Let me start by saying that I’m a college football purist. I’m a big fan of the bowls and what they mean to the history of the game. But, with the season we just enjoyed, why does it have to end with a thud?
The BCS is the biggest Ohio State fan in the country, because if the Buckeyes beat LSU, then the system “worked.” But, whether Ohio State wins or not, fans are being cheated out of what could be the most exciting spectacle in American sports. That’s a real national champion decided on the field and not in a voting booth.
As I said, I am a college football purist. So, here’s my proposal of how to make everyone happy and still get a true national champion at the end of the year. Let’s go back to the system of conference tie-ins to the four major bowls, like we used to have, with a twist.
Put the tie-ins as follows:
Orange Bowl: ACC vs. at large;
Rose Bowl: PAC-10 vs. Big 10
Sugar: SEC vs. at large
Fiesta: Big 12 vs. Big East
If your two at-large teams were the highest-ranked teams in the final BCS standings, your matchups this year would have looked this way:
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech (11-2) vs. Georgia (10-2).
Rose Bowl: USC (10-2) vs. Ohio State (11-1).
Sugar: LSU (11-2) vs. Missouri (11-2).
Fiesta: Oklahoma (11-2) vs. West Virginia (10-2).
Before we hear the crying of Kansas, Hawaii and Arizona State, let’s just admit that unless we do a 65-team field like they do in basketball, somebody will be upset at the end of every season.
But, with that said, what we’ve done here is go back to the way it used to be. I’ll promise you the Rose Bowl would be happy about this system. We would go back to the way it was with the first goal for each school to make it to their big game. Play the four major bowl games on New Year’s Day, not one every night until we run out of games for FOX to show.
Since it’s already been established that playing games until Jan. 7, like tomorrow night, is not a problem, let’s take the four highest-ranked teams after the major bowls are played, and have a college football Final Four. I’m not going to predict who would win each of the four major bowl games, but I will say that a college football Final Four would be potentially be worth more money than any other sporting event in the the country.
In this system you’d have 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 on Jan. 8 and the Championship game a week later. With any system, there are problems involved. First, travel for schools with only a week to prepare, second, tickets for schools with only a week to prepare.
My response to that concern: it doesn’t seem to be a problem for teams in the NCAA basketball tournament. Nobody knows where they’re going until the brackets are released Sunday evening, and they’re turn around time is four days and not a week.
There are a thousand ideas out there about how to do a system in college football that would decide a true national champion. My system makes everyone happy. Purists get their bowl system with traditional tie-ins, keeping in tact the history of the game.
Today’s fan gets what he/she wants, a true national champion at the end of the season. The NCAA gets what it wants, a pot at the end of the rainbow. Could someone please tell me why this can’t happen?
I love college football and I’ve loved watching this season. But, I hate that after tomorrow night, you could have four or five schools that have a legitimate claim to the national championship.
Mark Packer hosts the Locker Room, presented by Parkwest Medical Center, on Sunday at 10 p.m. on MyVLT2.
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Comments » 38
douglasawilliams#582863 writes:
I like the idea. This would get the major bowls back to their natural tie-ins. However, to be fair to fans of those lucky final four teams the highest seed would play a home game just like they do in the NFL and in division 2-3. Even the championship game should be a high seed home game. This will ensure fans will travel to bowl games and still have a chance to be there if their team advances into the final four. Imagine a championship game at Neeland stadium in mid-January. Let those kids play in the cold the way football should be played. Why should only Miami, Los Angeles, Pheonix or New Orleans host a championship game? And one other wrinkle let 5 bowls be considered for the final four say the Citrus Bowl. So out of 10 teams pick four and everyone could live with this system. Then teams like USC or Georgia could still be in the hunt for a true national champion. It isn't perfect but no system is. Maybe this year the Rose Bowl would have hosted OSU vs USC and not Illinois.
mtnvol writes:
The only problem I see with this is the tickets. In BB, each school gets only a small handful of tickets, as most go to the supporters ($) in the city hosting the games. Thompson-Boling is on the large side of venues able to host a weekend, and there are only 20,000 seats. Besides, its easier to sell 1,000 tix to fans than 30,000.
bubbanator21 writes:
Scrap the whole thing. Start a 16 team playoff like every other division in college football. Have the higher seed host each game, so you don't have half empty stadiums like most bowls. Make Notre Dame join the Big 10, oddly enough giving them 12 teams and a conference championship game. No one other than ND purist care about 'tradition'. Start the week after the conference championships and end by early January. If you not in the top 16, you have no claim to the National Title anyway. Does anyone honestly care that some team is the Rose Bowl or Orange Bowl Champion? No, they just want the win and the money.
murrayvol writes:
"Agreed." "Amen." "I like the idea." "The only problem I see with this is the tickets."
