The Fan's Corner

with Greg Duff: 12/13/01

Playoff would solve BCS problem

Colorado lost the right to play Miami for the national championship of college football because they apparently did not beat Nebraska by enough points four weeks ago. With Tennessee's loss in the Southeastern Conference championship game, Nebraska was selected by the Bowl Championship Series or BCS to play the Hurricanes in the Rose Bowl.

Tell me how a team can smoke another by 26 points late in the season, yet be passed over and the team it vanquished so convincingly be selected instead. This is the final piece of evidence that the BCS has one too many letters.

I am not the only person saying this system does not work, but I may be one of the few detractors willing to offer a viable alternative. Division I-A football needs a tournament like its brethren in I-AA, Division II and Division III. The counterpoint always offered is that such a tournament would take too long and would eliminate the bowl games.

The first point should not be taken seriously because many schools are playing their first game in August. If they are so serious about too long of a season, they should start playing after Labor Day.

The second arguement regarding the elimination of bowl games could be rendered moot as well by adopting my proposal:

Hold a sixteen team tournament seeding the teams based on their combined ranking in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls. The first eight games would be held in "B" level bowl games. These would be the Holiday Bowl, Sun Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Peach Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Outback Bowl and Gator Bowl spread out over a Thursday through Saturday time period to avoid competition with the NFL.

The winners would meet in "A" level bowl games - the same ones used in the current BCS format. These are the Fiesta, Orange, Sugar and Rose and could be played on their traditional date of January 1.

Once the bowl games are over, one semifinal game would be held on the West Coast and the other on the East Coast allowing regional teams and their fans the luxury of not having to travel a great distance. These games would be played on the Saturday before the NFC and AFC Championship games. Wouldn't that be a great weekend?

The national championship would then be held on the Monday before the Super Bowl making it the perfect week for football fans.

My idea makes sense because it makes the "B" level bowls important again. As it stands now, these games are insignificant. By making them part of the national tournament they will attract more fans and much higher TV ratings. Because these games are scattered across the country, organizers can assign games according to their regional relevancy. Suppose Georgia qualifies for the tournament. It would be a natural to assign them and their opponent to the Peach Bowl guranteeing a full crowd in the Georgia Dome.

A tournament of this type assures the fans and advertisers quality football - something they are not getting now. Do you realize that Miami will not have played a game for over 30 days when they take the field against Nebraska? This long of a layoff guarantees the quality will more resemble what we expect to see in the first game of the season not the last.

Anyone doing the math here will realize there are still 13 other bowls that don't fit into this picture. My plan would be to treat them the same way the NIT is treated in college basketball. They will be the reward to teams who have had good but not great seasons and don't have a realistic chance of winning the national championship.

This all makes perfect sense, which means it has no chance of being adopted by the powers that run college football. These guys push aside logic just like they did the Colorado Buffalos.

Back to Sports: 12/13/01.