The REAL Reason College Football Needs a Playoff System

Having a playoff system to replace the current Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has been a topic that has been debated every college football season since the BCS was introduced in 1998. Most people want to see a playoff system put in place to replace the BCS. The BCS is essentially a ranking system compiled of various polls and computer rankings. What most people don't understand, however, is that college football does need a playoff system, but not for the reasons that most readily come to mind. College football needs a playoff system to take pressure off the student athletes, the young men, to win every week or risk having their season be considered a failure.

The biggest argument against the BCS is that many people consider it a popularity contest. The two most popular teams or best teams on paper get the votes needed to make their way into the National Championship Game to determine the #1 team in the country. People want a playoff system to determine the "true" National Champion with the road to the National Championship going through games on the field instead of through computers. Discussions have take place all over about a 4 or 8 team playoff. Most of these discussions occur because every year, there are a few teams that deserve a shot at the National Championship but don't get the chance because of the BCS. Teams like Boise State or Utah may run the table and have an undefeated season, but because they don't play in one of the BCS automatic bid conferences, their chances of making it to the National Championship game is slim to none even though they couldn't have played any better. Those teams would be weighed down by their strength of schedule or lack of exposure. There also might be a logjam of teams with identical 1 loss records but only one or two may make it based on how the BCS ranks them.

There should be a playoff system put in place but not for the need to determine a fair way to crown a college football national champion. The real victims in the current college football system is not the school or the fans, it is the players. The players are mostly 17-23 year old kids, away from their homes and parents for this first time. They are also students, most of them full time. They have to juggle practices, class, exams, reading, homework, and relationships. The distractions these days are more than ever. With everything that a student athlete must go through, they are still asked to be perfect for 12-13 games each season. The pressure put on the college football player is incredible. Sometimes, a single loss means a lost season and a lost chance at the National Championship. The strain of being perfect is too great for a student athlete.

A college football playoff with 6 or 8 teams would eliminate the pressure of being perfect for a student athlete. Currently, the season can ride on a single fumble, interception, or missed tackle. The playoff will allow a loss without costing the team, school, city, and fan base a failed season.

Information about the BCS courtesy of http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/definition