BCS Has Eaten My Brain

I don't doubt the two best schools, poll-wise, will play for this year's NCAA Division I football national championship. But yet, how we arrive there -- in relation to other schools and where they belong or don't -- again is a source of frustration. I speak of course of The Bull Crap Series, errr, umm, Bowl Championship Series.

LSU and Alabama, among others, displayed another season’s worth of dominance across the Southeastern Conference (most of it anyway), particularly on the defensive end. These are two primed, well-coached, brutal college football programs. But – ahem, a rematch. We already saw this game a few weeks ago. Does anyone outside of the SEC really want to see the sequel? Alabama had its shot at LSU and lost. Didn’t win their conference.

You might call Alabama/LSU the best championship game match-up possible, but is Alabama the most deserving opponent here? The BCS gurus again “got it right,” in a manner of speaking according to the existing system. But the BCS gurus, and their supporting army of anti-playoff honks, also make a case – yet again – that their system is flawed and should no longer be used to pick the two programs to fight for a national championship.

Sure the Crimson Tide’s lone loss this year was a tight, narrow one to a powerful No. 1 squad. But it’s not like Alabama squashed Oklahoma State somewhere this year. Sure, Oklahoma State had a bid to run the table but failed by a bit to Iowa State. However, the Cowboys beat eight bowl-bound teams. Oklahoma State may not be the “better’ team than Alabama, but we don’t know that until we play it out on the field, right? Five years ago, we had half a dozen teams that had a legitimate shot at the BCS title game only to be bumped out by the eventual selected programs, LSU and Ohio State.

Again, BCS gurus might say those were the nation’s best two teams at that time. But were the likes of Hawaii and Virginia Tech and Kansas mere chopped liver? Ultimately, we leave things to a computer, decimal points, to determine who should play for the national championship. Even worse, the BCS uses the coaches’ poll and the Harris Interactive poll. Quite a few coaches have OSU pegged fourth or lower. Not surprisingly that coaches are biased, myopic and play politics. However, it’s doesn’t make me feel any better that a lot of these coaches leave actual voting to their respective sports information directors.

But then in the Harris poll, 16 voters ranked OSU below No. 3. This after the Cowboys destroy the Oklahoma in the Bedlam Series? The computer doesn’t care about the margin of victory in that specific case, and human voters probably do and should for the most part. But it’s like the rout of the Sooners didn’t even happen. It’s like it didn’t matter. What world are they living in? Not enough? There’s the flaw of how BCS king-makers compile computer rankings, making no distinction between a small and large gap between two teams.

It’s not shocking that coaches who feel their schools got stiffed this year somehow are criticizing this year’s BCS schedule outcome. Yes, Boise State had another chance to run the table only to screw the pooch in kicking a field goal against TCU. Boise State coach Chris Petersen, whose Broncos were left again out of a BCS bowl and passed over for “higher bowls” by the likes of Michigan and Virginia Tech, said: "The whole thing needs to be changed, there's no question about it.” " ... I think (change) is coming, I really do,” added Petersen, whose Broncos are headed for a classic Maaco Las Vegas Bowl. This is the first time since the BCS expanded to five games that a school outside of the conferences with automatic qualifying bids failed to make a BCS bowl. Dale Wetzel in his Yahoo rant last week said, “The current formula is nothing more than nonsense math and an unsound popular vote that gets polished up by television. Anyone who cares about college football should demand something better.”

Those “powers that be” are primarily 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. Just like virtually every other level of sport. Wow. What a startling concept. Even the Kazahkistani kick-goathead league has a playoff. I’ve won money there. Without the NCAA basketball tournament, schools like George Mason and Butler 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 and quite often.

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. Some say the BCS isn’t perfect, but that it’s a start.

