And Now for Something Completely Different

BcS System

Posted Friday, October 9, 2009, at 12:58 PM

Much has been written in the past all over the internet about Bowl Championship Series (BCS), whether its in support of the system or against it. If you read between the lines, so to speak, you can pretty much guess which side I fall on before I am even type a word about it.

They call it the Bowl Championship Series, but really where is the series? There is only one game between the top 2 teams in the country and it decided by computers. The system needs to be scrapped and it needs to be scrapped now. Division 1 College Football (or as they have cutely changed the name to Football Bowl Subdivision) is the only sport where the championship game isn't decided on the field it's decided on a computer.

There are many cons listed by supporters of the BCS against going to a playoff system, some follow:

-It would make the season to long and hard on the players. The powers that be apparently decided adding a 12th game wouldn't hurt the players that much. FYI if a team is in a conference that has a championship game that team will play at least 14 games a year.

-Taking out the bowl games will lose money for schools.

-There is too much tradition with bowls to just get rid of them.

-The biggest cop-out answer (which is one favored by Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN and Ohio St fame) is that the regular season is the playoff. This is just a crock of BS. If this were true why have any playoffs in any of the other divisions or any other sport for that matter.

Here is my design for a playoff system that I think would not only work but would please just about everyone (I hope anyways):

-The field would consist of 16 teams, with 6 automatic bids and 12 at-large bids (the 6 automatic would come from the top 6 conferences every year. If that isn't acceptable then the 6 would come from the winners of the ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10, and Mountain West (yes I am a MWV convert)). Because there would be 6 automatic bids, every conference would be required to have a championship game, there's some of the lost revenue back.

-Teams would only be allowed to play 10 regular season games, with one of the non-conference games being against a non-cupcake team. Bringing in a playoff system would, hopefully, do away with most teams scheduling cup-cake teams as every win will be important.

-Bowls would still be able to stick around. There is no reason to get rid of the bowls as they are a tradition and it gives those teams that are outside of the playoffs a chance to still play.

-The playoffs would start the last week of December and finish at the end of January. Yes it would somewhat compete with the NFL, but with the Super Bowl coming later and later each February it wouldn't be that big a deal.

-The 1st round of the playoffs would be held at the higher ranked schools field, with the three remaining rounds being held in what are considered the top tier bowls, with the Championship Game being in a different bowl every year (much like the current system).

In this system, the two schools that make the Championship Game would play 16 games, which is only two games longer than most teams face right now and the same length as the NFL regular season).

Since the NCAA is a money first league, the preservation of the bowls would keep the revenue coming and the playoff system would actually add more.

To me it seems rather cut and dry and pretty easy, which is exactly why it will never happen.

For now anyways we will have to deal with the BcS System.

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Good points, but I think I have a better idea. Let's put Liberal Democratics in charge of fixing the BCS. They are doing such a good job with our economy, national health insurance and cap & trade energy policies.

Don't allow teams that aren't in the same state to compete against each other...dissolve 75% of the successful programs...redistribute Ndamukong Suh to Louisiana-Lafayette...give out Runza's and Valentino's pizza to everyone 200% of poverty level, dividing the bill to the 5 richest guys in the stadium...and we'll charge each team that scores more than 35 points a million dollars per point above 35 (whereby they can trade with Florida Atlantic) until we reach scores in the 1935 levels.

Best of all, no need for those stupid trophies anymore...everyone will be equal. "Here's your participation ribbon...thanks for playing".

-- Posted by Husker23 on Fri, Oct 9, 2009, at 1:21 PM
The BCS is flawed no doubt. But people would complain just as much about the playoff entries. If it's based on rankings people will feel the rankings unjust. If its based on conference strength this to is subjective.

Say there are 16 entries and a small confrence school with only one loss just misses out. There will be griping no matter what happens.

I have no problem with the current system. If small conference teams that run the table want more respect they should schedule top 15 teams in the regular season.

