OK, so normally I'm loathe to wade into a debate so pointless and meaningless as...the BCS clusterf--k. Seeing as how President-elect Barack Obama has weighed in advocating for a playoff in NCAA Division I football, it seems that perhaps this issue is getting some well-deserved attention. After all, it IS the only college sport not to determine the participants in a championship on the field. Instead, a phalanx of computers and a bevy of voters determine who gets to play in the national championship game.
I know, I know. Repeat after me: WTF?? Given the gazillions of dollars invested in major college football, you would think that the powers-that-be would want a system that determines winners on the field and not in smoke-filled rooms. This is especially true when you consider this scenario: Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma are all 10-1 and tied for first place in the Big 12's South Division. It seems simple until you consider how we get to that point: Texas beat Oklahoma rather easily in Dallas. Texas Tech beat Texas in Lubbock on a last-second touchdown. Oklahoma destroyed Texas Tech in Norman, 65-21 this past Saturday. With Alabama ranked #1 in the country, this means that only one of these three teams has a shot at playing Alabama for the national championship. This assumes that all three teams (and Alabama) win their remaining games. If not, then yet another wrench gets throw into the mix.
If the purpose of the current system was to stoke debate and fan the flames of sports talk radio, well...mission accomplished. Other than that, it's a complete and utter disaster. Every NCAA football division, indeed every team sport, has a playoff system in place. Teams win, and they advance, perhaps ultimately to the championship game, where to the victors go the spoils. The problem with Division I is...wait for it...money. I know; you're probably as shocked as I was to discover this, but money apparently really IS the root of all evil...at least in this scenario.
From where I sit, without a playoff, there's no credibility. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. You could have 0-11 Southeast New Jersey Polytechnic playing 0-11 Northwest Bumfuck State under the current system, and it would make about as much sense. If the participants in a championship game are decided in smoke-filled rooms instead of between the lines, the game, while perhaps entertaining, is ultimately meaningless.
Of course, meaningless doesn't have to mean there can't be a buttload of money at stake...and as long as money is the primary motivation, nothing will change. And so the silliness continues....
