HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Texas is #1 in the BCS?
USC hasn't lost a game since mid-2003! They have the returning Heisman winner at quarterback and the most explosive running back in college football!
The BCS is a laughing stock.
I agree that Texas beat Oklahoma, but it wasn't the OU of years past.
And USC beating Notre Dame like that should count for something.
Methinks its still a ploy to single out Texas and USC as the two "premiere" teams that are supposedly "in a league of their own" to downplay the BCS bullshit when there's another undefeated in the cold at the end of the year.
btw, with respect, I must disagree with you, chronic.
I believe that most teams in America want a college playoff.
I believe there are certain forces, namely the sports-industrial complex of the major T.V. stations and the NFL and such, that do NOT want a playoff, and perhaps, like you said there are certain teams, specifically Notre Dame and USC who probably DON'T want a playoff, because they would only SUFFER from the necessity of actually playing a conference championship game (in USC's case) and in Notre Dame's case, ND would be forced to join a conference which would, as chronic said, go against their storied and majestic tradition of being a problem-causing fly-in-the-ointment pain-in-the-ass school.
Here's my plan (I hope I haven't posted this plan before, I know I tell my friends about it all time).
There should be a mandatory conference Championship in each of the seven major conferences... PAC-10, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, ACC, Conference USA, and then one "at large" team, which would be the highest AP-poll ranked team that is not in any of the preceding conferences.
The winners of those games and the "at large" team will play a Final Eight playoff, single elimination. That would be four games the first round, two games the second, and of course the championship.
Seven games.
Those games would still be "bowl" games, i.e. the exact same way that the BCS rotates the different bowls each year for the national championship. Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, etc. would still rotate each year to see who gets the national championship.
Anyway, this would be the greatest thing to happen to college football.
I've had people criticize the plan of course.
Critic #1: But what about all the other bowls? You're robbing the Alamo Rent-A-Car Bowl of its storied and majestic tradion, aren't you?
Answer: Not necessarily, the other bowls can all exist EXACTLY as they did before, they simply wouldn't have the top tier teams represented, but of the lesser bowls never did anyway. In fact, it would make the lesser bowls more meaningful in a way, because a certain bowl could have the #2 from the SEC against the #2 team from the Big Ten, perhaps, to "prove" which conference is better, etc. etc. etc.
Critic #2: People won't travel for three different games in such a short period of time.
Answer: This is how we do it. All of the conference championships will be played on Dec. 8, the weekened after the regular season ends (as is done now). The next weekend would be the "Round of Eight" games, four games in a weekend, perhaps one on Friday night, then one at 12:00 on Sat, one at 3:30 on Sat, and one at 7:45 on Sat. (That day gives me chills just thinking about how amazing that one day of college football would be).
Anyway, that would be around Dec. 13-16, depending on what day Saturday falls.
Okay, THEN, the [censored] get a break and don't have to play the "Round of Four" games until either Dec. 31, Jan. 1, or Jan. 2.
THEN the National Championship is a week after that.
Critic #3: Too much football for the students, not enough studying, etc.
Answer: What about March Madness for basketball players? That takes much longer than my proposed plan.
Critic #4: Will people be financially willing to travel to three different venues like that? Venues that could possibly be thousands of miles apart?
Answer: All of the football fans I know would GLADLY travel millions of miles if their team had the chance of winning the national championship. To many in my area, our local college football is our LIFE's BLOOD. It IS the only major topic of conversation from August to January. It is the defining characteristic of our city that makes us unique and proud of our area.
Critic #5: But I'm a USC fan and I don't want to have to play a conference championship game because I might get beat, waaaaahh! Or I'm Notre Dame and I don't want to join a conference, waaaah!!
Answer: Tough titty said the kitty. You gotta pay your dues if you're gonna sing the blues, and brother it ain't easy. Or I guess USC or certain teams like Notre Dame could elect to not join a conference or "secede" from their existing conference and HOPE to be the highest non-conference AP Poll ranked team at the end of the year and achieve the "wildcard" status I mentioned above.
Critic #6: I'm the sponsor's lawyers and I say that you're taking TOO MUCH away from the bowls that aren't the Nat. Champ bowl because who's gonna watch a game that doesn't decide the Nat. Champ?
Answer: You, my man, have serious logic problems. Most people are MORE interested in a bowl game that determines who is going home and who gets to go play for the Nat. Champ than they are in a bowlgame between #3 and #4 that decides ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
I personally guarantee that ratings FOR ALL BOWL GAMES WOULD GO UP UP UP UP!!
Barnacle "okay i'm getting too excited... need oxygen..."bill