So, what if a playoff system did exist for college football? My goodness, what fun that’d be. OK, let’s use BCS as a springboard. This is what I'd do. You start with automatic champions from 11 FBS (Football Championship Series) conferences (regular-season champs and/or championship game victors). If there are co-champions, it’s up to the affected conference to determine who gets what we’ll call an FBS bid. You could combine the final regular season total average poll ranking with regular-season head-to-head outcomes for a tie-breaker. (Sound unfair? Good. You get to retain some semblance of unfairness in the process of arriving at a final national champion)

You could average the rankings of the AP, ESPN, 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 ranking system without the computer interference). Those are arguably the strongest, long-standing, most popular and credible of Division I polls. And you get to a beautiful bracket like the one above (courtesy of NCAA). Isn't it gorgeous and awe-inspiring?

Here’s what a final 2011 FBS aggregate poll would look like:

1. LSU (SEC title game champion)
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma State (Big 12 champion)
4. Stanford
5. Oregon (Pac-10 title game champion)
6. Boise State
7. Arkansas
8. Wisconsin (Big 10 title game champion)
9. South Carolina
10. Kansas State
11. Virginia Tech (ACC Coastal Division champion)
12. Michigan
13. Michigan State
14. Clemson (ACC title game champion)
15. Baylor
16. TCU (Mountain West champion)
17. Houston
18. Georgia (SEC Eastern Division champion)
19. Oklahoma
20. Nebraska
21. Southern Miss (Conference USA title game champion)
22. West Virginia (Big East champion)
23. Penn State
24. Cincinnati
25. Florida State
Northern Illinois (MAC title game champion); Arkansas State (Sun Belt champion); Louisiana Tech (WAC champion)

Ultimately, FBS automatic bids go to LSU, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Wisconsin, Clemson, TCU, Southern Miss, West Virginia, Northern Illinois, Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech

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: Alabama, Stanford, Boise State, Arkansas and South Carolina.

The ultimate FBS tournament seedings in a 16 vs. 1, 15 vs. 2, 14, vs. 3, etc. format would be:

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma State
4. Stanford
5. Oregon
6. Boise State
7. Arkansas
8. Wisconsin
9. South Carolina
10. Clemson
11. TCU
12. Southern Miss
13. West Virginia
14. Northern Illinois
15. Louisiana Tech
16. Arkansas State

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 ludicrous. More and more are added each year, some from inauspicious sponsors. Does anyone care to see the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl? Oooh, barnburner. Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl? Really? New Era Pinstripe? Good lord. Belk Bowl? What the hell is a Belk Bowl? Oh, we could so perpetuate a Roady's Truck Stops FreeCreditReport.com Pomegranate Cherry Salad Bowl presented by Franklin American Mortgage Company joke.

All joking aside, use 15 of those prestigious, richest, most famous (i.e. powerful, established) bowls as the FBS bowl matches. All other bowls… yes, even your precious Idaho Potato, Beef O’Brady’s St. Petersburg, Little Caesars, GoDaddy.com… may remain independent and ongoing aside from the FBS contests. No changes needed there.

Rotate the FBS bowls as quarterfinal, semifinal and final games, all of which could retain and maybe even increase the number of ticket-buyers, TV viewers and payouts. 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, given this year’s calendar:

December 14
Louisiana Tech vs. Alabama - Independence Bowl, Shreveport
Northern Illinois vs. Oklahoma State - Insight (Copper) Bowl, Tempe

December 15
Arkansas State vs. LSU - Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl, Atlanta
West Virginia vs. Stanford - Sun Bowl, El Paso

Dec. 16
South Carolina v. Wisconsin– Gator Bowl, Jacksonville
TCU vs. Boise State - Alamo Bowl, San Antonio

Dec. 17
Clemson vs. Arkansas – Liberty Bowl, Memphis
Southern Miss vs. Oregon – Holiday Bowl, San Diego

Probable winners?
Alabama, Oklahoma State, LSU, Stanford, TCU, South Carolina, Clemson, Oregon

More bowls in Thursday and Friday (or Saturday were it not for holiday) semifinals involve 1-16 vs. 8-9; 5-12 vs. 4-13; 6-11 vs. 3-14; 7-10 vs. 2-15.

