Your Home of the Oregon ILLINI. Oskee Wa Wa!

Many of you might just be as frustrated with the BCS again this year as I am. For example, this year it appears as if Wisconsin gets screwed as the 3rd team from the BIG-10 (there's a rule against three teams making it to BCS games from the same conference). And what about Boise State and their automatic BCS bid for what? Going undefeated in the WAC?. Please. Just like all majors in college aren't created equal, the top conferences in the land are NOT EQUAL in terms of competition. It's probably true that the SEC is the best in the land yet again, but not by much in my opinion. Then there's the entire fiasco around the BCS ranking itself with computers and coaches who don't watch all of the games having input into the flawed system. Yes, it's that time of year where I get on my soap box and pray for the end of the BCS as we currently know it. The conference title games are a joke. I give you exhibit A: Nebraska in 2001 after they lost their conference title game and still making it to the Rose Bowl where they got pasted by a good Miami squad under Coker. The conference championships are all about $$$$; that's a shame to this CFB fan. But there is a better way. We can have money and a genuine national champ. It is possible.

So here we go as I re-hash my plan for fixing the BCS in the 21st century. And why not? If every other sport and division can have a playoff system so too can DIV 1-A of CFB. My Christmas wish this year? That this be the last year in the current screwed-up format. Atheletic directors, presidents, and commissioners all need to sit down at a common table with ESPN and fix this thing, ASAP. Without further a - do, here is how my proposal (posted over a year ago on the BLOG) would play out in 2k6/7. Feast your eyes on this system and the best games in the land which ultimately would give us the best school in CFB each year. You can have your cake and eat it too. We would have a playoff and the BOWL games. What more could anyone ask for?

Refresh: in my proposal the TOP 12 BCS - ranked teams at the end of the regular season (when USC beats UCLA again) qualify for the BCS playoff. The top 4 teams receive a 'bye' in the first round which would give us 4 great games between teams 5-12. So as of today (12/1), Ohio State, USC, Michigan, and Florida would enjoy a week off during round #1.

ROUND #1 Games:

Oklahoma Vs. LSU in a regional playoff game (#12 versus #5)
Auburn Vs. Louisville in regional playoff game #2 (#11 versus #6)
Notre Dame Vs. Wisconsin in regional playoff game #3 (#10 verus #7)
Arkansas Vs. Boise State in regional playoff game #4 (#9 versus #8)

In each of these first-four games, the higher seed would be the 'home' team with geographic preference being a consideration on placement. There would be 4 regions that would 'host' the first-round games: EAST, SOUTH, MIDWEST, and WEST. Venues might include the Meadowlands (EAST), Georgia dome (SOUTH), Metrodome (MIDWEST), and the new stadium in Glendale, AZ (WEST). In this example, I would send game #1 to Atlanta, game #2 to New Jersey, game #3 to Minnesota, and game #4 to Arizona. You get the idea.

ROUND #2 Games (Traditional New-Year's Bowl Games):

Point of order, I would re-rank the top-8 teams after the first round using BCS logic (or an improved version of it). So a 'bye' team may not end - up being in the top-4, for example. This year, I'm assuming that LSU, Louisville, Wisconsin, and Arkansas all win their first-round games. Not totally unreasonable in my opinion. That being the case, the TOP - 8 BCS teams might read something like: Ohio State, USC, Michigan, LSU, Wisonsin, Louisville, Florida, and Arkansas. These teams would play on January 1st 2k7 in the 4 MAJOR BOWL GAMES:

Fiesta Bowl: Florida Vs. USC
Orange Bowl: Wisconsin Vs. LSU
Sugar Bowl: Louisville Vs. Michigan
Rose Bowl: Arkansas Vs. Ohio State

What a slate of New-Year's games. Talk about advertising possibilities.

ROUND #3 Games -National Semis

Point of order. Assuming USC, LSU, Michigan, and Ohio State win their BOWL games. The National semifinals would look like:

LSU Vs. Ohio State
Michigan Vs. USC

The games can actually be played on the same day in the same venue (San Antonio, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Seattle, Phoenix, etc...). How cool would it be to have a 3pm and 8 pm (eastern timezone) slate for these of games? And on to the National Finals.

ROUND #4 Game - The Title Game

Ohio State Vs. USC - you pick the winner. It would all come to and end by the middle of January. Tell me this wouldn't be better than the current system of chaos. Finally, the BOWL GAMES would have meaning again beyond their occurrence. And, since they'd all be played on the same day (as they were intended by a higher power) the universe would once again be restored to order. Finally, for good measure, there would be a pathway to the title for 'deserving' teams like Boise State who went 12-0 this year. Even with that 'great' record, they have NO CHANCE in the current system at this contry's national title (would you like guacamole with that salsa and chips?). What a travesty! But, in the proposed system, get to 16 wins and glory for all time is yours. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Tell me what you think. Until then, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!