College Football Needs a Playoff System and Ditch the BCS

Every March the excitement level grows as the NCAA Basketball Tournament, or as Dick Vitale says, 'It's tourney time, baby.' The 'Road to the Final Four' is one of the most stimulating playoff systems in all of sports.

A committee selects the teams, ranks them, and divides them into regional brackets. Throughout the tournament, Cinderella stories develop while some of the championship favorites watch their season full of hopes and dreams fall through the cracks. It is a one and done deal. You lose and your season is over. Eventually, a quartet of teams face off in the Final Four, and by then, most of the Cinderella stories, such as Valparaiso or Western Kentucky, are brought back down the earth. The Final Four typically consists of four of the top 20 or 25 teams.

The ambiance of the NCAA basketball tournament radiates with enthusiasm and passion.

Now, with that said, college basketball does not have the same season-long following as college football. The rivalries in college football are without a doubt some of the most intense of any sport across the globe. However, once December approaches, BCS confusion reigns, unless there are only two unbeaten schools remaining, or only two schools with a single loss.

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) relies primarily on computer selection methods. Do we really want a computer to decide the champion or championship game participants? College Football is the only sport in which there is not a tournament or playoff format to determine the season champion. The BCS and pre-BCS era has provoked controversy, and at times, more than one team shared the title as 'national champion'.

Clearly, football is a more physically demanding sport than basketball, so a college football tournament with 65 teams playing twice a weekend is impractical.

Nevertheless, college football could implement a logical playoff system in order to determine the national champion. Perhaps they can take a look at the NFL post-season format.

A committee could select the top twelve teams. The twelve teams selected would be conference champions from the six major conferences (ACC, SEC, Pac-10, Big 10, Big 12, and Big East), as well as any undefeated Division I school, if any. The computer rankings, or a human committee would determine the remaining slots available- likely teams from the top conferences that did not win their conference championship. The twelve participants would be divided into East and West regional brackets. The top four teams, or top two in each bracket, would earn a bye week.

A similar system works well in the NFL. Sometimes, the top team wins the Super Bowl, such as the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004. However, there is still the prospect of an unexpected victory celebration, such as the New York Giants last year, or the Pittsburgh Steelers three years ago.

College football provides an abundance of excitement and trails only the NFL in national interest. Imagine how much the interest would magnify if there were a playoff system to determine the champion. It would be nice if this BCS garbage would disappear.

However, a playoff system in college football is highly unlikely in our generation. Too many corporate variables are involved, and too many backs would have to be scratched in order for a playoff system to be properly organized. As the old adage goes, 'it is easier said than done'.

The College Football playoffs:

ACC Champion

SEC Champion

Pac-10 Champion

Big Ten Champion

Big Twelve Champion

Big East Champion

All unbeaten Division I schools, if any

The remaining participants decided by committee or rankings