the offending play(s) and the game will then be resimmed. If it did not affect the outcome of the game, you will just receive a warning and will be asked to discontinue using it.

Repeat offenses of illegal play usage will meet stiff penalties and are at the ultimate discretion of the Commissioner. Additional penalties that will be considered for repeat offenses could include and are not limited to the following:

- Your team could be placed on probation (i.e. you will not be BCS playoff eligible in the current or next season)

- Your team could be placed on gameplan intervention (i.e. the offending play(s) will be replaced permanently with legal plays provided by the commish to meet the play design requirement and your gameplan will be locked "as is" for the remainder of the season or a specified number of games).

- Your team may be placed on scholarship probation (i.e. you will lose one or more rounds of recruitment starting with your first round of recruitment)

- The player(s) that benefited statistically from the illegal play will be classified as ineligble for the season or a specified number of games.

- You could be fired.

XFBS PLAY DESIGN RULES:

Terminology
LOS: Line of Scrimmage - the 20 yard line in the play editor
The “box”: the imaginary box that is bounded on 3 sides by the LOS, and the Offensive tackles. A player is “inside the box”, if he is behind the LOS and between the tackles.
Runner: Recipient of a handoff or pitch
Receiver: Any offensive player who is eligible to be the recipient of a pass

OFFENSE
Formation, Shifts, and Motion Rules

There are no restrictions on shifts and motion, as long as they comply with all the rules below.
There must be exactly 7 players on the LOS in both the initial formation, and at the snap. These 7 players must consist of 5 OL (offensive linemen) and 2 skill position players (WR/TE/HB/FB), one on each side, outside the box. The 2 skill position players on the LOS at the snap do not have to be the same ones who were on the LOS in the initial formation.
The offensive line must be balanced. The middle OL (i.e. the Center) must snap the ball to the QB or an “inside the box” HB, and there must be 2 OL on each side of the middle OL. The QB must be in every play.
Encroachment Rule: No player can have a "Shift To" that extends past the LOS causing an "Encroachment" penalty on the defense.
There must be at least 1 RB (HB or FB) “inside the box” in the initial formation. The RB may shift out of the box prior to the snap. NOTE: This player is the only player other than the QB that can receive the snap.
The player receiving the snap must line up behind the center. The test being a straight line drawn from the player receiving the snap will contact a portion of the center's player designation. Shotgun formations are OK, up to 7 yards deep.
All WR/TE, whether on the LOS or set back as a wing or slot, must line up with all parts of their position designation "outside the box." After the initial formation, they may motion or shift such that they are "inside the box" at the snap, provided that EXACTLY seven (7) players remain on the LOS.
No player can line up behind the yard limits (listed below) at the snap. In the initial formation, they can start anywhere so long as they are not behind their yard limits AT THE SNAP. In addition, no player can move behind the yard limits (listed below) at any time during the play.

	“At the Snap” Limits		“Player Logic” Limits
Position	Outside Box	Inside Box	Outside Box	Inside Box
QB	n/a	7	12	12
HB/FB	5	10 (7 if the “inside box” RB is receiving the snap)	10 (12 if the “inside box” RB received the snap and rolls out to pass)	10 (12 if the “inside box” RB received the snap and rolls out to pass)
WR/TE	5	10	5 (10 if the player is blocking)	10

Running Plays

All hand-offs and pitches must register as a run (not a pass) when practiced in the play editor with no defense present.
No recipient of a “handoff/pitch” may have “look for pass” logic in any of his logic boxes.
Hand-offs and pitches must be initiated from inside "the box".
The following applies to recipients of handoffs:
- The handoff point of the QB must always be in the box
- RBs who start "inside the box" in the pre-shift formation can receive the handoff in the box or outside the box.
- RBs/WRs/TEs who are outside the box in the the pre-shift formation that shift into the box or motion into or through the box before the snap must receive the handoff “inside the box.”
- RBs/WRs/TEs who are outside the box in the the pre-shift formation can receive the handoff outside the box only if they remained outside of the box before the snap.
No potential runner/receiver (any eligible runner/receiver who may, by design, potentially touch the ball on a given play) may have any blocking logic after that person is scheduled to touch the ball. It is OK to have blocking logic (such as “block-release-to”) for a potential runner/receiver, as long as it ends prior to when he is scheduled to touch the ball in the design of the play.
No limits on " throw a fake" for running plays

