X's and O's of a College Football Playoff

I am one of the few who wouldn't mind keeping everything as is - the reason is because of the rush I get throughout the college football regular season when a title contender is challenged and/or upset. Regular season upsets of top teams in college football have no equal in sports. The victor is thrilled. The loser is devastated. The difference is in the latter. Take a college basketball upset. The underdog fans rush the court but the favorite gets over the loss pretty darn quick - because it really doesn't matter until March.

I was watching the Cowboys struggle against the Lions on Sunday. No doubt the game was entertaining but what was on the line? Dallas can lose a game and still have the tiebreaker over Green Bay. Essentially they have mulligan in their back pocket going into every remaining game. Plenty of mulligans were handed out in college football's title race this year but not one of the top college football teams had any clue they would get one before, during or immediately following the game.

A playoff would be a better way to end the season though. I just prefer top teams in do or die situations over a 3 month period than 3 weeks - so I can continue to sleep at night without a playoff. Everyone has an idea of a college football playoff. I have gotten so sick of seeing ones that have no chance of working that I have developed my own. First, you must acknowledge the moving parts and obstacles within college football. There is no Roger Goodell or David Stern in college football. There is the BCS, the have and the have nots, the lawyers ready to represent the have nots and of course.....the Rose Bowl.

Issue 1) The folks in Pasadena are perhaps the first obstacle to reforming the current system. There have been plenty of articles that say one or both of the Pac 10 and/or Big Ten would side with the Rose if say, a plus one was implemented. Let's address the plus one for a moment. Easy enough, the structure is already in place with the stand alone championship game. The problem - it is an occasional solution. It would solve problems in one year and create problems in the next - like 2002 and 2005. The biggest problem I see is that it would create a second payday for schools and their BCS conferences. Boise would not have made a plus one title game last year. Thus, the problem that resulted in a 5th BCS game (for the little guy to get the same money) would resurface.

Back to the Rose. They want their traditional matchup - even in the face of a blockbuster game. We just saw an example of that with the Rose selecting Illnois instead of Georgia to play USC. If they boycott and can take one of their conferences with them - no playoff system is truly legitimate. I have an easy fix for that.

Issue 2) The BCS bowls and their host cities want to sell as many tickets and hotels as possible. There has been concern expressed over asking a fan base to travel to three consecutive neutral sites in a 3 round playoff scenario. I believe the concern is legit. One of the reason so many fans can travel to the current bowls is because 1) schools are on holiday break for students and children of alums and 2) the period between Christmas and New Year's is typically the slowest period for corporate America because employees are using their remaining days off. If I was a bowl official wearing one of those Craig Sager-esque type jackets, I would be concerned with overconfident fans bypassing the bowl game for later rounds. I believe I can fix (help) that problem.

Issue 3) Keep the conferences happy and keep conference championships important. There is no way an 8 team playoff would be just the top 8 teams in the BCS ranking. Under the current situation, the Big 12 would have three teams, the Big East would have none (WV at 9) and Hawaii would be left out. 16 teams is too many and would dilute conference games.

The format - 8 team playoff from the four BCS bowls. The Rose gets the Pac-10 champ v. Big Ten champ, the Fiesta gets Big 12 champ v. TBD, the Sugar gets SEC champ v. TBD and the Orange gets ACC champ v. TBD. Automatic spots also go to Big East champ and the highest ranked non-BCS champ. The final spot is a wildcard spot for the highest ranked team that did not win their conference or Notre Dame if they make the final 8. If one of conference champs is not ranked in the top 12-14, then a spot opens up. The BCS bowls are played Jan 1-2. Semis are played on home fields on the highest ranked winners on the first weekend after 7 days have passed from the opening round. The title game is at a neutral site - just like the Super Bowl.

If this playoff system was implemented this year, it would look like this:

Rose - USC (Pac 10 champ) v. Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
Fiesta - Oklahoma (Big 12 champ) v. West Virginia (Big East champ, selected by Fiesta)
Sugar - LSU (SEC champ) v. Hawaii (highest ranked non-BCS conf champ, selected by Sugar)
Orange - Virginia Tech (ACC champ) v. Georgia (wildcard, highest ranked non-conf champ)

Let's assume the winners were: USC, Oklahoma, LSU and Georgia

By their spot in the final pre-bowl BCS rankings - Oklahoma and LSU would host semi final games. #2 LSU would host #7 USC. #4 Oklahoma would host #5 Georgia. The winners would play - who knows where - for the national title game the following weekend.

The Rose is happy getting their traditional matchup. The conferences are happy because they will continue to get the money as they do now. The NCAA does not control the system and does not get to cut the money pie into 100+ pieces. The conference tie ins and games played on New Year's or the 2nd is good for the traditionalist that loves the old school setup. The fans get their playoff. The travel problem is broken up. The title game would be played in mid January, right as most schools are getting back into session. Seniors and early entries would still have enough time to rehab minor injuries in time for the NFL combine in late Feb. It still gives coaches enough time to capitalize on post-season success on the recruiting trail.

Coming Attractions

It's been a while since I wrote down my thoughts on the last few weeks of college football but they will be forthcoming. The annual BCS firestorm is in full blaze. I think the coaches poll is a joke. (I would like to hear to rationale behind the Bowdens putting Missouri over Oklahoma. Mike Bellotti did the same thing - perhaps he shared a drink with his wife while filling out his ballot.) The Harris poll is even more of a joke. But, I think the BCS got it right again and I will offer more explanation later.

I do not favor a playoff but since I see so many unrealistic ideas, I have come up with my own just for fun - and one that might actually work.

Talk about bittersweet. Ohio State was glad to see at least one of the top 2 go down but not both. The result is having to play LSU in the Superdome. Speaking from experience, it's overwhelming inside and outside the stadium for the opponent.

I think the BCS matchups could be pretty entertaining. First, there is no Notre Dame taking up a spot this year. The Fiesta should be fun if West Virginia recovers mentally from the Pitt loss. I think a lot of people will tune into the Sugar Bowl to see if Hawaii-Georgia can be a repeat of OU-Boise State. Although Missouri deserved it more, I think Kansas will surprise people and be very competitive and possibly beat Virginia Tech. The Rose Bowl - what a shame the folks in Pasadena chose tradition over a monster showdown. Instead of USC-Georgia, we get USC-Illinois. The Zookers are on the way up but they didn't earn this stage yet.