Debating a College Football Playoff

by Jason Jones



After the 2007-08 BCS Bowl season concluded, we were all left with a sense of loss. I personally felt violated. There were a few games that I enjoyed the final score of, but by no means were they enjoyable and competitive. The beautiful thing is, I could tivo the games and do something else. Then come back and watch the first quarter of the game, then watch the other 3 quarters in fast forward just hoping to see some semblance of something worth watching in real time.

In reverse order, games I had any interest in…

Memphis 27

Florida Atlantic 44

I used to work near FAU in Boca Raton…that’s it, nothing analytical about it

UCLA 16

BYU 17

This one actually was decent, considering who played…C’mon, it's BYU/UCLA

Arizona St 34

Texas 52

Two things OKAM and CHARLES, its all about scouting draft picks

UCF 3

Mississippi St 10

Scouting Kevin Smith. Period. I have a friend that went to UCF.

Kentucky 35

Florida St 28

It was amazing FL St could even fill a roster after the suspenstions

Missouri 38

Arkansas 7

I really wanted Arkansas to slap Missouri back into being a second tier team

Michigan 41

Florida 35

This was fun, the two teams I loath the most in college football

Texas Tech 31

Virginia 28

Chris Long and Michael Crabtree, one is a top 5 pick and the other is the best WR

Illinois 17

USC 49

I wanted to know I was right about Illinois having no business on the same field as USC

Hawaii 10

Georgia 41

“No non-big 6 conference teams deserve to be in the BCS”, I told you so

West Virginia 48

Oklahoma 28

Merely an NFL Draft scouting game

LSU 38

Ohio St 24

I am an Ohio St fan, and that still burns even today

There were only 2 games that can be confused for competitive, and they were not any of the top 6 or 7 Bowl Games. That is unacceptable. I understand the reasons why there is not a playoff system. I do not agree with any of them. After this season, don’t we have to say, “I don’t care what the reasons are, it is just bad”. Its no longer a question of “I got screwed”, it now is “Everyone got screwed”. For those who say, “but we don’t want to lose the bowl games”. F@#K it! Keep the Bowl Games, just apply them to a playoff system. We can even continue to rotate the top 4 Bowl games, hay-ell, some people are calling for the return of the Cotton Bowl, that’s fine. And this way we can get back to real bowl games. No more San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl or the Papa Johns.com Bowl or the Champs Sports Bowl. Now on to the largest CROCK OF S@#T in the entire discussion, “A playoff would take too long and would cut into classes”. We can very easily fix this. First off, I think most fans believe if there is a playoff, we can get rid of the Conference Championships altogether. The only reason to have them is to give a team a last ditch effort to squeeze into that 8 seed. Or maybe some of these old coaches still have an affection for “Conference Champs” plaque on their office wall. Eliminate them for the sake of the playoff system.

Once we've established the brackets we need to apply estimated dates, I will be using the 2008 calendar to provide said dates. Also note, the teams and their ranks are my own opinion after the National Championship game and are inconsequential to the integrity of this discussion. An 8 team playoff creates 7 games. As written above, in the first round…

Games to take place on Saturday December 6^th (or 1^st weekend in December)

The Insight Bowl in Tempe, AZ…LSU vs. KANSAS

The Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX…OHIO ST vs. VIRGINIA TECH

Games to take place on Saturday December 13^th (or 2^nd weekend in December)

The Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, LA…USC vs. OKLAHOMA

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA…GEORGIA vs. MISSOURI

Games to take place on Saturday December 20^th (or 3^rd weekend in December)

The Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ…LSU vs. VIRGINIA TECH

The Orange Bowl in Miami, FL…USC vs. GEORGIA

National Championship Game to take place on December 27^th (or 4^th weekend in Dec.)

The BCS Championship Bowl in Indianapolis, IN…LSU vs. USC

According to the path I have laid out I would have USC winning the National Championship in a playoff system in 2008 by rationalizing the top 8 team results of 2007. The biggest issue we have disproved is that a Playoff system would take too long. This year LSU was crowned the national champions on January 7^th, an entire week and change longer to do it the way we’ve been doing it.

