College Football: A Playoff System Without Completely Eliminating the BCS

Year after year college football fans anxiously sit around the television to find out in which bowl game their favorite team will be playing. Often the result is disappointing or shocking, to say the least. In 2004 the Auburn Tigers were denied a chance to play for the national championship after going undefeated. Year after year, stories like this (but maybe not of this magnitude) are heard throughout the country. There must be a solution. Why is nothing being done about it?

There are many schools of thought on this. Some say it is out of tradition, and others claim that it is all about the money generated from the current system. Certainly each BCS supporter has his own reasons.

Likewise, many look at cases such as Auburn's 2004 season and wonder why the BCS system is in place. Auburn certainly deserved to play for the national championship, but were not given the opportunity, as they were one of three undefeated teams that year. The others were the USC Trojans and the Oklahoma Sooners, both of which got the opportunity to play for the national championship. To make matters worse, the championship game was not close that year, as USC trounced the Sooners 55 - 19.

Still others look at non-BCS teams such as the 2006 Boise State Broncos, who went undefeated and were denied a chance to play for the national championship. The talk intensified when they pulled out a miraculous play in overtime to upset the Oklahoma Sooners 43 - 42 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Many, however, would argue against non-BCS teams, as their schedules usually are not as difficult as comparable BCS teams. But is their schedule truly their fault, or is it simply a result of the conference they are in? Is the system biased against them?

Questions abound. Obviously the current system has its fair share of advocates as well as its fair share of critics. While it is practically impossible to create a perfectly "fair" system that would please everyone, there must be a way to improve the current system. There must be a way to give the most deserving teams a chance to prove what they are made of - a way to prove they are truly the best team in the league.

The question is whether or not the BCS system is the most effective means of determining the national champion. Many have vented their opinions on the current system, and nearly as many have just sat back and remained silent on the issue. In future installments, a case will be made for a playoff system, and a possible compromise between the BCS and a playoff system will be discussed.