BCS Champions or BS Champions?

Former LSU coach Nick Saban holds the National Championship trophy

For the first time since they started the BCS, a non-conference champion won the title game. And, unless you count the Bowl Alliance (1995-1997 seasons), it was the first time the SEC champion lost the "title game."

But was it really a title game?

A lot of people seemed to be upset that Alabama, which didn't win its conference -- heck, it didn't even win its division -- was even in the title game.

Of course, I don't remember hearing all those people piss and moan when Oklahoma played in the title game in 2004 (2003 season) even though they got beat by Kansas State in the Big 12 title game. LSU ended up beating the Sooners in the National Championship Game.

I also don't remember a bunch of whining when Nebraska was in the title game in 2002 (2001 season) when they didn't qualify for the Big 12 title game. Miami beat the Huskers in the National Championship Game.

But, this time, the non-conference champ beat the team that "deserved" to be there, unlike the two Big 12 teams from the 2001 & 2002 seasons.

Of course, this was a rematch from a game played earlier in the year. That's never happened before. Unless you count the 1997 Bowl Alliance title game (1996 season) between Florida and Florida State. FSU won the regular season finale, but Florida won the rematch in the National Championship Game.

So what happened -- a non-conference champ in the game and a rematch in the game -- has happened before. All this whining should have happened the first time one of these things happened. Or the second. Or the third. Waiting until the fourth is a little late.

What should have happened? There should have been a playoff. The 11 conference champions and the top five non-conference champions should have been placed in a pool of 16. Like I wrote about here. Then, the two teams that are still standing after that have shown they deserve to be there. Who knows what would have happened? We may have had an Alabama-LSU rematch. Or, a game between Oklahoma State and Boise State.

Will a playoff happen? No, because a true championship isn't the goal of the people in charge.

So, we're stuck with a very imperfect system. Sort of like how we pick presidential candidates.

Division 1-A playoffs 2010

No, the NCAA doesn't have playoffs for Division 1-A (FBS). They should, but they don't.

And, if they did, here's the right way to do it.

• 16 teams: the 11 conference champions, plus the top 5 teams -- as determined by the BCS formula -- that do not win their conference.
• The conference champions are seeded 1-11, as ranked by the BCS formula, followed by overall record.
• The non-champion teams are seeded 12-16, as ranked by the BCS formula. This is similar to the NFL system, where the division champs are the top seeds, even if a wild-card team has a better record.
• At each round, highest seed hosts lowest seed, second-highest seed host second-lowest seed, and so on.
• Teams eliminated in the first round are still bowl-eligible.
• The second round (quarter-finals) are can be combined with bowl games.
• The third round (semi-finals) can be combined with top-tier bowl games.

The Field of 16

Here are the 11 conference champions, plus the top 5 non-conference champions, for your field of 16:

1. Auburn (Southeastern, #1 BCS)
2. Oregon (Pacific 10, #2 BCS)
3. Texas Christian (Mountain West, #3 BCS)
4. Wisconsin (Big Ten, #5 BCS)
5. Oklahoma (Big 12, #7 BCS)
6. Boise State (Western Athletic, #11 BCS)
7. Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast, #13 BCS)
8. Central Florida (Conference USA, #25 BCS)
9. Connecticut (Big East, #26 Coaches)
10. Miami University (Mid-America, #29 Coaches)
11. Florida International (Sun Belt)
12. Stanford (#4 BCS)
13. Ohio State (#6 BCS)
14. Arkansas (#8 BCS)
15. Michigan State (#9 BCS)
16. Louisiana State (#10 BCS)

With this field and seed, here are the first-round games:

• Louisiana State at Auburn
• Michigan State at Oregon
• Arkansas at Texas Christian
• Ohio State at Wisconsin
• Stanford at Oklahoma
• Florida International at Boise State
• Miami University at Virginia Tech
• Connecticut at Central Florida

Most people that don't like this, don't like teams like Florida International being seeded above teams like Arkansas. That would be solved if Arkansas had been their conference. FIU won theirs, and get the better seed as a result.

My plan is simple. My plan makes sense. My plan would work. The NCAA just needs to do it.

But they won't. Because their top priority isn't to make sense.

Alabama wins the BCS -- but what if?...