Dec. 22
Alabama vs. Clemson– Capital One (Citrus) Bowl, Orlando
TCU vs. Oklahoma State– Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Dec. 23
Oregon vs. Stanford – Rose Bowl, Pasadena
South Carolina vs. LSU– Outback Bowl, Tampa

Probable winners?
Alabama, Oklahoma State, Oregon, LSU

Final Four of sorts/Friday, Dec. 30
Oregon vs. LSU - Fiesta Bowl, Tempe
Oklahoma State vs. Alabama- Orange Bowl, Miami

Probable winners?
LSU, Oklahoma State

Championship game, Friday, Jan. 6
Sugar Bowl, New Orleans
Oklahoma State vs. LSU

Just as well, the title game would still end up LSU/Alabama, too. But I guess we’ll never know. I recall how a House subcommittee approved legislation in late 2009 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!

My NCAA football playoff geekdom runneth over

I don't doubt the two best schools, poll-wise, will play for this year's NCAA Division I football national championship. But yet, how we arrive there -- in relation to other schools and where they belong or don't -- again is a source of frustration. I speak of course of The Bull Crap Series, errr, umm, Bowl Championship Series.

Auburn and Oregon played solid football all year, particularly down the stretch, impressively beating their foes. Yet look elsewhere. So, Connecticut ties West Virginia and Pittsburgh for the Big East championship. UConn beat the other two to end the three-way tie and gets to play in a so-called BCS bowl, which somehow is seen as a holy grail even outside of the national title match itself.

Yet, West Virginia finishes 9-3 overall and No. 22 in the AP poll. UConn, at 8-4 overall, ends up No. 25 in the AP poll and OUT of the top 25 BCS final standings…huh, what, am I missing something? Don’t get me wrong. I’m a booster for the little guy. The supposedly “little” (relatively speaking) schools that could defy the odds and upset the college football elitists over the last years, such as Boise STATE, TCU, Cincinnati, Utah and UConn.

I’m sure you’d say, well, Connecticut gets the automatic qualifying bid from a BCS conference. Someone how has to be there in a BCS bowl, even if some conferences (even some BCS conferences) are, ahem, inferior. I get the idea of auto qualifiers, which assures supposedly premier conferences get good play in notable bowl games.

But if these teams are such quality programs, why need this AQ process to begin with? In the greater scheme of things, do you think UConn deserves to play in a BCS bowl game when Boise State, even with their kicker screwing the pooch against Nevada, nearly ran the table and ends up in the Las Vegas bowl, a non-BCS contest?

As the Bleacher Report points out in one article, “since the BCS began its system of bowl determination, there have been six teams with three losses that won a spot at the big kids’ table. Only one team had gone to a BCS bowl with four losses: the 2005-2006 Florida State Seminoles.

The Bleacher Report article by John Krenek continues: “To further the point, each one of those three-loss teams, and FSU, gained entry via the ‘conference champion’ clause. What's more, each one of those teams was never ranked higher than 10th, and that was a Kansas State team who beat Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game, only to see OU play for the national title. Talk about your muddied waters. Do teams outside of the top 10 really have any business playing in games that were meant for the "best of the best," as they [the BCS powers that be] say?”

And I find it interesting that some who back “smaller schools” all year, honks for the likes of Boise and TCU who said their program deserved a shot at the national title game if either were to run the table, also endorse an inherently broken BCS system that’ll pretty much ensure smaller, lesser schools will only sniff but not touch a national bid…even if they truly deserve the top rankings. (Just to think how in 1984, freakin’ BYU won a national title in a Holiday Bowl by knocking off a questionable Michigan squad. This scared the bejeezus out of the powers that be.)

Those “powers that be” are primarily 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. Just like virtually every other level of sport. Wow. What a startling concept. Even the Kazahkistani kick-goathead league has a playoff. I’ve won money there. Without the NCAA basketball tournament, schools like George Mason and Butler 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 and quite often.

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. Some say the BCS isn’t perfect, but that it’s a start.

So, what if a playoff system did exist for college football? My goodness, what fun that’d be. OK, let’s use BCS as a springboard. This is what I'd do. You start with automatic champions from 11 FBS conferences (regular-season champs and/or championship game victors). If there are co-champions, it’s up to the affected conference to determine who gets what we’ll call an FBS bid. You could combine the final regular season total average poll ranking with regular-season head-to-head outcomes for a tie-breaker. (Sound unfair? Good then. You get to retain some semblance of unfairness in the process of arriving at a final national champion)

You could average the rankings of the AP, ESPN, 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. And you get to a beautiful bracket like the one above (courtesy of NCAA). Isn't it gorgeous and awe-inspiring?

