Now to the Bull Crap Series, errr, umm, Bowl Championship Series. Although its advocates will again argue otherwise, the BCS has yet again proven ineffective in yielding a true No. 1 vs. No. 2 match for the NCAA Division I football title.
Sure, I'm a Longhorn honk. I admit UT is an above-average-at-best No. 2 team in the nation. Alabama indeed deserves the top ranking right now. Yet I can't deny unbeaten and well-balanced (and pretty well-tested) TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State that they, too, deserve a fair shot at a national title. Who's the better school in Texas? TCU? UT? Only a head-to-head contest would settle that question.
Could Cincinnati top Boise State? I'm sure millions of objective purists would love to see that match play out...except, of course, for the "powers that be"--television executives and power conference presidents who only want to see and sell sex when it comes to bowl games. They'd rather arbitrarily pair two traditional powerhouses via a computer rather than let rising star schools settle such questions where it truly counts: on the playing field.
I’m not sure who the real top two teams are. You don’t, either. I’m very sure neither does a computer. As the quote goes, that’s why they play the game. On the playing surface. Like virtually every other sporting organization on earth. Even the Kazahkistani kick-goathead league has a playoff. Without the NCAA basketball tournament, a school like George Mason likely would have never made it to the Final Four. You see Gonzagas and Marquettes make their mark on the national scene. Without the College World Series, schools like Cal State-Fullerton and Long Beach State -- not so much a Texas or USC -- get to shine.
Well, we won’t waste further time going into the minds of those myopically opposed to a NCAA Division I tournament of some kind. Even the “bowl games are a tradition” and “schools will lose money” and “you can’t make the student-athletes play that long or late into January” philosophies. None of those arguments really work. Never did, never will.
So, what if a playoff system did exist for college football? This is what I'd do. You start with automatic champions from 11 conferences (regular-season champs and/or championship game victors). In this year’s case, those automatic bids go to: Georgia Tech (ACC), Texas (Big 12), Cincinnati (Big East), Ohio State (Big 10), East Carolina (Conference USA), Mid-American (Central Michigan), Mountain West (TCU), Oregon (Pac-10), Alabama (SEC), Troy (Sun Belt) and Boise State (WAC).
You could average the rankings of the AP, USA Today, Harris and Coaches' polls, emphasizing which schools get the most place votes and arrive at a final aggregate Top 25 poll (a de facto BCS without the computer interference). Those are arguably the strongest, long-standing, most popular and credible of Division I polls.
You add the top independent team ranked high enough (overall in polls) for an FBS bid and/or four (or five) other highest-ranked schools (overall in polls). So this year these schools get an at-large bid: Florida, Penn State, Iowa, Virginia Tech and LSU.
1. Alabama (SEC Champion-automatic)
2. Texas (Big 12 Champion-automatic)
3. TCU (Mountain West Champion-automatic)
4. Cincinnati (Big East Champion-automatic)
5. Florida (SEC East Division Champ-at large)
6. Boise State (WAC Champion-automatic)
7. Oregon (Pac-10 Champion-automatic)
8. Ohio State (BIg 10 Champ-automatic)
9. Georgia Tech (ACC Champ-automatic)
10. Penn State (Big 10 third place-at large)
11. Iowa (Big 10 second place-at large)
12. Virginia Tech (ACC second place, Coastal Division-at large)
13. LSU (second place, Western Division-at large)
14. BYU (second place, Mountain West)
15. Miami, Fla. (third place, ACC Coastal)
16. Pittsburgh
17. West Virginia
18. Oregon State
19. Oklahoma State
20. Nebraska
21. Stanford
22. Arizona
23. Wisconsin
24. Utah
25. Central Michigan (Mid-American champ-automatic)
The ultimate FBS tournament seedings in a 16 vs. 1, 15 vs. 2, 14, vs. 3, etc. format would be:
1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. TCU
4. Cincinnati
5. Florida
6. Boise State
7. Oregon
8. Ohio State
9. Georgia Tech
10. Penn State
11. Iowa
12. Virginia Tech
13. LSU
14. Central Michigan
15. East Carolina
16. Troy
Take into account the oldest, popular, most lucrative, traditional bowls and mix in some regional flair and considerate schedules. You can keep some of the best bowls. (I mean, really. The glut of bowls is ludacrous. More and more are added each year, some from inauspicious sponsors. Does anyone care to see the EagleBank Bowl? The what? Or the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl? Oooh, barnburner. The St. Petersburg Bowl? Really? Oh, we could so perpetuate the Poulan Weedeater FreeCreditReport.com Pomegranite Bowl joke.)
Rotate the remaining bowls as quarterfinal, semifinal and final games, all of which could retain and maybe even increase the number of ticket-buyers and TV viewers. One reason? There’s even greater incentive to play in such a bowl. Not just one bowl. But a series of true head-to-head games where all the conference champions (not just the typical, known powerhouses) and other top-ranked squads have a genuine (and fair) shot at an undisputed national title. Throw in serious regional consideration and voila. Imagine that!
The younger, Decemberish bowls host quarterfinals on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday:
December 16
Georgia Tech v. Ohio State - Independence Bowl, Shreveport
Iowa v. Boise State- Insight Bowl, Tempe
December 17
Troy v. Alabama – Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl, Atlanta
Central Michigan v. TCU - Sun Bowl, El Paso
Dec. 18
Virginia Tech v. Florida – Gator Bowl, Jacksonville
East Carolina v. Texas- Alamo Bowl, San Antonio
Dec. 19
LSU v. Cincinnati – Liberty Bowl, Memphis
Penn State v. Oregon – Holiday Bowl, San Diego
Probable winners?
Georgia Tech, Boise State, Alabama, TCU, Florida, Texas, Cincinnati, Oregon
More bowls in Thursday and Saturday semifinals (lowest v. highest-seeded winners):
Dec. 24
Georgia Tech v. Alabama – Capital One Bowl, Orlando
Oregon v. Texas– Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Dec. 26
Boise State v. TCU – Fiesta Bowl, Tempe
Florida v. Cincinnati – Outback Bowl, Tampa
Probable winners?
Alabama, Oregon, TCU, Cincinnati
Final Four of sorts/Friday, Jan. 1
Cincinnati v. Alabama - Orange Bowl, Miami
Oregon v. TCU- Sugar Bowl, New Orleans
Probable winners?
Alabama, TCU
Championship game, Friday, Jan. 8
Rose Bowl, Pasadena
TCU v. Alabama
Yeah, the winner would probably be Alabama. But I guess we'll never really know. Interesting that a House subcommittee approved legislation Wednesday aimed at forcing college football to switch to a playoff system to determine a national champion, over the objections of some lawmakers who said Congress had more pressing matters on its plate.
To those naysayers, I say screw war, health care and jobs. Give us a playoff system!