The other major issue which has never been more prevalent than this season is matchups. There are no USC vs. Illinois games, no Georgia vs. Hawaii debacles, and we would be the better off for it.

Another issue that is often brought up is that people would not be as excited or that the regular season will not mean as much. First off, if you are one of those people who believe the concept that College Football is the best sport because every game counts…then you need to lay off the sauce or quit doing whatever drugs you’ve been doing. In the NFL every game counts. Seriously, how many times does Appalachian St vs. Michigan really happen? Ohio St will always play schools like Youngstown St. Georgia will always play schools like Louisiana-Lafayette. Oklahoma will always play schools like North Texas. Virginia Tech will always play schools like William and Mary. Need I go on? Whether you agree with me or not, the only time College Football’s regular season will ever mean as much as College Football would have you believe is if and when they commit to the Big 6 plays the Big 6 concept. Only teams from the “Big 6 Conferences” would play each other…with no exception. That would consist of; The ACC, The Big 10, The Big 12, The Big East, The PAC 10, and The SEC.

Checkout OHIO ST’s schedule as it was vs. how I would have it (hypothetically speaking) if they applied the Big 6 vs Big 6 concept.

Actual 2007 Ohio St Buckeye Schedule

Vs. Youngstown St

Vs. Akron Univ

At Washington Univ

Vs. Northwestern

At Minnesota

At Purdue

Vs. Kent St

Vs. Michigan St

At Penn St

Vs. Wisconsin

Vs. Illinois

At Michigan

Big 6 vs. Big 6 Ohio St schedule

Vs. Rutgers

Vs. Texas

At Iowa

Vs. Minnesota

At USC

At Purdue

Vs. Tennessee

Vs. Wisconsin

At Illinois

Vs. Michigan St

Vs. Penn St

At Michigan

Big 6 vs. Big 6 Virginia Tech

Vs. UCLA

At LSU

Vs. Wisconsin

Vs. Michigan

Vs North Carolina

At Clemson

At Duke

Vs. Boston College

At Georgia Tech

Vs Florida St

Vs. Miami (FL)

At Virginia

We can go all day, but you understand my point. Clearly the ACC, Big10, Big12, Big East, PAC10, and SEC are clearly better than everyone else. Boise St, Hawaii, East Carolina, Rice, Miami of Ohio, San Diego St, and Arkansas St can all go and cry me a river. Is Troy ever going to make it into the BCS Playoff and run the table on teams like USC, Texas, West Virginia, Florida, or Michigan? The answer is no, emphatically. And the reason is simple. Sure Boise St can and has beaten Oklahoma. Appalachian St has beaten Michigan. What is the likelihood that a team like Utah St can go and beat teams like USC, Georgia, and Oklahoma in three straight games? Virtually impossible, and the only reason I say virtually is because it would take a sample size of forever to really know. Chances are good, if we all lived to be 150 we would never see a sub Big 6 conference team beat 3 Elite Big 6 conference teams in three successive weeks. Let the little guys have their own championship series. You don’t see the New England Patriots playing the Toronto Argonauts, and why? Because they are two totally different levels of competition.

Finally, as I see the most important issues halting a playoff system, is money. University Presidents and anyone else in line to make money off of bowl bids and/or bowl wins all believe if we go to a playoff system, they all will lose money. That is flat out not true. It is only another excuse to not change the system. In fact, and I’m no marketing wiz, I believe they would make more money, maybe even double or triple earnings. Imagine, before the season even started the people who are set to make money off of the Fiesta Bowl already know going in on the rotating basis that they are getting no worse than the #1 team vs. the #8 team in the country by season’s end. Which means, if we take this years teams, they’d be looking at LSU vs. Kansas. The city, in this case Glendale Arizona, could begin to plan extra curricular’s, if you will. Parade’s, the Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl Parade-each bowl could have their own parade. Cultural festivals, Christmas events, whatever comes to mind. Then as the season near’s its end, each city involved would benefit economically as well as each of the Universities involved would benefit monetarily. Have you ever seen what happens to a playoff city during playoff time? The President of USC cannot possibly believe that he/she would lose money playing Oklahoma as opposed to Illinois. Not to mention, for the really good teams. Those that are consistently in the Championship hunt the Presidents of said Universities would indeed double and triple the amount of money coming in, which would already be more in a playoff system than not. USC only played Illinois in a bowl game once if I’m not mistaken (sarcasm). Let’s assume USC wins the whole thing. The president and anyone else set to cash in on USC’s team success would get paid in the..