Passing Plays

Offensive linemen cannot go beyond the LOS (by design) on any Pass play at any time. Exception: OL may go past the LOS to lead block on a screen pass (a pass that is caught behind the LOS), but their logic must extend no further than 5 yards past the LOS.
Timed Passes may not go beyond 15 yards. The marked end spot may not exceed 15 yards beyond the LOS, for either bullet passes or lob passes.
Timed Passes may not travel backward or “register” as runs. The marked end point may not be behind the passer.
On QB roll-outs (check-receiver passes), the WR/TE/HB on the LOS may not have any "stop & wait for” logic at the beginning of their logic before going out for a pass. Also, if the WR/TE/HB are in the Down position on the LOS (Normally the TE position), they may not go out for a pass if on the same side that the QB roll-out occurs. (This is to prevent an AI buster that causes the DB in coverage to go after the QB if they are in aggressive or shade under coverage. Thus, Leaving the WR wide open to a big gain.)
Plays which have the QB roll-out and “check-receiver”, but have no eligible receivers with “look for pass” logic, are illegal.
Plays that delay a receiver in the backfield until the defense thinks the play is broken, and then send the receiver out for a pass, are illegal. This includes plays that send the receiver backward until the defense thinks the play is broken.
Throw Fakes: No player may use the “Throw Fake” logic when he is within 10 yards of another eligible receiver. Only one "throw-fake", may be used on each side of the field during a play. (This means a max of 2 "throw-fakes" total per play).
Only one pump fake allowed on pass plays.

DEFENSE

No part of any defensive players “zone” may be “inside the box” on the offensive side of the LOS.
All DL's must be in a 3pt (down) stance.
The following personnel are required to be on the field at all times for all defensive plays.

2 DL
1 LB
2 CB
1 S

SPECIAL TEAMS

All special teams plays will be the stock plays. No editing of special teams play logic is allowed with ONE exception. On offensive PUNT plays the punter may simply catch the ball and punt it without any “stop and wait” or “move to” logic. NO other special teams logic modifications are allowed.
Any player substitutions may be made on special teams plays so long as no logic or player positioning (on the field) is changed.

3. Play Design - GAMEPLAN RULES

Offensive and Defensive COACHING PROFILES

There are no restrictions on percentage weighting of play categories called in profiles.
Every play category used in your game plan must be represented in your profile and it must have more than 0% chance of being used. The use of the random option is accepted in this area (e.g. Run random covers all run categories).
No calling of specific plays is allowed in profiles. Play categories (ie. Pass medium random, etc..) Only!

Offensive Gameplans

REQUIRED

Offensive gameplans require a minimum of 32 plays with different names.
You must have at least seven play categories in your game plan. (i.e. run left, pass medium right, goal line rune, etc..).
There are no restrictions on the number of timed passes, screen plays, flipped plays, or duplicate plays allowed.
There is no restriction on the number of plays per category.
RECOMMENDED
Coaches are encouraged to use at least 16 "unique" plays and at least 2 "unique" plays in each category they use on offense. Keep in mind that overuse of the same plays could ultimately be a weakness for your team. Any coach that is effective at scouting can easily exploit this behavior. Use of unique plays makes you more difficult to scout. The only reason this rule is not required is that it takes too much effort to enforce.
Flipped plays are not unique plays.
Plays duplicated in the same category or across different categories are not unique plays.
Similar offensive plays are considered "unique" if:
(1) the run/pass blocking scheme is altered,
(2) the primary “white” route is altered on checked receiver passes,
(3) the end point of a timed pass is different, the route of the primary receiver is altered on the timed pass, or the type of timed pass is different (i.e. lob vs. bullet)
(4) the ball carrier is different on a running play (e.g. FB1 or HB2 is substituted for HB1), or
(5) the primary receiver is a different player type (e.g. a TE is substituted for a WR)

