Okay, listen up. Every sports columnist gets to discuss his solution to the BCS mess. Now, it's my turn. If this is the kind of stuff that intrigues you, I think my model has a lot to offer.
The basic structure is quite simple. It is a playoff, and because everyone has a variation, here is mine. There are currently 11 FBS conferences. The champions of those 11 leagues receive automatic bids. I imagine some of you may not be fond of this idea. You might say, "Are you telling me that the champion of the Sun Belt conference would get in over an eight- or nine-win team from the SEC?" Yes, it can happen. The same thing happens for the NCAA basketball tournament, and no one cries about that. In fact, the small-conference teams that win league tournaments are celebrated and labeled "Cinderellas" based on how well they perform in the Big Dance. These weaker conferences such as the Sun Belt, Western Athletic Conference and even the ACC are still FBS conferences. Therefore, those conferences' champions should be able to compete for a national title just like they do during basketball season. If they can't, what's the point of making them FBS conferences? Bump them back to FCS if they're not worthy of being an FBS conference. Otherwise, it's ludicrous to not allow these teams a fair shot at the title.
Additionally, this lets undefeated teams such as Boise State and TCU prove themselves in a tournament and show just how wrong the BCS may have been about undefeated schools from smaller conferences throughout the years. There will be no more griping about situations similar to what happened to Utah last year when it legitimately looked like the Utes could compete with the best of the BCS and yet, didn't get a chance.
So now, we have 11 teams in the tournament. To make it an even number, five wild card teams will be chosen to round out the field to 16. The NCAA committee can choose the five schools based on similar criteria that make up the current BCS standings. Yes, there will be teams that complain about not being one of the five chosen. But it is better to leave a team out of the tournament than out of the national championship, which is what happens to some teams now.
Some people may feel that 16 teams, or even 11, are too many. A popular suggestion among experts has been lowering the number to eight teams. With eight, high quality teams could be left out of the playoffs. I toyed with the idea of only one wild card - and thus 12 teams total - but this puts a lot of pressure on the NCAA committee because its choice would be closely scrutinized. I also played around with the idea of three wild card teams for a total of 14 teams. In a 14- or 12-team system, though, BCS conference champions may complain that they didn't get first-round byes. (Seeds No. 1 and No. 2 would get byes in a 14-team system and seeds No. 1 through No. 4 would get byes in a 12-team system). Also, if you work out the format for each round, both a 14- and 12-team playoff could last just as many weekends as a 16-team playoff. Plus, more teams equals more excitement and more chances for upsets.
The BCS conference champions would not be automatically seeded 1 through 6. For instance, this year, the NCAA would maybe seed TCU above Georgia Tech. That would be fine and the same situation can happen in the basketball tournament. Additionally, wild cards are allowed to be seeded higher than conference champions.
Based on current conference leaders and BCS standings, let's check out what the first-round matchups for a 16-team playoff would be right now. First off, based solely on BCS standings, the five wild card teams would be Alabama, LSU, Penn State, USC and Pittsburgh. Now the matchups: No. 1 Florida (SEC champ) vs. No. 16 - probably Troy (Sun Belt champs); No. 2 Texas (Big 12 champ) vs. No. 15 - I would guess Central Michigan (Mid-American champ); No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 15 Houston (Conference USA champ); No. 4 Iowa (Big 10 champ) vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh; No. 5 Cincinnati (Big East champs) vs. No. 12 USC; No. 6 TCU (Mountain West champ) vs. No. 11 Penn State; No. 7 Boise State (WAC champ) vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech (ACC champ); and No. 8 Oregon (Pac 10 champ) vs. No. 9 LSU. I'm sorry, but if you can't get hyped for some of these matchups, I don't know what's wrong with you. Alabama's defense against Chase Keenum and Houston's offense? USC as a No. 12 seed battling up-and-coming No. 5 seed Cincinnati? These would be exciting matchups and would generate plenty of fan interest.
Some critics say that the importance of the college football regular season would be undermined should a playoff system be instated. This is true to an extent, but teams will still need to perform at a high level to reach the playoffs. Additionally, conferences given less attention during the regular season such as the Sun Belt or the Mid-American will be under a brighter spotlight because the top teams in those conferences would be battling for a playoff spot. It would be great if meaning were given to some of those meaningless Tuesday night games on ESPN.
Now, when and where would these games take place? This year, the SEC and Big 12 championships take place Saturday, Dec. 5. I think the playoffs could start the following Saturday, Dec. 12. This sets the second round for Saturday, Dec. 19. The next round could either be held Saturday, Dec. 26 or, if the NCAA wants to build in a Christmas break, Saturday, Jan. 2. The championship would then take place either Saturday, Jan. 2 or Saturday, Jan. 9. The title game is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 7 this season, so under this playoff format, the season would actually finish slightly before or slightly after that point. The NFL wild card round starts Jan. 9, so this is the only possible TV conflict - but personally, if multiple games conflicted, I think that would result in an amazing day of football. Just think, the NCAA championship and the beginning of the NFL playoffs all in one day? Wow.
I think that the first two rounds could be played at the home of the higher seed, while the last two rounds - or even just the championship game - could be played at a neutral site. Another gripe about a possible playoff system is that the bowls and all their tradition would be lost when replaced by a playoff system. I don't think this has to be the case. I think the championship, the semifinal games and one of the quarterfinal games (perhaps the "best" matchup) could all have the name of a current BCS bowl and could rotate which one hosts the championship. For instance, the championship this year could be the Rose Bowl. The next year, the Rose Bowl would be one of the quarterfinal games and the championship could be the Orange Bowl, while the Sugar and Fiesta Bowls would be semifinal games.
One positive about the current system is that several teams get to participate. There's no reason this has to stop. The other bowls could continue and could be held on the weekdays between Saturday playoff matchups. Don't worry, people. You can still see Air Force vs. Nevada in the Who Cares Bowl.
Well, those are the main features of my BCS solution. I think a 16-team playoff would be vastly popular and would draw huge numbers of fans to stadiums and TV. Just think: under this system, we could see defending champion Florida against one of the hottest teams in the nation, Oregon. If you're a college football fan, you would want to watch that.
And that would just be the second round.
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