NCAA Div. I Football Needs a Playoff System

NCAA Division I football needs some kind of playoff system. Here's why:

1. Division I-AA has a playoff. If the "little guys" like Appalachian State, Eastern Kentucky and the likes can do it (and still manage to attend school), then why can't the big boys do it?

2. When was the last time the BCS provided a clear-cut champion? This year, fans are arguing the "true" title game would have been Georgia v. USC. Last year, fans argued Michigan should have played Ohio State instead of the Florida Gators. In 2004, an undefeated Auburn was left out in the cold because of low pre-season rankings. The list of controversies goes on and on.

3. On any given day, your team can lose. As evidenced by Michigan's opening-week loss to Division I-AA Appalachian State, USC's loss to Stanford and LSU's late-season loss to unranked Arkansas, it appears no team is immune to losses. Therefore it's anyone's guess who the best team in the country is until they duke it out on the field.

Add on to these three reasons that:

* just about every major college sport has a playoff system (23 intercollegiate sports have some sort of playoff system),

* the majority of fans want a playoff system,

* a playoff would end the possibility of a "split" national championship.

Last, college football is an objective sport, determined by points won on the field. How is it fair that toward the end of the season, this objectivity is thrown out, only to be replaced by the subjective BCS that's based on "strength of schedule" and other such nonsense, all calculated by a computer!

I'll be the first to tell you the SEC is the toughest conference in the country, but who am I? Let the players show you their toughness on the field of play. Anything less is no better than figure skating, where the winner is determined based on the personal preferences and biases of a panel of judges.

While it may be a long-time coming, college football needs a playoff system. I'm sick of this beauty contest known as the BCS.