Defensive Gameplans

REQUIRED

Defensive playbooks require a minimum of 16 plays with different names.
You must use at least four play categories in your defensive game plan. (ie. pass medium, pass short, run middle, goal line pass, etc...)
There is no restriction on the number of plays per category.
RECOMMENDED
Coaches are encouraged to use at least 8 "unique" plays and at least 2 "unique" plays in each category they use on defense. Keep in mind that overuse of the same plays could ultimately be a weakness for your team. Any coach that is effective at scouting can easily exploit this behavior. Use of unique plays makes you more difficult to scout. The only reason this rule is not required is that it takes too much effort to enforce.
Flipped plays are not unique plays.
Plays duplicated in the same category or across different categories are not unique plays.
Similar defensive plays are considered "unique" when:
(1) the formation is the same, but any logic is changed,
(2) a player's logic is changed from aggressive to conservative, etc.
(3) no logic is changed, but the type of player performing the logic is changed (e.g. an LB is replaced with a S).

4. Play Design - REALISM RULES

If you spot violations of realism rules, please contact only the Commissioner, so he can investigate. While these rules are not as "serious" as the AI rules, they are important to our league. If the Commissioner's investigation reveals that the realism rule being violated is a widespread problem, your team will receive a warning the first time and you will be asked to correct it. After the first warning, any subsequent violations could result in your team being placed on probation (i.e. you will not be BCS playoff eligible in the current or next season) or gameplan intervention (i.e. the offending play(s) will be replaced permanently with legal plays provided by the commish to meet the realism requirement and your gameplan will be locked "as is" for the remainder of the season).

Offense

Any QB can be used on any play (Different from XFL). Unlike the NFL, college football teams have been known to use multiple QBs simply because they have no apparent starter. That said, if you have a QB that is clearly better than any of your other QBs, he should be used the most.
Either WR1 or WR2 (Meaning your best 2 WRs) must be used on running plays.
OL splits. The two outside OL must be at least touching the hashmarks. They may not be completely outside of the hashmarks.

Defense

Preferably, any play with 3 or more DL should have at least have 1 DT and he should not be the outside DL. This promotes the formation realism we are trying to emphasize in the XFBS.

Schemes and formations (Different from XFL)
In the XFBS, coaches should strive to use plays that mimic college style football. If you choose to use schemes and formations that have no genuine resemblance to what we see in real college football, you are hurting the spirit of the league.

At the beginning of the season, each coach will be required to declare the offensive and defensive schemes/formations they intend to use for the season (e.g. Offense: Spread, Defense: 4-3).
Once declared, please ensure your PPPs include at least 8 offensive plays and 4 defensive plays that match the scheme/formation declared. It should be evident that these plays are used on most of your first and second down situations. Ideally, these 12 plays should be unique, but this is not required.
You can change your scheme/formation declaration at mid-season if and only if you have a losing record.

It is really up to each coach to abide by this rule beyond the minimum plays. The Commissioner can only investigate if the minimum number of plays exists.

OFFENSE: Coaches are encouraged to use offenses commonly used at the college level such as the spread option, the spread offense, pro-set, power I, wishbone, pistol offense, etc. Tip: Choose an offense that works best with your team’s offensive talent. A description of some of the offenses appears below:

Spread offense: An offense that operates out of a formation with multiple wide receivers, usually out of the shotgun, and can be run or pass oriented. One of the goals of the spread offense is to stretch the field both horizontally and vertically, and create mismatches (a linebacker covering a receiver) and single coverage on receivers. The offense often depends largely on option and misdirection runs, using all of the skill players on offense. A spread offense team often has an athletic quarterback who can run the ball as well as pass. Linemen in the spread are often smaller and more agile so they can block effectively on screens, zones, options, and protect against aggressively blitzing defenses such as the 3-3-5 stack. Utilizing receiver motion along with jet sweeps is also an important part of creating confusion and running a balanced, yet successful, spread offense.
Spread option: Generally run out of a 4-receiver spread shotgun formation with a single running back. The quarterback will generally hand off to the running back, run the ball himself, or pass.
Pistol offense: Features a quarterback in a short three yard shotgun and a running back three yards behind him. Upon the quarterback receiving the direct snap he may turn around and hand the ball off to the running back behind him, look up to pass, or execute the option from the "pistol" with the running back

DEFENSE: Coaches are encouraged to use an established defensive formation scheme such as the 3-4, the 4-3, or the nickel defense. Tip: Choose a scheme that works best with your team’s defensive talent (e.g. if you have 5 LBs and 10 DL, you probably should consider using a 4-3 or 4-2-5 scheme).