-- Posted by mccookreader on Fri, Oct 9, 2009, at 1:46 PM
There is now way to make college football like the NFL. Why would want to for that matter?

What I think is more moronic than the BCS is the Heisman Trophy.

This award is supposed to go to a college player than has had a stellar career.

I'm sick of these guys looking at these hot shot freshman and sophs that haven't even done ANYTHING yet. See Jacory Harris and Kimmy Claussen.

I think the best vote this year would be Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska. Anyone that watched the NU-Mizzou game last night knows what we get to watch every week. One of the best DT college footbal has ever seen.

-- Posted by Justin76 on Fri, Oct 9, 2009, at 7:02 PM
Heard that Craig James is going to add Suh to his Heisman list. Hope it's more than a rumor.

You can go to espn and vote for your selection on the Heisman, there is a slot for a write in, plug in Ndamukong Suh, perhaps the good people of Nebraska can at least get him on the ballot.

Yes GI, history is not a friend for Suh, but who knows, vote everyday, you never know.

Nice try Husker23, but doesn't look like anyone is going to bite.

-- Posted by goarmy67 on Sat, Oct 10, 2009, at 4:42 PM
I think the vein that Justin was referring to GI was that for the most part the players that win the Heisman are upper classmen which do give credence to the award being a career award rather than a season award.

The fact that in its 74 year history only one defensive player has won the award, and the was a Corner, doesn't look good for Suh. But stranger things have happened. No offensive players are really separating themselves this year. Bradford missed the better part of four games which takes him out of the running, Tebow (ESPN's wonder child) has looked above average but not great this year.

-- Posted by MichaelHendricks on Sat, Oct 10, 2009, at 6:14 PM
I'm not sure I understand how teams would not schedule cupcakes? You said that every win is important, wouldn't it reason then that a win over directional state would be even more valuable in your hypothetical? Why shouldn't the playoffs always be held at the higher ranked schools? Is it fair for a highly ranked Big 10 school lose the home field advantage and weather to go play at a lower ranked Pac 10 school in California or Arizona?

-- Posted by SWNebr Transplant on Mon, Oct 12, 2009, at 12:05 PM
The heisman trophy isn't based on career or personal standings for a season... if you look at the winners in the past few years it is all about who gets the most media coverage... that is why Tebow will repeat because he is all they talk about on ESPN anymore. Bradford got a bunch of praise and won it... the trophy goes to the player who gets the praise from the media

-- Posted by S&DC on Mon, Oct 12, 2009, at 12:31 PM
Maybe I don't fully understand how the Heisman is Supposed to be awarded. I do know how it IS awarded. The media hype.

Tommie Frazier should have won a Heisman. Maybe he should have won it as a Soph. Back then it didn't happen that much. now it happens nearly every year. Tommie was one of the greatest college football players ever.

NFL success is not a measure of college success. Too much do we hear about how a college player is going to be great in the NFL. I rarely ever see it. Usually your great college players are duds in the NFL and visa versa.

It seems that the hype that surrounds Heisman hopefuls is too much of an NFL success guage than an award of college football accomplishment.

Great college players that win the Heisman and have great NFL careers are the exception to the rule.

I think when you look at Suh, it's easy to see just a great D lineman. What people fail to understand is that he is doing things at his position so few have ever been able to do at the same time. He's like 2 players in one.

Without him in th game I say NU loses close games instead of winning them. We may win a div title and thena aconference title....who knows. It won't be because of a stellar QB. It will be Suh.

If you take Tebow out of the FL offense, you have Brantley and they still win. SO why is Tebow so valuable. I do think he's one in a million, just not THAT valuable to that team.

Suh accomplishments as a DT would be like a QB that rushes for 200 yards a game and throws 300 yards for 5 touchdowns a game and has a QB rating over 130 constantly and helps his team win road games. You don't see that very often, or at all.

-- Posted by Justin76 on Mon, Oct 12, 2009, at 1:45 PM

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