The University of Alabama won the BCS Championship Thursday night, beating the University of Texas, 37-21.

But that's the BCS. Which is BS.

There should be a playoff.

Last month, I offered several posts that suggested a playoff. Like many other people did. My idea is to have all 11 Division 1-A conference champions, plus the top five non-champions (according to the Coaches Poll) in a 16-team tournament. Conference champs would be seeded 1-11, and the "wild card" teams would be 12-16. Details here.

What if they actually had done that? Well, based on how the bowl games turned out, I have an idea. Keep in mind that you might not like what I'm about to write.

I'm figuring that Texas Christian, Cincinnati, and Boise State are pretty even teams. TCU and Boise State played a close Fiesta Bowl. Cincinnati got their clock cleaned by Florida.

I think that Central Michigan, East Carolina, and Troy are pretty even. CMU and Troy went into overtime in the GMAC Bowl. ECU lost to SEC middle-of-the-pack Arkansas.

LSU lost a close one to Penn State. Georgia Tech lost a close game to Iowa. Ohio State beat Oregon. Virginia Tech clobbered SEC middle-of-the-pack Tennessee.

Based on that, here's how I think the tournament would have gone.

First round:

1) Alabama beats 16) Louisiana State
2) Texas beats 15) Virginia Tech
3) Texas Christian loses to 14) Iowa
4) Cincinnati loses to 13) Penn State
5) Boise State loses to 12) Florida
6) Oregon beats 11) Troy
7) Ohio State beats 10) East Carolina
8) Georgia Tech beats 9) Central Michigan

Quarter-finals:

1) Alabama beats 14) Iowa
2) Texas beats 13) Penn State
6) Oregon loses to 12) Florida
7) Ohio State beats 8) Georgia Tech

Semi-finals:

1) Alabama beats 12) Florida
2) Texas beats 7) Ohio State

Which sets up...

The championship game:

1) Alabama vs 2) Texas

Okay, I get the irony. As much as I bitch, moan, and complain about the BCS, the tournament I support would have resulted in the same game as tonight.

Unless, of course, Alabama had been unable to beat Florida a second time. Or if Ohio State had knocked out McCoy and edged Texas. Or if Tebow had been hurt while playing at Boise State. Or if...

And that's the thing. The "if" factor.

Who knows what would have happened over the course of a 16-team tournament?

I still think it would have resulted in the game we just had: Alabama vs Texas. But you never know. With five undefeated teams going into the bowls, it's not fair to TCU, Cincinnati, or Boise State. Those teams did everything that was asked of them, and were shut out of the championship. No, they wouldn't have won it. But you can't tell their crazy insane fans that.

A tournament would shut them up.

Or prove them right.

College football playoffs: this year's seedings and schedule

Under my playoff plan for Division I-A college football, there are 16 teams in the tournament: the champions of the 11 Division I-A conferences, plus five wild card teams.

Seedings are by the Coaches Poll. The standings will be expanded beyond the traditional 25 teams, if necessary, to include all conference champions that received votes in the polls. Conference champions are seeded 1-11. Wild card teams are the top five teams in the Coaches Poll that did not win a conference championship. These teams fill the bottom five seeds in the tournament.

The higher seeded team is the host team. Highest seed faces lowest seed, and so on. First and second round losers are eligible for bowl games.

Here is this year's playoff tournament pool:

Seed	Conference	Team	Coaches Poll
1	Southeastern	Alabama	1
2	Big 12	Texas	2
3	Mountain West	Texas Christian	3
4	Big East	Cincinnati	4
5	Western Athletic	Boise State	6
6	Pacific 10	Oregon	7
7	Big Ten	Ohio State	8
8	Atlantic Coast	Georgia Tech	10
9	Mid-America	Central Michigan	26
10	Conference USA	East Carolina	28
11	Sun Belt	Troy	37
12	Wild Card	Florida	5
13	Wild Card	Penn State	9
14	Wild Card	Iowa	11
15	Wild Card	Virginia Tech	12
16	Wild Card	Louisiana State	13

That means the first round matchups would be:

1) Alabama vs 16) Louisiana State
2) Texas vs 15) Virginia Tech
3) Texas Christian vs 14) Iowa
4) Cincinnati vs 13) Penn State
5) Boise State vs 12) Florida
6) Oregon vs 11) Troy
7) Ohio State vs 10) East Carolina
8) Georgia Tech vs 9) Central Michigan

Under this plan, there would be some good games played in the first round. And, second round. And third round. And a true championship.

