Yet again, the powers that be the Bowl Championship Series, have proven their ineptitude. Of course you can't argue that Alabama and Texas should be playing for the BCS title and the national championship. Keep in mind of course that the BCS champion and the national championship are two different things. The winner of the Citi National Championship Game is the BCS champion (I guess Sears realized what a joke this BCS process is and bailed on the sponsorship deal). However, the college football national champion still has to be voted on by coaches and writers. That's how you end up with split champions like in 2004 with LSU and USC sharing the title (although we all know the undefeated Auburn Tigers should have had a shot at the title).
But I digress. I like the idea of set conference match-ups for bowl games. How can anyone argue about a Big Ten / Pac 10 game in the Rose Bowl? Even the games themselves this year should be great. Ohio State is always a tough squad, even though they've proven time and time again that they can't match up with the speed of an SEC team. The same might be true this year against the Pac 10's Oregon. Maybe if the Buckeyes cut down on the meat and potatoes and have a few smoothies in the weeks leading up to the game, they'll be able to keep up with Jeremiah Messoli and stay in the game. I like Oregon. Sorry, Sniltch.
Cincinnati and Florida in the Sugar? Let's get this out on the table right now. I HATE TIM TEBOW!!! I hope Cincinnati smashes the Gators for many reasons. Not the least of which is Brian Kelly bolting for Notre Dame. Typical college football money-grab. I hope Tony Pike lights up the Florida secondary like a Christmas tree. But more so, I hope Tebow shows how much of a mediocre quarterback he is. His long delivery, inaccurate passing, and inability to read a defense could (and hopefully will) be his downfall in this game. Enjoy being the worst quarterback at the Combine (which I'm sure your handlers will advise you not to go to) and being drafted as a fullback in the fifth round by Oakland. Actually, I doubt you'll go to Oakland. You're not fast enough.
Not much to say about Iowa and Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Not really any flash or excitement here. Iowa had a nice season, going undefeated for 9 weeks and Georgia Tech had two big wins against Clemson and beat Va Tech. But really, do you care about this game? I don't so lets move on.
This is the one that bugs the shit out of me. The Fiesta Bowl. WTF?!?! Boise State vs. TCU. Not that I don't think that it's a good game because I think it will be awesome. If you like offense, when you look at the final score, you might think it was the Jazz playing the Mavericks. But what does it prove? Absolutely nothing. It's like the cripple fight on "South Park." When two retards beat the shit out of each other, yes, it's incredibly fun to watch, but the winner doesn't get a belt or even a round of drinks. They become the butt of many, many jokes. And funny jokes at that.
Last year, Utah beat the bejesus out of Alabama. In the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, Boise beat Oklahoma in possibly the greatest college football game ever played. These teams from the "weaker" conferences have proven that can play with the big boys, so why pit two undefeated teams who haven't beaten anybody (except for Boise State beating Oregon, and that white kid paying the price for it) against each other? If the people in charge of the BCS were smart, which they're not, they would have Boise State play Florida and TCU play Ohio State. But they're ascared. If either BSU or TCU were to win those games, the case is made that the six automatic bids are a farse. There's too much to lose for the Big Cash System. But, if they lose, and lose big, the BCS proves their point that they chose the right conferences for the bids.
There is only one way to settle it all: PLAYOFF!! The FBS (football bowl series) likes to use the excuse that they don't want to keep the kids out of class for that long. What?!?!? How long is the NCAA basketball championship? A month? How long are those kids out of class? Or the Division 1-A football schools? Those kids actually DO go to class since they know that they're not going pro. If you go to a big-time college football school, you're going because you think you can go pro. You're there for two reasons: football and vagina. Academics have as much to do with a kid going to Ohio State as a Bar Mitzvah has to being a Jew: its all about the money. When I had my Bar Mitzvah, I went the ceremony, got the money, and got out of the business. You know you're going to make big money, so you go through the motions. You raise your hand for role call, sleep through class and have the nerdy kid who you can kick the shit out of do your homework.
I don't buy the "we can't keep them out of class for that long" argument for one second. These schools play football for one reason: cash. The BCS is a windfall for the six conferences with automatic bids. But here's my question...if they went to playoff system, wouldn't the bowls be worth more to sponsors if they actually meant something? A stand alone bowl game with a corporate name attached to it is a fine way to raise the visibility of your company. But, wouldn't your company gain more by the bowl game actually having an effect on the national champion? Take the top ten teams, designated by the BCS system. 1 plays 10, 2 plays 9, 3 plays 8, etc. Do brackets like the basketball tournament. 1 plays 10 in the Holiday bowl, 2 plays 9 in the Sun Bowl, and on and on. You go on a rotating basis with each of the BCS bowls changing where they stand in the hierarchy of rounds. Everybody's happy, the sponsors pay more for naming rights to the bowl games because they actually mean something and we have a true national championship. It's not that hard, people.
The last thing we need is for Congress to get involved in how the college football national champion is decided. Fix it now and get it right.
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