So now we have a national champion. No shared titles. No poll controversy. It appears that the computers of the BCS have been vindicated. The inventors of the BCS must be breathing a heavy sigh of relief. In what has been a tumultuous college football season the end has brought some semblance of finality. The Miami offensive juggernaut has put the questions to rest. All naysayers need look only at the serious bloodbath that occurred in Pasadena last night for an answer to the questions that have arisen over the last month or so. Or not.
While we now know that the Heisman winner Eric Crouch and the Big Red rushing attack are no match for the high-flying antics of Ken Dorsey and the 'Canes offense, this does not excuse the failings of the BCS system. The system Oregon Head Coach Mike Bellotti called "a disease" may survive for another year, or even many years, but the fact that the "National Championship" produced a national champion should not be used as a rallying point for BCS apologists. We will never know what would have come of a Oregon-Miami match-up, or even a Colorado-Miami tie (though following Tuesday's Fiesta Bowl drubbing, I think we can surmise). Lest you forget, if Tennessee hadn't dropped the ball in the SEC Championship against LSU, there would have been little question of the No. 2 ranking. Rather than going back and forth with what could have been, it is better to approach the problems with the system itself.
While this columnist does not claim to have one up on the college football intelligentsia, I will propose my own humble ideas on how to improve on the BCS and make football fans and Mike Bellotti happy. First off, something must be done with the two-poll system. Polls are better than the computer-based BCS, or any other "foolproof" system lacking the human element, but why not have just one poll determining rankings? Combining the AP and USA Today/ Coaches Poll would take away one source of controversy and disagreement.
While I understand the need to have both beat writers and coaches have input in the rankings, why not give votes to both in one committee?
With the unified ranking system, it would be much easier to make New Year's matchups with minimal problems. Along this line, this could also be a step towards a playoff system. While many hailed the BCS as a step in this direction, removing the human element was a huge mistake. I am as much a traditionalist as the next guy, but the bowl system as it stands now is becoming meaningless. While the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl all have long and meaningful traditions, who would really mourn the death of the Insight.com Bowl or the Humanitarian Bowl? I question the judgment of anyone who would choose to watch two 7-4 teams from "mid-major" conferences.
The only folks who would be left in the lurch would be the greedy athletic departments at these schools who have come to view bowl money as a God-given right, and the sponsors of these game that now pass for bowl games.
A playoff system would be much better for the teams involved, and especially for the fans. What self-respecting college football fan would not love to see the top teams battling it out over the month of December? It could have the same cache as the NCAA basketball tournament, which is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year. If the NFL and Division I-AA can do playoffs, Division I-A can certainly do it as well.
Just because the concepts of bowls predated the transformation of college football into the money-generating machine that it is college football, it doesn't mean it can't be changed. In a playoff system, there would be less complaints and claims. The premise is simple: if you lose you're out, if you win you keep playing. No what-if scenarios, no wondering what an Oregon-Miami match-up would have looked like.
While the details of such a system can also be debated, all I am suggesting is that there could be a better day for college football fans everywhere. You can never totally eliminate controversy and second-guessing from the game.
Nevertheless a playoff system would be a boon for the fans, the top-ranked schools, and the major networks. Most importantly, when the college season ends in early January, the talk of who is the best team of the country would end with it.