5. PPP Naming and File Format Rules

PPPs must be sent to the commissioner in ZIP format. You may name your ZIP file anything you want, but it is helpful to simply use the team’s acronym and week number (e.g. UCLA01.zip).
When you create your profile you must include the game plan in the profile (i.e. save your game plan into your profile). Since game plans are included in the profile, you may name them anything you want.
Profiles need to follow a simple naming convention. Your team’s three or four letter acronym followed by OFF and the half number for offense and DEF followed by the half number for defense. For example, for the Alabama Crimson Tide:

BAMAOFF1.prf and BAMAOFF2.prf (offense)
BAMADEF1.prf and BAMADEF2.prf (defense)

6. Teams, Roster and Recruitment rules

Team Rules

Initial rosters must mimic current FBS roster names as much as possible. All recruits should be named after actual players recruited by your team to maintain realism on an ongoing basis.
Only NCAA FBS level (formerly referred to as Division I) teams are allowed.
It is preferred that league teams are limited to BCS conference teams or mid-major teams that are notoriously considered good teams (e.g. Boise St.). Golden rule: If a team has never been ranked in the AP or Coach’s Poll top 25 in real life, it is unrealistic to have it represented in our league.

Roster Rules

Rosters during the regular season must conform to all position and slot requirements of the game itself so that a team is eligible to play a game.
Because college football teams usually have large rosters, XFBS teams may carry up to 63 players. That said, XFBS teams must carry a minimum of 46 players.
Players will be aged R, 1, 2, 3, and 4. All 5 year players are automatically retired – no exceptions.
Redshirt recruits “R” must be on IR. If you choose to skip their year of redshirt status and use them in the current season, they become a 1 year player.
Because there is a bug in FBPRO’98 that causes the game to crash when the start new season button is pushed if no rookies have regular season stats, all teams are allowed to start one “R” player in the final week of the season. The activated player must be #1 in the depth chart for their position (e.g. QB1). If no one does this, the Commissioner will arbitrarily activate “R” players on teams that have no chance of making the playoffs.
Before week 7 of game play, you can move injured non-redshirts to IR/redshirt status in order to maintain a year of eligibility if and only if the injury is severe enough that they will not return to full health in the current season. That said, you must activate an R redshirt if you do this. Example: If a 3 year player with an O-12 is moved to IR in week 6, an R redshirt must be activated to give up the IR spot. The R redshirt becomes a 1, but the 3 stays a 3 for the following season.
Retirements: At the end of the season, all 4 year players that did not receive redshirt protection due to a season-ending injury are automatically retired. In addition, any underclassmen players listed on the All-Pro Team generated by the Annual Awards utility will also be retired (basically, this is our way of determining which of the best underclassmen players in the league will declare early for the draft).

Player Ratings (Different from XFL)
In the XFBS, we have established a player ratings matrix to promote realism at the player position level and to encourage the use of schemes that fit your roster (or to recruit players that fit your schemes). Player ratings changes will only be made to draft pools so the impacts are more gradually felt. The only exception to this will occur if the league unaminously votes an immediate change is needed.

Players in this league use a capped rating system, so player ratings don’t get too exaggerated. Like in real college football, there will be many average players and few superstars, and only the super stars will have ratings similar to professional players in the XFL. Recruiting the right superstar could make or break your team, so make sure you get the superstars that can take the scheme you use to the next level.