Arguments against talk about the number of games played. I addressed that here.

Oh, and, yes, in earlier posts, I suggested using the BCS standings. I've changed my mind. The Coaches Poll is as good a single source as any for seeding. Keeping it simple is better.

Anyway, there you go. This year's college Division I-A tournament, seedings, and pairings.

Tell everyone who doesn't like it that they smell funny. Or a communist.

College football playoffs: the plan

Earlier, I wrote about the 3 divisions that already have college football playoffs: Division III, Division II, and Division I-AA (FCS). We covered the number of teams that each division includes in the playoffs, raging from 32 (Division III) to 16 (Division I-AA). And we covered the number of games this means that the teams will play (15, for the two teams that reach the championship game).

Playoffs work for three divisions. And the extra games are not a problem for the teams. And they play those games in December.

So, why doesn't Division I-A (FBS) use the playoffs?

Reasons given include tradition, money, and power. And it's all three.

Against that, it'll be hard to change things. Still, if they ever do, I have the plan:

Automatic Bids

There are 11 conferences. The 11 conference champions get an automatic spot. The remaining 5 spots ... call them "wild card" spots ... would be taken up by the top teams in the BCS standings that don't get an automatic berth.

Here are the 11 conferences, with their respective champions or possible champions, listed alphabetically by conference:

Conference		Champion
Atlantic Coast		Clemson vs Georgia Tech
Big East		Cincinnati or Pittsburgh
Big Ten		Ohio State
Big 12		Nebraska vs Texas
Conference USA		East Carolina or Southern Mississippi vs Houston or Southern Methodist
Mid-America		Central Michigan vs Ohio or Temple
Mountain West		Texas Christian
Pacific 10		Oregon or Oregon State
Southeastern		Alabama vs Florida
Sun Belt		Troy
Western Athletic		Boise State or Nevada

Champions in the following conferences are determined by a championship game: Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-America, and Southeastern

Wild Card Teams

The remaining 5 spots are filled by the best teams that did not win their conference championship. That would be done by taking the top five teams BCS standings that did NOT win their conference.

This would lead to some seedings that some people really wouldn't like. For instance, the loser of the SEC championship game (either Alabama or Florida) would probably be one of the top five non-champions, and therefore, be a wild-card team.

This team (either Alabama or Florida) would be seeded lower than, say, Troy (the Sun Belt champion).

Personally, I'm fine with this. There is precedent in the NFL, where an 8-8 division champion is seeded higher than an 12-4 wild card team. This happened in 2008, when San Diego, the AFC West champion, was the number four seed, while 12-4 Indianapolis was the number five seed, and 11-5 Baltimore was the number six seed. But the Chargers won their division, while the Colts and Ravens didn't win theirs.

This seeding I'm proposing would give extra importance to winning the conference championship, as well as giving the best of the rest a spot in the dance.

The bowls

What about the bowls?

Well, what about them? They can still play bowl games. In 2009, there are 33 bowl games scheduled. 34 if you count the "BCS National Championship Game."

That's 68 teams. So, this playoff system would not affect 52 teams. That's 26 bowls not impacted one little bit.

The other 8 bowls? They can still play along. Or not. Their choice.

The championship game could be one of those, or a stand-alone, as it is today. The semi-finals could be two of the big bowls. Rotate it if they like.

And, the teams that lose out in the first round -- 8 good teams, by the way -- could still qualify for a bowl. Second round losers -- 4 good teams -- could also make to to a bowl.

So, there's the 8 bowl games (4 taking the first-round losers, 2 taking the second-round losers, and 2 hosting the semi-finals).

Next

After the remaining conference championships are decided, I'll revisit this, showing the seedings and the match-ups. And the bowl impacts.

College football playoffs: 3 divisions already do it

Let me first state that all levels of college football should have playoffs. If you disagree, you won't like what I'm about to write.

Playoffs in 3 of 4 levels

There are four levels of college football in the United States today. Sure, there are only three divisions, but the upper division actually has two sub-divisions. So, yes, there are four levels of college football.

