A few weeks ago, I toppled Schmidley in our debate over whether college football needs a playoff system. I still maintain that it does not, but we're rapidly approaching another BCS nightmare scenario. After Illinois all but ended Ohio State's title dreams, the top BCS ranking was thrown up for grabs. Currently, there are eight one-loss teams, seven of which hail from major conferences. More importantly, there are two undefeated teams remaining -- and one has a legitimate gripe about not being the top-ranked team in the country. All things considered, several teams are going to end the season feeling as if they've been cheated out of a shot to play for the national championship. Umm, so why do I still think the BCS works?
If Kansas goes undefeated, it deserves to play for the national championship. Despite having played a mediocre slate thus far, if the Jayhawks close out the regular season 12-0 and subsequently win the Big 12 title game, they'll have proved their worth. This is no guarantee, considering they'll need to beat one-loss Missouri in the final week of the season, and then they'll face their toughest task in the Big 12 title game, but who are we to doubt that this team can pull off such a feat?
So if you're with me this far, then who should the Jayhawks play on Jan. 7? Unfortunately for you, Hawaii, you will not be going to the New Orleans Superdome in January, but if you finish undefeated, you sure deserve to play in another BCS bowl game. So out of the one-loss teams, who should play? Well, here's where the controversy is sure to come into play. Some of the current one-loss teams will likely no longer be in contention, as some will face each other, and others will lose to far inferior teams. At most, I would think we'd have three or four legitimate one-loss teams left at the end of the season. And which should get that prized title shot? LSU and Oregon would be the two best candidates. But regardless of who is left with one loss, I'm completely comfortable letting the computers decide. I'm not going to get back into the BCS or playoff debate, but the reasons are the same. A playoff is simply impractical. It's still an inexact science, but the computers should be able to best decide who should play for the title.
Or maybe I shouldn't be so indecisive, stop playing Call of Duty for a few minutes, and actually pick somebody. Okay, then, as of today, Kansas should play LSU for the national championship. I've already detailed why Kansas should be playing, so why LSU? The Tigers' lone loss came in triple-overtime to a solid Kentucky team in Lexington. Beyond that, they've had quality wins over South Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, Virginia Tech and the defending champion Florida Gators. And they're probably going to rip Schmidley's heart out with a season-ending thrashing of the Razorbacks, regardless of how many yards future-Jets' stud Darren McFadden racks up.
So there you have it, an undefeated Kansas should play a one-loss LSU. Any complaints can be filed away in the Food Court complaint box, in which I hope you've all been placing cornbread request forms.