2008 Woodie Awards
BC(sic)S irreversibly broken
Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
|
Due to upsets of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country on the final day of the season, the Bowl Championship (sic)System has been thrown into chaos. It seems clear that former No. 3 Ohio State, with only one loss, will play for the BC(sic)S title. But who else will be included?
As of press time for this column, the BCS games have not been announced, but LSU seems to be the favorite, with Georgia, Oklahoma, Kansas and Virginia Tech all clamoring for a spot as well. You will hear many of explanations of why each team deserves a shot. What no one can explain is why we aren't having a playoff. Voters and computers are an awful way to determine which two teams can be called "champion." Here's a crazy idea: Let the teams decide.
The only major team sport anyone can think of without a play-off is in turmoil again. Despite the fact that every level of football from high school to Division II to the NFL all successfully use play-offs, major college football seems insistent on living in the past. Arguments against play-offs are uglier than Tim Tebow and more awkward than a Brandon Cox spiral.
Athletes' academic schedules would be ruined? I laugh at the idea. Football players rarely miss class because the games are played on Saturdays. If you want a sport that interferes with class, try basketball or baseball, who take midweek road trips. Other athletes in Division I-AA, II and III manage to survive a 16-team play-off, so why couldn't ours?
Another idiotic argument against play-offs says the regular season wouldn't be as exciting with play-offs. This is somewhat like arguing, "I don't want a new Ferrari because it will make my Toyota less exciting."
College football play-offs would create a level of excitement at least on par with and likely above that of March Madness, the most celebrated tournament in the world. A college football play-off instantly could become the biggest event in American sports - bigger than the Super Bowl and March Madness.
In fact, it would become a combination of the Super Bowl and March Madness. The regular season still would have plenty of drama if only eight teams (six conference champions and two wild cards) were allowed in. You'd still have drama down to the last week of the season, plus the quantum leap from the worst system in sports, the BC(sic)S, to possibly the best.
The bottom line is, this system is in tatters, and there's really no way to defend it. When there are multiple undefeated teams, it fails. Ask Auburn. When there are no major undefeated teams, it fails. Why should LSU get in ahead of us? Because a couple of voters said so? Why not settle it on the field? Nobody's ever happy.
If other sports were run this way, the Yankees would have 40 titles and Duke or North Carolina would play in the college basketball championship every year. Underdog stories such as the 1969 Mets, George Mason's 2006 basketball team, and the 1980 U.S. hockey squad never would have happened. Had the BC(sic)S been in charge, Finland and Russia would have gone straight to the final, and the U.S. would have played in the Adidas Olympic Ice Bowl or something.
College football is the greatest sport in the world, and the BC(sic)S is ruining it. Think about what could be happening. Imagine West Virginia battling Ohio State in the Horseshoe, LSU playing Hawaii in Baton Rouge, Oklahoma playing Southern Cal and Georgia hosting Virginia Tech right here in Athens.
That's how a play-off with six conference champions and two at-large teams would look. If you thought the Blackout was crazy, how loud would Sanford Stadium get hosting a national title game? The fans, the players and the media want it. It's time to clean house and start with the only system that makes sense: a play-off system that allows players, not voters, to determine who's really No. 1.
- Jeremiah Johnson is a junior from Lawrenceville majoring in economics.
Be the first to comment on this story