Division III has a 32-team playoff tournament. Most teams in Division III play a 10-game schedule. The two teams that make it to the championship will have played up to 15 games when the title is decided.

Division II has a 24-team playoff bracket. It's essentially a 32-team bracket with the top 8 seeds (actually, the top two in each of four regionals) getting first-round byes.

Most teams in Division II play an 11-game schedule. The two teams that make to the championship game will have played 15 games (or 16 games, if not one of the top two seeds in a regional) when the title is decided.

Then, there's Division I. And that's where things are a huge cluster... of trouble.

Division I is broken out into two parts: the Football Bowl Series (formerly Division I-A) and the Football Championship Series (formerly Division I-AA). I'm going to use the older terms (I-A and I-AA) rather than the current designations (FBS and FCS) because, well, I feel like it.

The reality is that I-A/FBS teams are a different level than I-AA/FCS teams. They are both officially Division I, but you and I know better. The I-AA powers -- like Montana, Villanova, and Appalachian State -- are usually considered better than middle-of-the-pack I-A teams, but no better than, usually, top 40 or top 50.

Division I-AA (FCS) has a 16-team tournament. Most teams play 11 games, which means that the teams playing for the title will have played 15 games when the championship is decided.

Number of games

Let's focus on one aspect of all of this right now: the number of games played.

The teams that make it all the way through the tournament, in all divisions (I-AA, II, and III) plays 15 games. That's two teams playing 15 games. Two other teams play 14 games (draw it out, you'll see). Four more teams play 13 (again, draw it out). And eight teams play 12.

Got it? In the three smaller divisions, a few teams play more games. And the season for those few teams is extended into December.

Now, if you think that holding a playoff tournament is a problem for Division I-A, then maybe you should be spending your time fighting against the NCAA for their Division I-AA, Division II, and Division III playoffs.

But, if you are open to extending the football season into December for Division I-A teams as part of a playoff tournament, then stick around. I'll have this year's version of my call for playoffs coming up soon.

A better college football playoff plan

Thinking about a solution to the BCS problem, I came up with a 16-team playoff system, using conference champions as the top 11 slots, with wild card teams filling out the field of 16. But some don't like that. Some complain that teams like Troy or Buffalo shouldn't make the mix while better teams like Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Brigham Young, or Ball State are left out. So, if its the best teams that should fill the field of 16, then there's an easy solution:

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Mississippi
5. Louisiana State
6. South Carolina
7. Vanderbilt
8. Kentucky
9. Arkansas
10. Tennessee
11. Auburn
12. Mississippi State
13. Oklahoma
14. Texas
15. Southern California
16. Utah

Problem solved.

Solving the BCS problem

The mythical college football championship game is set. And lots of people are not happy. Me? I don't have a dog in the hunt. Or Dawg, to be specific. Still, there are some unhappy campers. And I'm in that group. Despite my not having a team of interest in the mix ... or close to the mix ... I'm in the unhappy group because ... well, let's face it: I have strong opinions. But I do more than just whine about something I don't like; I have a solution. Check that. I have THE solution: A 16-team playoff that uses the BCS for seeding. Automatic Bids There are 11 conferences. The 11 conference champions get an automatic spot. The remaining 5 spots ... call them "wild card" spots ... would be taken up by the top teams in the BCS standings that don't get an automatic berth. Here are the 11 conference champions, listed alphabetically by conference:

Conference		Champion
Atlantic Coat		Virginia Tech
Big East		Cincinnati
Big Ten		Penn State
Big 12		Oklahoma
Conference USA		East Carolina
Mid-America		Buffalo
Mountain West		Utah
Pacific 10		Southern California
Southeastern		Florida
Sun Belt		Troy
Western Athletic		Boise State

Wild Card Teams Here are the top five teams (according to the BCS) that did not win their conference.

