Criminy ... if you want a playoff

As one of the few (if only) college football blogs that opposes a playoff to decide the national champion, we have contemplated how a playoff might work to our liking. We didn’t spend days researching every half-baked idea that’s been reported over the past decade. Instead, the ‘Eer came up with this plan at work one day and then ran it past the ‘Eye for his approval (OK, he doesn't like everything, but the overall concept works).

Now that President Obama and his Administration is looking into whether the BCS system is legal, and the NCAA is considering expanding the basketball tournament to 96 teams so naturally the playoff wave is moving fast. So we want to get our playoff plan out to the masses because it’s clearly the best option because it still incorporates the bowl games, doesn’t require the addition of too many more games than are already played, and it builds in another level of bowl games that will help alleviate some of the frustration by teams on the bubble.

The two teams that reach the title game will play two more games than each would play under the current system.

Here is are playoff scenario in a nutshell:

• Using the BCS Rankings (we would like to see the rankings improved) take the top eight teams. However, only one team per conference and they can come from any of the 11 Division I-A leagues.
• All independent programs (currently Notre Dame, Navy and Army) can be included in the playoffs at the same time.
• The teams are seeded based on the BCS Rankings. In the first round, the top four teams host a game.
• All first-round games are played on Saturday (of course they’ll be on ESPN).
• Second-round games are played at either the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, or Sugar Bowl. Each game will be played on the same date.
• The Championship Game site will be decided at least four years in advance (similar to the Super Bowl).
• The next eight teams in the BCS rankings play in the Cotton and Gator bowls, and whichever of the Sugar, Orange, Rose and Fiesta bowls that weren’t included in the playoffs that year.
• The consolation bowl matchups will be decided by a committee (similar to the NCAA basketball tournament) to achieve the best scenario for each site.

Here’s how a playoff would have worked this year:

Rankings (BCS Ranking)

1. Alabama (1)
2. Texas (2)
3. Cincinnati (3)
4. TCU (4)
5. Boise State (6)
6. Oregon (7)
7. Ohio State (8)
8. Georgia Tech (9)

First Round Schedule
Game 1: Georgia Tech (ACC) at Alabama (SEC)
Game 2: Ohio State (Big Ten) at Texas (Big 12)
Game 3: Oregon (Pac-10) at Cincinnati (Big East)
Game 4: Boise State (Western Athletic) at TCU (Mountain West)

Second Round Schedule Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 4 in Orange Bowl
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 in Fiesta Bowl

Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 in Pasadena, Calif.

Other Bowls (BCS Ranking) Florida (5) vs. Miami (15) in Sugar Bowl
Iowa (10) vs. Virginia Tech (11) in Rose Bowl
LSU (12) vs. Brigham Young (14) in Cotton Bowl
Penn State (13) vs. West Virginia (16) in Gator Bowl

To offer a bit more context to this system, let’s look at 2008 and 2007 to see how it would have worked.

2008 Rankings (BCS Ranking)

1. Oklahoma (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. USC (5)
4. Utah (6)
5. Penn State (8)
6. Boise State (9)
7. Cincinnati (12)
8. Georgia Tech (14)

First Round Schedule
Game 1: Georgia Tech (ACC) at Oklahoma (Big 12)
Game 2: Cincinnati (Big East) at Florida (SEC)
Game 3: Boise State (Western Athletic) at USC (Pac-10)
Game 4: Penn State (Big Ten) at Utah (Mountain West)

Second Round Schedule Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 4 in Sugar Bowl
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 in Rose Bowl

Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 in Miami, Fla.

Other Bowls (BCS Ranking)
Texas (3) vs. Ohio State (10) in Fiesta Bowl
Alabama (4) vs. Texas Tech (7) in Orange Bowl
Oklahoma State (13) vs. Oregon (17) in Cotton Bowl
Georgia (15) vs. Michigan State (18) in Gator Bowl

2007 Rankings (BCS Ranking)

1. Ohio State (1)
2. LSU (2)
3. Virginia Tech (3)
4. Oklahoma (4)
5. USC (7)
6. West Virginia (9)
7. Hawaii (10)
8. BYU (17)

First Round Schedule
Game 1: BYU (Mountain West) at Ohio State (Big Ten)
Game 2: Hawaii (Western Athletic) at LSU (SEC)
Game 3: West Virginia (Big East) at Virginia Tech (ACC)
Game 4: USC (Pac-10) at Oklahoma (Big 12)

Second Round Schedule
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 4 in Fiesta Bowl
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 in Orange Bowl

Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 in New Orleans, La.

Other Bowls (BCS Ranking)
Georgia (5) vs. Kansas (8) in Sugar Bowl
Illinois (13) vs. Arizona State (11) in Rose Bowl
Missouri (6) vs. Boston College (14) in Cotton Bowl
Florida (12) vs. Clemson (15) in Gator Bowl

... Back at BCS headquarters

With the college football season winding down ... what happens with the BCS now begins to matter. It's good to see things are in good hands.

BCS welcomes back 'Old Reliable'

With a late-season glut of undefeated teams and two non-BCS programs staking a claim to the championship game, it's nice to see the organization who controls the fate of all these teams has someone "reliable" to help make sure the system runs smooth.

