Playoffs??!

Why is the NCAA still taking advice from Jim Mora, Sr.?



But seriously, the idea that we can determine the national champion this way is a joke. Now we should thank the BCS for the Texas-USC matchup of 2005; without the BCS, USC would have been relegated to a Rose Bowl match with Ohio State and would likely still be hailed by ESPN as the 'greatest team of all time.' In general, though, I would argue that we might as well go back to the old way of doing things and admit that there is no true national champion in college football. There's nothing wrong with that, besides the lack of intrigue. What we have now is a half-assed compromise, and one that most years, fails to meet its goal.

Of course, there is the other alternative - a 16-team playoff. I'm not going to spend a lot of time here arguing for it, but I will say that if the NCAA and the college presidents wanted to do it, they could. I believe solutions can be worked out (and have been) to many of the commonly mentioned problems. I once conceived of an 8-team playoff but this of course would be just as unfair to the smaller conferences as the current system. Therefore, an equitable 16-team playoff: 11 conference champions and 5 at-large berths.

So what would this bracket look like*?

1st round:

1. Ohio State - BIG 10 CHAMPION vs. 16. Florida Atlantic - SUN BELT CHAMPION
8. Kansas - At-Large vs. 9. West Virginia - BIG EAST CHAMPION
5. Georgia - At-Large vs. 12. Arizona State - At-Large
4. Oklahoma - BIG 12 CHAMPION vs. 13. BYU - MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPION
6. Missouri - At-Large vs. 11. Florida - At-Large
3. Virginia Tech - ACC CHAMPION vs. 14. UCF - CONFERENCE USA CHAMPION
7. USC - PAC-10 CHAMPION vs. 10. Hawaii - WAC CHAMPION
2. LSU - SEC CHAMPION vs. 15. Central Michigan - MAC CHAMPION

Tons of great games in this bracket. A first-round match of Missouri vs. Florida. A potential Georgia vs. Oklahoma bout in round 2, with the winner perhaps facing Ohio State. USC-LSU in round 2, and a potential LSU-Virginia Tech re-match in the semifinal. Powerful mid-majors like Hawaii and BYU would get legitimate chances to spring upsets and Ohio State and LSU would be rewarded for great seasons (sorry Florida Atlantic and Central Michigan). Purely from the perspective of watching games, this bracket makes me salivate. I like the bowls, but they don't make me feel that giddy rush of excitement that I feel during March Madness.

And yes, the Illini are the last team out. Sigh.

*The bracket is constructed by ranking the teams according to where they stand in the BCS Rankings - the one exception being that Florida and Arizona State are switched to avoid an all-SEC Georgia-Florida match in Round 1. The ordering of teams 14-16 was at my discretion, but I don't think anyone would argue too much.