Rank	Team
3.	Texas
4.	Alabama
7.	Texas Tech
10.	Ohio State
11.	Texas Christian

There are two ways of doing the seeding. One is using the BCS to rank them, plain and simple. But that's too plain and simple for me. I actually like the way the NFL does it. In the NFL, the division champs get the top seeds, and the wild cards get the leftover slots, regardless of record. For instance, in 2007, Tampa Bay was the #4 seed in the NFC, winning the South with a 9-7 record, while the Giants were the #5 seed, despite having 10-6 record. Likewise, Pittsburgh took the AFC North with a 10-6 record, and were seeded 4th, while Jacksonville, sporting a better record (11-5), was 5th seed, since they didn't win their division. Seeding Using that as a model, here's the 2008 NCAA Division I-A (using the older name) playoff seeding:

Seed	Team	Conference	Record	BCS
1.	Oklahoma	Big 12	12-1	1
2.	Florida	Southeast	12-1	2
3.	Southern California	Pacific 10	11-1	5
4.	Utah	Mountain West	12-0	6
5.	Penn State	Big Ten	11-1	8
6.	Boise State	Western Athletic	12-0	9
7.	Cincinnati	Big East	11-2	12
8.	Virginia Tech	Atlantic Coast	9-4	19
9.	East Carolina	Conference USA	9-4	none
10.	Troy	Sun Belt	8-4	none
11.	Buffalo	Mid-America	8-5	none
12.	Texas	Wild card	11-1	3
13.	Alabama	Wild card	12-1	4
14.	Texas Tech	Wild card	11-1	7
15.	Ohio State	Wild card	10-2	10
16.	Texas Christian	Wild card	10-2	11

Matchups This will set up some interesting matchups:

• (16) Texas Christian at (1) Oklahoma
• (15) Ohio State at (2) Florida
• (14) Texas Tech at (3) Southern California
• (13) Alabama at (4) Utah
• (12) Texas at (5) Penn State
• (11) Buffalo at (6) Boise State
• (10) Troy at (7) Cincinnati
• (9) East Carolina at (8) Virginia Tech

The 8 winners would play the following week, with the top 4 remaining seeds hosting the bottom 4 remaining seeds. The 8 first-round losers and the 4 second-round losers would get bowl invitations. And pretty good bowl invitations, in all likelihood. The final four would play as part of the January 1st bowl games. The final two would play a week later for the real ... not mythical ... championship.

College football playoff still a good idea

Last month, I listed my plan for a college football playoff. After the bowl games so far, it still looks like a good idea to me.

The winners of the 11 major conferences would take the top 11 seeds, just like in the NFL. Then, 5 wild-card teams are added to the mix, making a field of 16. The seedings would be by BCS standards. Conference champs not listed in the the BCS ratings (Central Florida, Central Michigan, Florida Atlantic) would seeded by winning percentage.

Again, conference champions are seeded first, then the wild-card teams. This will produce some odd seedings, but we're giving added importance to winning a conference, just like in every other sport, at every other level.

Here are the seeds, with their conference, their record, and final BCS standings:

1. Ohio State (Big 10; 11-1; #1)
2. LSU (Southeastern; 11-2; #2)
3. Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast; 11-2; #3)
4. Oklahoma (Big 12; 11-2; #4)
5. Southern California (Pacific 10; 10-2; #7)
6. West Virginia (Big East; 10-2; #9)
7. Hawaii (Western Athletic; 12-0; #10)
8. Brigham Young (Mountain West; 10-2; #17)
9. Central Florida (Conference USA; 10-3; NR)
10. Central Michigan (Mid American; 7-5; NR)
11. Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt; 7-5; NR)
12. Georgia (wild card, Southeastern; 10-2; #5)
13. Missouri (wild card, Big 12; 11-2; #6)
14. Kansas (wild card, Big 12; 11-1; #8)
15. Arizona State (wild card, Pacific 10; 10-2; #11)
16. Florida (wild card, Southeastern; 9-3; #12)

Now, what would have been the first round games?

• (16) Florida at (1) Ohio State
• (15) Arizona State at (2) LSU
• (14) Kansas at (3) Virginia Tech
• (13) Missouri at (4) Oklahoma
• (12) Georgia at (5) Southern California
• (11) Florida Atlantic at (6) West Virginia
• (10) Central Michigan at (7) Hawaii
• (9) Central Florida at (8) Brigham Young

Of those 8 games, 5 would have been good games. 3 would likely have been blow-outs. But this year, you never know.

After the January 1st games, some say that Georgia and Southern California made the case they should have played each other. Guess what? In my playoff setup, they would have.