1. Sugar Bowl

2. Orange Bowl

3. BCS Championship Bowl

That’s big time Bowl money x’s 3. As you can clearly see, I do not understand for the life of me what factor the supporters of the current BCS could possibly be holding on to. Granted, I may have over looked a detail or two (it is 4:43am), however I feel very strongly that like the previously mentioned details any unmentioned one’s could be answered in a manner to support a playoff. College Football is the only major sport who does not crown its champion with some form of a playoff. Look at all of the Wild Card playoff teams who run the table (the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 40 is not to be confused with Boise St in ‘06). Currently, there are too many factors that try to decide who deserves to be #1 and #2. It could be argued that both LSU and Ohio St accidentally backed into the Championship game when USC and Georgia were playing at a higher level. It just feels like the computers and writers are dividing each team into 50 different factors to come up with a solid conclusion.

The only hope I have as a College Football fan is that someday the people of my generation who strongly believe in a playoff will eventually become the decision makers in the high powered positions. One day we will wake up and watch a press conference to hear, “Our Grandfathers believed that College Football does not need a playoff, well we are here to express to the world that we disagree…and will changing the current system in the upcoming season”. For some of you, if I’m right, you will not live to see it. Unless someone steps in and forcefully makes the change, I am afraid it may take the evolution of 30 years before a playoff is a legitimate possibility.

BCS Title Game preview

By Rick Morris

EDITED TO ADD POST-GAME THOUGHT: Two years in a row, Ohio State has jumped out to an early lead in the National Title game only to end up getting smoked. If the Buckeyes make it to the championship game again next year, could we spot them another 14-21 points off the bat just to make it competitive?


The final game of college football's screwiest season ever matches two teams who arrived under fairly controversial circumstances. This has been the most difficult season ever to narrow a title game selection to two teams -- and when you look back over the last few decades, that's saying a mouthful.

Nevertheless, the BCS title will be decided tonight, and with Georgia and USC both rolling in their respective bowl games, LSU won't worry about having to share a disputed crown again as they did four years ago if they win tonight. Here are the major factors in the game:

^ Two quarterbacks who can make the plays they need to, but who are erratic -- and both could end up splitting time with backups tonight.

^ Like Florida a year ago, LSU does have superior speed, but injuries to some of their top players negate their advantage in athleticism to a certain extent.

^ Wanting to avoid the fate of Michigan, LSU will jam the box and try to take Beanie Wells out of the game. If Todd Boeckman can avoid mistakes (a big if!), the Two Brians could thrive in single coverage.

^ The wars in the trenches on both sides of the ball will be awesome, with the talent on both offensive and defensive lines.

^ Intangibles are fairly even: LSU has been getting rightfully disrespected for being underachievers this year and will have that motivation -- plus what remains of the Hurricane Katrina storyline -- at home no less. Ohio State came in doing the "Hollywood" routine a year ago and got humiliated in front of the world. Think they'll be amped up?

^ Ohio State has the edge in special teams, although a punt or kickoff return for a TD won't be followed by a group pile-on this year!

Ultimately, Ohio State has a ginormous edge in coaching. Les Miles has yet to prove that he is a big-game coach, and last year aside, Jim Tressel has a sizable resume in that regard. In the BCS era, a team with a significantly inferior coach has never won one of these games. Look for a game played mostly between the 20 yard lines, with a few intermittent big plays. Ohio State wins on a late field goal, 23-20.