Position Changes
For the sake of realism, coaches are encouraged to use play design instead of making position changes. For example, if you prefer to use RBs with tons of ST to power your running game, you should change your plays so that the FB gets the handoffs. This adds to realism within the league. That said, it is recognized that the game has a limited substitution system and that position changes will be necessary for some coaches in order to provide sufficient depth. The following player changes are allowed at any point without penalty:

HB/FB,
C/G/T,
DE/DT,
CB/S.

Recruitment Rules

Recruitment is through a slightly altered draft process. Prior to normal worst to best team order recruitment, the BCS bowl teams and then all playoff teams will be rewarded with two short rounds (i.e. this is intended to reward the BCS bowl teams and playoff teams for a good season)
The first round will include the 6 teams that were in the BCS Bowls from best to worst (there are five BCS bowls in the playoffs, but only 6 teams will ultimately play in them as the playoffs progress).
The second round will include all 12 playoff teams from best to worst based on playoff finish (ties determined by ranking).
After the first two "reward" rounds, all future draft rounds will include all 30 teams in order of worst to best.
Player potential ratings will not be masked during the recruitment. Although it is somewhat unrealistic to know a recruit’s true potential, this ultimately reduces the work for the Commissioner by reducing the likelihood that coaches will cut recruits.
HOW EACH ROUND WORKS:
Each team submits up to 5 picks to the commish simultaneously by email (only to the commish, not the entire league). If a player is picked by more than one team, the team highest in the order gets that player. If a team fails to get a player in a round, they may be moved to the front of the next round as compensation.
If a team has filled their roster, their draft ends. The draft continues until each team has filled their roster.
Prior to the draft, the commish will provide a draft ranking based on a predefined, basic player ranking formula. Each round, the commish will create lists for the CPU teams based mainly on the predefined ranking. A random variable in the player ranking formula will be applied to each CPU team based on need and preference, so that the CPU teams would each have slightly different perceptions about the value of each prospect and therefore not be entirely predictable but still act in a way that is reasonable. That said, coaches would be able to have some kinf of idea from the predefined ranking what CPU teams might take before them.

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7. Scheduling & Conference Rules

The commissioner will strive to use utilities to create a 12-game schedule, but may be limited to a 16-game schedule by the game itself. Scheduling priority is determined as follows:
(1) conference teams play conference teams,
(2) historically common opponents or rivals play each other (e.g. Stanford vs. Notre Dame) or rivals (e.g. Arkansas vs. Texas A&M or Florida vs. Florida State), and
(3) last season finish so best plays best and worst plays worst (i.e. the draft order which is based on playoff finish and final BCS ranking will be used to ensure best plays best and worst plays worst).

The commissioner will divide the league into 3 conferences of 10 teams. Teams will play all 9 of their conference opponents. The commissioner will strive to keep conferences regionally split into western, central, and eastern teams. Although the commish will strive to group teams from current NCAA conferences together, regional approximation receives priority. That said, every effort will be made to use non-conference games to maintain traditional NCAA conference rivalries.

8. BCS Playoffs and BCS Rankings Rules

BCS Playoffs

Twelve teams make the playoffs. Top four seeds get byes. The playoff will use a similar bracket format as the NCAA basketball tournament (we will NOT reseed after each round). First round is 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9. Second round is 1 vs. 8/9 winner, 2 vs. 7/10 winner, 3 vs. 6/11 winner, and 4 vs. 5/12 winner. Third round is 1/8/9 winner vs. 4/5/12 winner and 2/7/10 winner vs. 3/6/11 winner. Championship game will always be 1/4/5/8/9/12 winner vs. 2/3/6/7/10/11 winner.
The twelve playoff berths are seeded basedon final BCS ranking.
In the first round (The BCS Qualifier Round), the higher seeds (5, 6, 7, and 8) will play their opponents in non-BCS bowl games regionally close to their home stadiums (to create the sense of having a home field advantage).
In the second round (The BCS Elite 8), the 1 seed and its opponent will be in a BCS bowl (whichever BCS bowl had the championship game the previous season) and the 2 seed and its opponent will also be in a BCS Bowl (whichever BCS bowl is the championship game that season). The 3 and 4 seeads will play their opponents in non-BCS bowls regionally close to their home stadium.
In the third round (The BCS Final Four), both games will be played in the other two BCS bowls (as close as possible to the higher seeded teams or based on tradition - e.g. if the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are the bowls and the teams are Ohio State/USC and Florida/Miami, then bowl placement is obvious).
The BCS championship game is played in the BCS bowl that the 2 vs. 7/10 seeds played in the second round, but neither of the final two teams gets a homefield advantage. The ENADD utility will be used to ensure there is no home field endurance advantage in the BCS bowl championship round.

