Although I could talk about the Sunday Night Football game where the NY Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 37-34 in the last few minutes of the game, or I could talk about how the NBA is in shambles as Chris Paul and the Lakers trades are falling apart (Lamar Odom is now set to play for the Mavs, instead of the proposed trade offered by the Hornets), I’d like to focus on the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) for college football.
There are a total of 5 bowl matchups and will be completed with the “Championship” game on January 9th. Now, I put championship in quotes because this is the title of the game, but I also don’t think it qualifies as much of a championship. These are arguably not the most qualified teams to play for such a title as champion, but before I get started I want to explain what the Bowl system is.
According to Wikipedia, “the BCS relies on a combination of polls and computer selection methods to determine relative team rankings, and to narrow the field to two teams to play in the BCS National Championship Game held after the other college bowl games. The American Football Coaches Association is contractually bound to vote the winner of this game as the BCS National Champion and the contract signed by each conference requires them to recognize the winner of the BCS National Championship game as the official and only Champion. The BCS was created to end split championships and for the Champion to win the title on the field between the two teams selected by the BCS. In that regard it has failed, as the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split championship”.
Already right there, it explains that this system was supposed to get rid of split championships, but has failed to do so. Many times there is good reason to have a playoff system. It determines who is supposed to be playing against whom in the championship game and allows for upsets. Even in professional sports, there is a playoff system intact and for the past few years, the team that has won the Superbowl has won off of an upset. The Bowl Games are unfair because they simply pick the teams with the best records, not the most qualified teams. If the NCAA truly wanted a national champion, they would want to find the most qualified team. Even this year there were a lot of people who were upset by the teams chosen to play in the Championship Game. Were these really the two best teams? The most qualified? Or was there bias? In a playoff system, there is no bias. The only bias could come out of the rankings received, but then its fair game to determine who will really be champion after all.
So, you tell me, what do you think college football should do: Continue with the Bowl Games or switch to the playoff series.
Hello Dratatat, I stumbled upon your blog on the internets and wanted to respond. WhIle I feel that your post was well written and you will one day be the next Erin Andrews, minus the hotel incident, I must point out one important fact. The amount of money that is currently made by even nonsense bowls would be difficult to replicate in a playoff system. The playoff system would cost the conferences and NCAA money which is why they will never change unless forced to do so. Should they be forced to do so? Probably, one of the straw-men arguments used by the NCAA is that it would interfere with finals, however the Final 4 never does, and I don't think I've ever seen a football player actually take a final. Anyhow, the point is that the BCS is here to stay unless there is some way the money could be replicated in a playoff which it can not because there would be too many teams thats currently go to bush-league bowls like the Compass Bowl.
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