I figure that in most cases, the higher seed would have won. Of course, I figure Georgia would beat Southern Cal. And maybe Kansas beating Va. Tech. Maybe. I'd have figured Florida over Ohio State, too, until they lost to Michigan.

And, if you don't like my seedings, you could have the BCS seedings take priority, but still put the 11 conference champions plus 5 wild card teams in the mix:

1. Ohio State (Big 10; 11-1; #1)
2. LSU (Southeastern; 11-2; #2)
3. Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast; 11-2; #3)
4. Oklahoma (Big 12; 11-2; #4)
5. Georgia (wild card, Southeastern; 10-2; #5)
6. Missouri (wild card, Big 12; 11-2; #6)
7. Southern California (Pacific 10; 10-2; #7)
8. Kansas (wild card, Big 12; 11-1; #8)
9. West Virginia (Big East; 10-2; #9)
10. Hawaii (Western Athletic; 12-0; #10)
11. Arizona State (wild card, Pacific 10; 10-2; #11)
12. Florida (wild card, Southeastern; 9-3; #12)
13. Brigham Young (Mountain West; 10-2; #17)
14. Central Florida (Conference USA; 10-3; NR)
15. Central Michigan (Mid American; 7-5; NR)
16. Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt; 7-5; NR)

That would have produced:

• (16) Florida Atlantic at (1) Ohio State
• (15) Central Michigan at (2) LSU
• (14) Central Florida at (3) Virginia Tech
• (13) Brigham Young at (4) Oklahoma
• (12) Florida at (5) Georgia
• (11) Arizona State at (6) Missouri
• (10) Hawaii at (7) Southern California
• (9) West Virginia at (8) Kansas

Not as many good games, is it? Arizona State at Missouri would be good. So would West Virginia at Kansas. Florida at Georgia should be good, but the Bulldogs whipped the Gators soundly in November, so another 2-3 touchdown win isn't all that exciting, unless you're a Bulldog fan.

Either way, after the first round, you have nothing but good games. Even with upsets, an "even" match-up is replaced by a match-up between a good team and a surprisingly good team.

Oh, and first round losers still get to go to a bowl game. Lots of bowls would like having one of those teams in their game, I'm sure.

So, despite all the little things folks might not like about my playoff setup, it does have one redeeming factor:

When the last game is played, there's no doubt about who is the best team ... on the field ... in college football.

College football playoff pairings

I've been promoting the best plan for a college football playoffs.

Simply put, it's the winners of the 11 major conferences taking the top 11 seeds, then 5 at-large or wild-card teams thrown into the mix, making a field of 16. Their seedings are by BCS standards. Non-BCS rated teams (the non-BCS-locked conference champs, usually) are seeded by winning percentage, then by head-to-head, then coin flip or drawing.

Keep in mind that conference champions are seeded first, then the wild-card/at-large teams. Some odd seedings, unless you consider that winning the conference is important. Just like in every other sport, at every other level.

Here are the seeds, with their conference, their record, and final BCS standings:

1. Ohio State (Big 10; 11-1; #1)
2. LSU (Southeastern; 11-2; #2)
3. Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast; 11-2; #3)
4. Oklahoma (Big 12; 11-2; #4)
5. Southern California (Pacific 10; 10-2; #7)
6. West Virginia (Big East; 10-2; #9)
7. Hawaii (Western Athletic; 12-0; #10)
8. Brigham Young (Mountain West; 10-2; #17)
9. Central Florida (Conference USA; 10-3; NR)
10. Central Michigan (Mid American; 7-5; NR)
11. Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt; 7-5; NR)
12. Georgia (wild card, Southeastern; 10-2; #5)
13. Missouri (wild card, Big 12; 11-2; #6)
14. Kansas (wild card, Big 12; 11-1; #8)
15. Arizona State (wild card, Pacific 10; 10-2; #11)
16. Florida (wild card, Southeastern; 9-3; #12)

Notice that the top 12 teams in the final BCS standings all make the cut, with the number 17 team, and 3 unranked teams (but conference champions) filling it out.

However, does it seem right that Florida Atlantic or Central Michigan are seeded above Georgia, Missouri, et al?

Of course not.

