Playoffs Needed In College Football

The college football season ended yesterday with Alabama claiming the national championship with a 37-21 victory over Texas. However, that seems to be the only important game in college football because of the BCS system. Shortly after the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl involving TCU and Boise State, who both went into the game undefeated as well, there was debate as to whether Boise State, who came out victorious against TCU, deserved a share of the national championship because they finished the season undefeated as well.

One thing should be clear. There should not be any shares of a national championship. Boise State's schedule, outside of games against Oregon and TCU, was very weak, therefore there isn't many people saying they should share the crown with Alabama. However, there shouldn't be any doubt at all. A clear-cut champion should be determined, and the only way that can happen is by a playoff system.

There were 34 bowl games during the bowl season and 33 of them don't count toward anything except bragging rights. Every other sport has a playoff system where a champion is determined fair and square. 68 teams were included in the bowls, which means a playoff system similar to college basketball can be the best fit. If 64 teams were included in the playoffs, which could span over the course of six weeks, that would be very logical with the seeding being determined by a committee.

With every proposal, there are issues that comes along with this. If a playoff system were to span six weeks, that could interfere with final exams and possibly the start of the spring semester. However, these final exams can be administered at another time and players sometimes miss school because of regular season games in September, October and November. Missing the first week of the spring semester wouldn't hurt.

This proposal won't be considered for another four years because ESPN signed a new agreement with the BCS, starting in 2010. A playoff system should be looked at following the 2013 bowl season, because it is clear that the majority of college football fans want a playoff system. It needs to happen rather sooner than later, because fans are being robbed.

Teams have found ways to do well within the BCS system. Two teams, Florida and Texas, kept a #1 and #2 spot in the rankings for most of the season until Florida lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Florida and Texas have scheduled light opponents for the most part to go undefeated and make the championship game. Oklahoma, who had high expectations, play tough non-conference opponents in BYU and Miami. Teams should be required to schedule at least one non-conference opponent from a power conference. We can then determine in the BCS system who's deserving of a national championship spot as well. I don't think Texas was deserving of a spot.