Here’s the final 2010 AP poll with related final 2010 BCS rankings:

1. Auburn (BCS No. 1 SEC champion-automatic qualifier)
2. Oregon (BCS No. 2 Pac-10 champion-automatic qualifier)
3. TCU (BCS No. 3 Mountain West champion-automatic qualifier)
4. Wisconsin (BCS No. 5 top co-Big 10 champion-automatic qualifier)
5. Stanford (BCS No. 4)
6. Ohio State (BCS No. 6 co-Big 10 champ)
7. Michigan State (BCS No. 9) (co-Big 10 champ)
8. Arkansas (BCS No. 8)
9. Oklahoma (BCS No. 7) (Big 12 champion-automatic qualifier)
10. Boise State (BCS No. 11)
11. LSU (BCS No. 10)
12. Virginia Tech (BCS No. 13) (ACC Champion-automatic qualifier)
13. Nevada (BCS No. 15) (WAC champion-automatic qualifier)
14. Missouri (BCS No. 12)
15. Alabama (BCS No. 16)
16. Oklahoma State (BCS No. 14)
17. Nebraska (BCS No. 18)
18. Texas A&M (BCS No. 17)
19. South Carolina (BCS No. 20)
20. Utah (BCS No. 19)
21. Mississippi State
22. West Virginia
23. Florida State
24. Hawaii
25. Connecticut (Big East champion-automatic qualifier)
Also, Miami, Ohio (Mid-American champion-automatic qualifier)
Also, Florida International (Sun Belt champion-automatic qualifier, beat Troy earlier in season)
Also, Central Florida (BCS No. 25) (Conference USA champion-automatic qualifier)

Ultimately, FBS automatic bids go to Auburn, Oregon, TCU, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Nevada, UConn, Central Florida, Miami (Ohio) and Florida International.

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: Stanford, Ohio State, Michigan State, Arkansas and Boise State.

The ultimate FBS tournament seedings in a 16 vs. 1, 15 vs. 2, 14, vs. 3, etc. format would be:

1. Auburn
2. Oregon
3. TCU
4. Wisconsin
5. Stanford
6. Ohio State
7. Michigan State
8. Oklahoma
9. Arkansas
10. Boise State
11. Virginia Tech
12. Nevada
13. Connecticut
14. Central Florida
15. Miami, Ohio
16. Florida International


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 ludicrous. More and more are added each year, some from inauspicious sponsors. Does anyone care to see the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl? Oooh, barnburner. Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl? Really? New Era Pinstripe? Good lord. Oh, we could so perpetuate the Poulan Weedeater FreeCreditReport.com Pomegranate Bowl joke.)

All joking aside, use 15 of those prestigious, richest, most famous (i.e. powerful, established) bowls as the FBS bowl matches. All other bowls… yes, even your precious uDrove Humanitarian, Beef O’Brady’s St. Petersburg, Little Caesars, GoDaddy.com… may remain independent and ongoing aside from the FBS contests. No changes needed there. (But tell me if there’s a difference between the Armed Forces and Military bowls.)

Rotate the FBS bowls as quarterfinal, semifinal and final games, all of which could retain and maybe even increase the number of ticket-buyers, TV viewers and payouts. 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 15
Connecticut v. Wisconsin - Independence Bowl, Shreveport
Nevada v. Stanford - Insight Bowl, Tempe

December 16
Florida International v. Auburn– Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl, Atlanta
Miami, Ohio v. Oregon - Sun Bowl, El Paso

Dec. 17
Virginia Tech v. Ohio State – Gator Bowl, Jacksonville
Arkansas v. Oklahoma - Alamo Bowl, San Antonio

Dec. 18
Central Florida v. TCU – Liberty Bowl, Memphis
Boise State v. Michigan State – Holiday Bowl, San Diego