BCS Rankings
The BCS formula: The percentage totals of the Conference Power Rankings, the Momentum Poll, and the Computer Rankings are averaged to determine the overall BCS score. The teams’ averages are ranked to produce the BCS Standings. For example:
A = Team is No. 6 in CPOW poll = 0.833
B = Same team is No. 3 in MP poll = 0.933
C = Same team is No. 3 in Computer Rankings = 0.933
Result: (A+B+C)/3 = Total Score of 0.900
NOTE: If participation is sufficient, we might include a coach's poll in the BCS formula. To protect the integrity of voting, all votes in the coaches poll after completion of week 12 games will be published. Coaches cannot vote for their team, so all coaches must vote after week 12 games to increase the likelihood that teams are ranked fairly. If participation/ownership drops too much by week 12 (i.e. less than 50% of the league's teams have owners or less than 6 owners vote), then the the coach's poll will not be used. Use of this poll is entirely commish discretion.
If teams are tied because they have the same BCS score, a head to head tiebreaker is applied first as follows: 1) If two teams have the same amount of power points and they played each other, then the team that won will be ranked ahead of the team that lost. 2) If more than two teams have the same amount of power points but only two played each other, then the team that won will be ranked ahead of the team that lost, but will still be ranked equal to the other team. The team that lost the H2H match-up will be ranked only one spot below the other two teams. 3) If two or more teams have the same amount of power points and they did not play each other, the teams with more wins will be ranked higher than the pther teams. 4) If additional tiebreakers are needed, the following are applied: W/L record, Conference record, Composite RPI.

A breakdown of the BCS ranking components:

Conference Power Poll (CPOW) = 1/3rd: This poll is one of two polls created to give coaches an ability to directly impact their BCS ranking. This poll is set up to reward teams for victories over conference opponents (especially wins over conference opponents with good records) and penalize them for losses against non-conference opponents. The formula is Wins + (W/L% X Wins) + (Conference W/L% X Conference Wins) + (Total wins of the conference opponents you defeated X .01) - (reversed non-conference W/L% X non-conference losses). The team with the highest final rank gets 1.000 and the rest of the teams divide the reverse value of their rank by the number of teams in the league to determine their component %. The great thing about this poll is that it places a lot of emphasis on conference match-ups. If teams are tied because they have the same power score, a head to head tiebreaker is applied as follows: 1) If two teams have the same amount of power points and they played each other, then the team that won will be ranked ahead of the team that lost. 2) If more than two teams have the same amount of power points but only two played each other, then the team that won will be ranked ahead of the team that lost, but will still be ranked equal to the other team. The team that lost the H2H match-up will be ranked only one spot below the other two teams. 3) If two or more teams have the same amount of power points and they did not play each other, the teams with more wins will be ranked higher than the pther teams. 4) Additonal tie breakers are conference W/L%, then non-conference W/L%, and then non-conference W/L% vs. common non-conference opponents. BCS % is based on a comparison of where a team's score falls between the min to max CPOW scores of all teams.

