The Running Joke of the Collegiate Sporting World: Determining College Football's National Champion

Who's #1? It's a question that gets asked all year long every college football season. While it's fun to speculate who will end up where, as far as rankings go, the sad fact is that in college football that question can be asked even after the season is over.

Why does the NCAA still allow this idiocy to continue? Let's take a look at the hypocrisy of the NCAA and the bowl committees reasoning as to why they persist in the traditional bowl format.

Reason 1: A playoff system would take students away from their studies too much. I know, I know, you're all laughing out there. But let's be serious for a second and act as though this wasn't the absolute joke it is. By allowing conference championships and extending the season to 12 games(which it did in 2005), the NCAA clearly does not care one whit about how much students are or are not in classrooms.

So depending on how many teams you want in a playoff, you could have the whole thing done in either three or four weeks. Four weeks would be if you had a 16-team playoff, and three if you had eight teams. I would suggest eight, at least initially. If things go well, you can always change to 16 teams in the future.

If you eliminate one regular season game and conference championships, you are only extending the current season by one week.

Reason 2: A playoff system would take away from the tradition of the bowl system. Hey! Didn't I tell you to quit laughing? Again, let's pretend as though this might actually pass for an argument in the head of some drug-crazed, paranoid psychotic.

It's true that bowl games have a lot of tradition, but that tradition is pretty much one of chasing money. Take the Rose Bowl, for instance. The Rose Bowl is known as the "granddaddy of bowls", as it is the oldest. There was a long history of the Pac-10 and Big 10 champions meeting in this game, but when the Rose Bowl chased after the money to become a BCS bowl, they dumped all that out the window.

It's not only the Rose Bowl that has done this. All bowls do it. In fact, it's their reason for existence. They're not in existence to settle any issues of one team being better than another. They're only in existence to make money. Great tradition, huh?

To be honest, I couldn't give a flip about any so-called history or tradition associated with bowl games. If the people who run them were honest, they'd say the same thing.

Reason 3: A playoff system negates the importance of the regular season. Very good. I didn't even see you crack a smile at this 'reason'. This could be a reason if, at the end of the regular season, the NCAA got together and just tossed dice to determine who played in the playoffs, but that's now how it would work.

The teams that get into the playoffs would get there based on their performance in the regular season. I would argue that a playoff system would actually enhance the importance of the regular season. Every game would be a critical piece of the battle to make it to one of the top eight spots.

Reason 4: A team other than one of the current BCS conferences might actually win a championship. God forbid! A championship team that wins the title because of their performance on the field and not because they belong to some supposed preordained conference? What rubbish!

Seriously, what college football fan would not have wanted to see an undefeated 2006 Boise State or an undefeated 2009 Utah team get a chance at the title? The fact that a team can go undefeated and win their BCS bowl game and still not win the championship shows that the BCS is a complete joke.

Reason 5: Some of the lesser bowls might go the way of the dinosaur. Call me uncaring, but I'm actually okay with this. The "Bobbyandcindyslemonadestand.com bowl" never did much for me to begin with. However, a playoff does not necessarily doom these bowls. These second and third tier bowls have no impact on the national championship to begin with and yet they still attract fans.

So dump the current system. It's a joke and only benefits those in power who don't care about what's best for college football. A playoff will come eventually. It's inevitable. Here's hoping it's sooner rather than later.