Podcast: Episode 46

Phil and Tom can't remember the last time we reached this late in the college football season without a clear-cut No. 1 team. Florida, Alabama and Texas can all make an argument for the position, but can you really count out Iowa, Cincinnati and TCU? We don't think so.

Speaking of the BCS, why are the analysts blathering on about who is where in October? It doesn't matter right now. Let the games be played and we'll see where everyone falls. Your podcast co-hosts also analyze the decisions by two high-profile quarterbacks this week (Sam Bradford and Tony Pike), as well as consider the possibility that Oregon could play in the BCS title game ahead of a 13-0 Boise State. Crazy!

Gotta give it to these chimps

Appears the chimps at the BCS headquarters are back at it again. With politicians threatening them with sanctions and those clueless fans from Utah raising a ruckus, apparently this powerful group is working through the BCS muck as we speak.

Here's a bit of advice: Don't buy the fraud that is Boise State. Even at 13-0 this team has no business in the BCS Title Game.

Episode 15

The 2008 college football season is wrapping up, but there is still a great week of action and Phil and Tom do their best to cover it all during this week's podcast. It all starts with the Army-Navy game and then a bunch of conference championships mixed in between. Phil and Tom also take a look at how the BCS rankings have screwed up a great season by moving Oklahoma ahead of Texas, the coaching changes that are taking place and the USC-UCLA game. Don't forget to listen to this week's quick hitters. Phil gets a little long in his answers, but they are well worth the wait.

OU fun at the expense ...

Of a legion of Texas Longhorn fans. UT has plenty to be pissed about today. Seems a 45-35 victory over Oklahoma just doesn't matter. But Longhorn fans shouldn't follow the lead of this video. It's not over yet. Really.

I could see the Sooners winning the Big 12 Championship and Florida knocking off Alabama. How does this help? Take a look at the computer rankings and you'll see that Texas is well ahead of the Gators and we could end up with a OU-UT championship game.

Just what ESPN needs - more power

Apparently the powers-that-be who make decisions for the Bowl Championship series (the Illuminati?) are considering having all the BCS bowls, including the championship game, shown on ESPN instead of broadcast TV.

What a rotten, rotten idea.

First - can you imagine the non-stop, cross-promotional stream of absolute crap that will pass for ESPN and SportsCenter in the days leading up to these games? Ugh. Dr. Lou giving a thpeech to every team in the B THEE ETH? Mark May talking, even more than he already does? Herbstreit getting more highlights? Desmond Howard butchering English in several exotic locales? Craig James giggling like a 12-year old while Jesse Palmer offers insights such as "How big a play was that?"

Second - What major sport has its championships shown on cable only? Is MLS a major sport? Not in this country. Criminy, even HOCKEY has the Stanley Cup finals on broadcast. Sorry, but national broadcast still has cache in this country that cable doesn't have. It would be a very, very shortsighted move to choose ESPN although I'm sure the World Wide Winer is already filling up the wheelbarrows with cash.

To me this seems that the BCS folks have been unimpressed with FOX's efforts at the past few BCS title games and want more attention/money. That's fair. FOX hasn't exactly rolled out their A teams for this game. Barry Alvarez and Charles Davis? I guess.

Heck, let's go back to the old days. Dig up Charlie Jones and Lindsay Scott and put the Orange Bowl back on NBC. Dick Enberg's still around - get him in there.

Sigh. We should give up. Soon, ESPN will own the world. We should accept our fate. I, for one, welcome our new lazy-eyed, Boo-yah yelling overlords.

ESPN: Home of Useless Polls

It's the latest in a litany of useless and meaningless ESPN Sports Nation polls, but for some reason this one struck a chord. It was just mentioned on the Houston-Marshall game and it's on the College Football page at ESPN.com.

Here's the poll:

If Texas, Alabama and Penn State go undefeated, which matchup would you rather see in the BCS Title Game?

Texas vs. Alabama
Texas vs. Penn State

The results are obvious with 62 percent of all voters taking Texas vs. Alabama. So does this poll really accomplish anything? To make it more interesting add the third option of Alabama vs. Penn State.

Who's to say they aren't the best two teams? Last year everybody thought LSU and Ohio State should be in the championship (OK, maybe not everyone). But when the game was over everyone kept talking about how Georgia and USC were playing better than anyone in the nation.

If all three go undefeated, it would be a huge shock if Penn State wasn't the odd team out. It wouldn't be fair, but it's the system. If the Nittany Lions want someone to blame, don't look at the voters or the BCS system.

The blame falls to Ohio State.

Is it just me?

I'm supposed to care that the first BCS rankings came out today. I looked at them and for some reason ... nothing. No excitement. No rage. They are what they are. It's too early to get fired up over who is No. 1 and who I think should be No. 1. Actually, the rankings are about what I expect.

I could argue that some of the undefeated teams should be ranked higher, but that will work itself out over the next five weeks or so.

Another reason I don't spend Sunday waiting for these rankings to come out is because I like the current system. The people who are can't wait to see are doing so to complain. I like the BCS system. I'm not a playoff believer.

I like that we talked about Georgia and USC all offseason and really wondered if LSU was the best team last year. Maybe I'm in the minority, but this system works for me.

Here are the first BCS rankings of 2008.