Momentum Poll (MP) = 1/3rd:

Computer Rankings = 1/3rd: Each of the computer-based polls has some form of strength of schedule consideration as part of its formula. The computer rankings percentage is calculated by dropping the highest and lowest ranking for each team, then determining the average ranking. (Example: the 6 computer rankings have Team A ranked 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, and 4. Take away the 2 and 4 which leaves an average of 3rd place. In a 12 team league, the BCS quotient of this component would be 0.834. (3rd is 10 in reverse order, thus 10 / 12 = 0.834). The seven computer-based polls that compose the BCS formula include:

Adjusted Standing Power Poll (ASTD):
This is simply the strength of schedule ranking available on the Standings page adjusted to eliminate ties based on head to head results. It calculates your opponent’s wins and adds your total wins X2 to get your power score. If teams are tied because they have the same power score, a head to head tiebreaker is applied as follows: 1) If two teams have the same amount of power points and they played each other, then the team that won will be ranked ahead of the team that lost. 2) If more than two teams have the same amount of power points but only two played each other, then the team that won will be ranked ahead of the team that lost, but will still be ranked equal to the other team. The team that lost the H2H match-up will be ranked only one spot below the other two teams. 3) If two or more teams have the same amount of power points and they did not play each other, the teams with more wins will be ranked higher than the other teams.
Composite RPI (CRPI): This poll is based on the average of your adjusted Strength of Schedule (adjSOS) %, your W/L %, and your Opponent’s SOS %. Ajusted SOS is based on the average of your game by game SOS%, your Strength of Wins (SOW) %, and your Strength of Losses (SOL) %. The game by game SOS% (gbgSOS%) is determined by averaging the SOS% calculated for each game. The Strength of Wins (SOW) % tells you if your wins were against quality teams. The SOS % for only your wins is calculated to determine your SOW %. Teams that have not won yet will automatically have a 0.000 SOW %. (i.e. if you have a zero % SOW and have won games, then those wins were obviously against weaker competition). Strength of Losses (SOL) % tells you if your losses were against good or bad teams. The SOS % for only your losses is calculated to determine your SOL %. Teams that have not lost will automatically have a 1.000 SOL %. Opponent’s SOS % is based on the SOS% of your opponent's opponents. This component tells you if the W/L% of the teams on your schedule (which affects your SOS%) is inflated because they faced poor competition.
Weighted Margin of Victory Poll (WMoV): Each week, your margin of victory or loss is weighed against the SOS % of your opponent. Each week's WMoV score is averaged with WMoV scores from previous weeks to determine your overall WMov score. Previous week's scores can change as the SOS % of the previous opponent changes. Teams are the ranked from highest to lowest.
Pythagorean Scoring Poll (PYTH): This poll ranks each team by applying the Pythagorean formula to their Points For (PF) and Points Allowed (PA). For football, statistic experts have found that an exponent of 2.37 seems to work best for predicting expected record for college football. So the Pythagorean Theorem for football looks like this: PF^2.37 / (PF^2.37 + PA^2.37). Some would argue that blowouts, especially extreme blowouts can artificially inflate or deflate a team's Pythagorean score depending on whether or not they received or doled out the beating. The solution for this margin of victory issue? The Pythagorean percentage is computed on a game by game basis, then each week's score is added together and divided by games played. This way each game is counted the same and the effect of blowouts is lessened. In addition, the initial Pythagorean score is weighted against your team's Strength of Schedule (SOS) rating to take into account that it may be inflated or deflated based on your opponents. The way this works is your SOS is compared to a .500 SOS to determine your SOS weight % (e.g. if you have an SOS of .600, your weight % would be 110%, thus slightly increasing your Pythagorean score).

9. Play Pool Rules

After the championship, 6 unique plays from each playoff team will be put into a season play pool to promote balance of play in the league
To prevent coaches from joining at the end of the season just to get the plays, only coaches that owned a team for 7 or more regular season games will get a copy of the season's play pool. Sorry, no freebees.

2 offensive RUN plays called 5 or more times based on highest average yards gained as determined through Logger from the team’s full season’s logs
2 offensive PASS plays called 5 or more times based on highest average yards gained as determined through Logger from the team’s full season’s logs - NOTE: Because deep passes, screen passes, and timed passes tend to have very high average yards, if both offensive plays are the same type of play (e.g. both are screen passes), then one will be replaced with the next best play from another pass play type
2 defensive plays called 5 or more times based on lowest average yards allowed as determined through Logger from the team’s full season’s logs (with the “both” run and pass setting selected) - NOTE: Because goal line defenses tend to have very low average yards, if both defensive plays are clearly goal line defenses, then one will be replaced with the next best play from another category

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