Probable winners?
Wisconsin, Auburn, Oregon, Ohio State, Arkansas, TCU, Boise State, Stanford

More bowls in Thursday and Friday (or Saturday were it not for holiday) semifinals (lowest v. highest-seeded winners):

Dec. 23
Boise State v. Auburn – Capital One Bowl, Orlando
Arkansas v. Oregon – Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Dec. 24
Stanford v. Wisconsin – Rose Bowl, Pasadena (See? It still shakes out Pac 10 v. Big 10)
Ohio State v. TCU– Outback Bowl, Tampa

Probable winners?
Auburn, Oregon, TCU, Stanford

Final Four of sorts/Friday, Dec. 31
Stanford v. Auburn - Fiesta Bowl, Tempe
TCU v. Oregon - Orange Bowl, Miami

Probable winners?
TCU (yep, I’d go for them), Auburn

Championship game, Friday, Jan. 7
Sugar Bowl, New Orleans
TCU v. Auburn

I’d probably still back Auburn in this one, but would not be surprised if TCU gave them a great run. But I guess we’ll never know. I recall how a House subcommittee approved legislation in late 2009 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!

NCAA football playoff geekdom runneth over

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!

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.

Florida and Oklahoma ? Really? Seriously? These two teams are among the best and proved their worth in their recent conference championship games. But is this really the best pairing the system could come up with? In a year that saw Texas beat OU on a neutral site and, despite losing to Texas Tech ever so slightly in at a game’s end, Texas be at the mercy of a computer’s ever-so-narrow ranking margin? And Florida fell to Mississippi.

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.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 work. Never did, never will.

So, what if a playoff system did exist for college football? You start with automatic champions from 11 conferences (regular-season champs and/or championship game victors). In this year’s case, those bids go to: Boston College (ACC), Oklahoma (Big 12), Cincinnati (Big East), Penn State (Big 10), East Carolina (Conference USA), Buffalo (Mid-American), Utah (Mountain West), USC (Pac-10), Florida (SEC), Troy (Sun Belt) and Boise State (WAC).

You could averaging (the rankings of the AP Top 25 and USA Today polls, emphasizing which schools get the most place votes. 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 get an at-large bid: Texas, Alabama , Texas Tech, Ohio State and TCU.

The ultimate FBS tournament seedings in a 16 vs. 1, 15 vs. 2, 14, vs. 3, etc. format would be:
1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. USC
6. Penn State
7. Utah
8. Texas Tech
9. Boise State
10. Ohio State
11. TCU
12. Cincinnati
13. Boston College
14. East Carolina
15. Troy
16. Buffalo

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. 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. Imagine that!

The younger, Decemberish bowls host quarterfinals on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday:

December 18
Buffalo v. Florida - Independence Bowl, Shreveport
Cincinnati v. USC - Insight Bowl, Tempe

December 19
Troy v. Oklahoma – Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl, Atlanta
East Carolina v. Texas - Sun Bowl, El Paso

Dec. 20
Boston College v. Alabama – Gator Bowl, Jacksonville
Boise State v. Texas Tech - Alamo Bowl, San Antonio

Dec. 22
TCU v. Penn State – Liberty Bowl, Memphis
Ohio State v. Utah – Holiday Bowl, San Diego

Potential winners? Florida , USC, Oklahoma , Texas , Alabama , Boise State (sorry, Tech), Penn State and Utah (yep, you read right).

More bowls in Friday and Saturday semifinals (lowest v. highest-seeded winners):

Dec. 26
Boise State v. Florida – Capital One Bowl, Orlando
Penn State v. Texas – Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Dec. 27
Utah v. Oklahoma – Rose Bowl, Pasadena
USC v. Alabama – Outback Bowl, Tampa

Potential winners? Florida , Texas , USC, Oklahoma

Final Four of sorts/Friday, Jan. 2
USC v. Florida - Orange Bowl, Miami
Texas v. Oklahoma - Sugar Bowl, New Orleans

Potential winners? Florida, Texas (yes, I said Texas)

Championship game, Friday, Jan. 9
Texas v. Florida, Fiesta Bowl, Tempe

Yeah, it'd probably be Florida. But I guess we'll never really know.