OSU stays #1 in throwback fashion

By Rick Morris

(NOTE: This is a report filed after attending today's Ohio State-Wisconsin game.)

On an afternoon at the Horseshoe in Columbus that saw the unlikelihoods stack on top of one another, higher and higher, it became difficult to determine which was the biggest of all.

Some might have cited Ohio State's defensive collapse early in the third quarter, that, combined with uneven offensive play in the first half, put the 16 1/2 point favorite and the nation's top-ranked team in their first real jeopardy of the season.

Some might have cited a Wisconsin team known for a bruising running game being able to establish the pass far more successfully on this afternoon -- and still winning the time of possession battle.

Some might have cited the spate of poor tackling that inexplicably befell the nation's top defense during the aforementioned critical stretch in the third quarter.

But the most insightful people would have cited the manner in which the Buckeyes mounted their successful and overwhelming comeback: a throwback to the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense of Woody Hayes that featured one of the school's greatest second-half rushing performances ever by sophomore running back Chris Wells.

Wells ran for 144 of his 169 yards and three touchdowns after halftime in a career-defining performance that led #1 Ohio State (10-0, 6-0 in the Big Ten) past Wisconsin, 38-17 (7-3, 3-3) before 105,449 delirious fans at Ohio Stadium. The victory was OSU's 20th in a row in the Big Ten, earning them the all-time conference record for consecutive wins.

It was a classic example of the game being much closer than the score would indicate, as the Buckeyes did not even come back to tie the game until the 2:41 mark of the third quarter, before adding three scores in the final stanza. Before that point, the game seemed destined to go all the way down to the wire.

Ohio State took the opening kickoff and stormed down the field with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in the first of two Brian Robiskie touchdown receptions on the day. Wisconsin answered with a surprisingly balanced 15-play, 77-yard drive for a field goal. The key play was a shocking fake punt, a 31-yard pass from Ken DeBauche to Paul Standring that provided enough momentum to ensure points on the board. From there, however, both defenses settled into a bend-but-don't-break mold and the only remaining points in the first half came on a 27-yard Ryan Pretorius field goal with six seconds remaining.

And then, amazingly, the Badgers came out firing with a big play offense in the second half that gave them touchdowns on their first two possessions to take a 17-10 lead and back the Buckeyes into their biggest corner of the season thus far. Wells then proceeded to run at and over the Wisconsin defense with equal ruthless efficiency during the course of four Buckeye touchdown drives the rest of the day. The extent to which the team imposed its will physically on Wisconsin was made more apparent by the fact that it did so despite losing the time of possession battle, 27:41-32:19. The Badgers sealed their doom with an unsuccessful, ill-advised and apparently unscripted second attempt at a fake punt from their own 27 trailing 24-17 in the early fourth quarter.

Wells was not alone in his dominance. On a day when the Buckeyes needed their biggest stars to play up to their potential, most did so and many posted career-best performances. Vernon Gholston became the third player in OSU history to record four sacks in a game and fellow defensive anchor James Laurinaitus recorded a career-high 19 tackles. The two Brians at wide receiver stood tall as well, as Robiskie's three-catch, 46-yard effort included two touchdown receptions and Hartline had a career-high seven catches for 95 yards, including a career-best 45-yard reception to set up the field goal before halftime. Quarterback Todd Boeckman was at least solid, with a 17-for-28, 166-yard, two-touchdown performance. Aside from the occasional multi-receiver spread, he ended up executing a very basic offense that only featured one screen pass to Brandon Saine, a seven-yard catch in the second quarter that resulted in a first down.

The Badgers' loss snuffed out any faint hopes of a BCS bowl bid and puts them firmly in the position of hoping for one of the Big Ten bowl slots on January 1. For Ohio State, a resurgent Illinois team awaits next week for the final home game, then the annual clash with archrival Michigan that could conceivably catapult them into the national championship game for a second straight season.