Except that they won their conference. And winning the conference means something. And you get rewarded. Just like in every other sport. At every other level.

So, with those seedings, here are the pairings.

• Florida at Ohio State
• Arizona State at LSU
• Kansas at Virginia Tech
• Missouri at Oklahoma
• Georgia at Southern California
• Florida Atlantic at West Virginia
• Central Michigan at Hawaii
• Central Florida at Brigham Young

Of those 8 games, 5 should be good games. 3 should be blow-outs. However, in this crazy year with this crazy game called college football, you never know what would happen.

Anyhow, the 8 winners would play the following week. The top 4 remaining seeds would host the bottom 4 remaining seeds. Oh, and the 8 losers would get bowl invitations. Pretty good bowl invitations, in all likelihood.

The "final four" would play in conjunction with a bowl, in my plan. And the championship game could be a bowl, or a separate game. Don't matter.

I like my plan much better than what they got going on today.

Any team -- even Central Florida, Central Michigan, or Florida Atlantic -- that makes it through that tournament, deserves to be called national champions.

You can't spell BCS without 'B-S'

So, they've concluded the regular season ... and the conference championships ... and they have picked the two teams to play for the college football championship.

And, again, they got it wrong.

Why?

Because the system is fundamentally flawed.

For example, Ohio State got into the game because the teams above them lost. Georgia, right behind Ohio State, didn't.

Georgia was left out because they didn't win their conference. Never mind that Nebraska (in 2001) and Okalahoa (in 2003) also played for the national championship after not winning their conference.

LSU, who the pollsters said was 3 spots worse than Georgia before Saturday, jumped over Georgia to make it to the title game.

Against Ohio State. Who will get creamed by an SEC team ... again ... this year.

So, Georgia, who was assured of playing in any BCS bowl game other than the Sugar Bowl ... plays in the Sugar Bowl. Against Hawaii. Who the Dawgs will beat by a couple of touchdowns. If not more.

LSU, the second-best team in the SEC plays for the national championship.

Why do I call them the second-best team in the SEC? Because if they played Georgia this Saturday, Georgia would win. You know it. I know it. Mark Richt knows it. And Les Miles knows it.

Ohio State? They'd lose to UGA. And Tennessee. And Florida. And Arkansas. And ... will lose to LSU. You know it. I know it. Les Miles knows it. And Jim Tressel knows it. Or will find out soon enough.

But, the pollsters screwing over a quality program for another program? It's happened before.

In 1978 (after the 1977 regular season), Notre Dame, ranked number five, beat number one Texas in the Cotton Bowl, 38-10.

Alabama, ranked number two, beat Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, 35-6.

So, who ended up number one? Notre Dame.

Why?

Because they were Notre Dame.

Why didn't Alabama move up from number two to number one? Because they weren't Notre Dame.

Same reason Ohio State made the jump from number three to number one. Because they are Ohio State.

Same reason Georgia didn't make the jump from number four to number two. Because they aren't Ohio State.

Oh, well.

Maybe when everything's all said and done, the Dawgs will end up number two.

If West Virginia beats Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

And if Kansas beats Virginia Tech Orange Bowl.

Unless Missouri beats Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Or Southern California beats Illinois in the Rose Bowl.

Of course, if they had a playoff...

The New BCS

I said so last year. I actually have said so for over 20 years.

Major college football needs a playoff system.

Now, the NCAA, the politically-correct, financially-corrupt organization that oversees college football in the U.S., won't come up with a playoff system for the "big schools" like Ohio State, LSU, Florida, Texas, and the like.

They have playoffs for Division III. In fact, the championship playoffs begin with 16 games (32 teams) on November 17, and conclude with the championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, in Salem, Virginia, on December 15.

Division II has playoffs starting with a field of 24, with the first 8 games on November 17th. The playoffs end with the championship on December 15th in Florence, Alabama.

And Division I has a playoffs, too. Used to be called Division I-AA, but now it's the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Same thing, different name. Anyway, the field of 16 starts playing on November 24, and the title game will be December 14 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

But Division I-A, now called the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)? They still use the half-assed BCS.

And though the process is half-assed, those running it are full asses.

There's no reason, other than the fact that the money greases the right pockets, for Division I-A (or FBS) to not have a playoff for the championship.

But they could.

And here's how.