If only it were so easy! The Big 10 (11 and praying for Notre Dame) and Pac 10 hold the keys to this car and they ain't givin' em up boys. The Granddaddy of all bowl games has the BCS cake baked just the way they like it and have no interest in playing second fiddle to the Final Four of college football. At least not in my lifetime.
I will say they might have flinched just a bit while USC was nuking Illinois last Tuesday.
WYLOVER writes:
something needs to be done. UGA and USC need to be shown as frauds. We need to know how good Missou and Kansas are.....and how good would be to see how well WVU could do with that run attach...awesome to watch.
anything (including scraping the whole system) is better than what we have now.
VOLinDAWGland writes:
Packer's suggestion is the best one I've seen that balances the old bowl system with the advantages of a more legit championship decision. Given the money and influence of the bowls, I doubt they're going away anytime soon so better figure out how to work with/around them. I hate the current BCS system, would just as soon go back to the bad old days where everyone debated/argued about who the NC should be after all the traditional bowl tie-ins were played. BCS is what happens when a problem is solved by a committee.
Volalumnus writes:
The only part I didn't like was the statement to take the highest 4 ranked after the bowls.
I wouldn't want to see one of the losers of the bowls get to move to the next round.
Keep it simple - the 4 winners only.
eefor10c writes:
You would think that the Rose Bowl would be interested in getting the best possible game rather than a second fiddle team from either the PAC 10 or the Big 11. They got exactly what they deserved this year, a big blow out when they could have had USC vs UGA.
volnmdtn writes:
Mr. Packer , you have the right idea. I would like to see it expanded to 16 teams but any type of playoff would be better than what we have now.
reg_mza#219136 writes:
So are we saying have a college football season as long as the NFL, no bye weeks, and extend it almost a couple of weeks short of the Super Bowl?
And another thing, since it's obvious that big businesses sponsor these bowl games, just how in the world is someone going to convince these big businesses that advertise their butts off with these bowl games that they should give all that up for the love of the game?
I'm all for a play off system similar to D I-AA or DII or DIII, but feasibly who's going to placate the powers that be that put up millions for all of this? Until that one is answer, the BCS will most likely stay.
Homermoosevols writes:
I think you make each big conference have a championship game and then you reward the winner of each championship game. That would force Notre Dame to join the Big 10. After you have 4 conference winners you seed them according to their rank in the polls. Then you have two at-large bids for the weaker conference i.e. MAC, Sun Belt, WAC, etc. You base these two seeds depending upon AP rank. The 2 byes would go to the highest ranked teams. Then you could have bowl games and a playoff system. Just my opinion but if you don't win your conference championship you shouldn't be playing for a national championship. Period.
Homermoosevols writes:
It wouldn't be 4 conference winners...sorry..I forgot to add the Big East and ACC.
mfoust#321524 writes:
Three straight weeks of travel for fans is way too much. You're going to have empty seats those first two weeks, because fans are simply going to hope their teams makes it to the championship and sit it out until then.
How many people on this board have the money -- and time off work -- to go to, say, New Orleans, Pasadena and then Miami on three straight weekends?
Comparing this to basketball is nuts. For the NCAA tournament, you have 6-8 teams filling a 20,000 seat arena. In this format, you have two teams from out of town trying to fill a 70,000 to 100,000 seat stadium.
And you think local fans will buy the tickets? For $150 each? Few have that kind of money.
For a playoff to work, you have to have 4 teams and no more than two weeks. Keeps the bowls and let's have a four-team playoff.
CoverOrange writes:
Biggest problem I see with Packer's scenario is that it still involves the polls. There was a sports editorial in today's Dayton Daily talking about how chess players get ranked by competing against players of their level. Winning over a lesser opponent gives no credit while costing severly if they lose (basically, SoS). Ohio St would be ranked lower for playing a what amounts to only 9 games (courtesy of their state legislature). For any playoff to be valid, the polls have to be fixed.
Homermoosevols writes:
WD40 you live in Dayton?
tnbuco#393180 writes:
Forget the bowls, they are only holding everything back! Tradition? The Viagra bowl isn't too far away and that's real traditional. There is already something called the Flomax award for the conference with the best bowl record so tradition went out a long time ago when colleges and bowls started selling their souls for cash.
With that in mind let's just go to a 16 team playoff. Division I can be paired back to 96 team split into 8 12-team conferences. Take the top two teams from each conference and you have a playoff. Will some teams get left out because of the conference they are in? Probably but the NFL does it every year and it hasn't seemed to kill the Suprebowl yet.
If you want to keep the bowls then you can save them for all of the teams that didn't make the playoffs. The Orange Bowl looked like it had alot of empty seats the other day so I don't think that tradition is being served by the BCS anyway.
CoverOrange writes:
Moose, Dayton Oh, yes.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
You have got to get there before you can get too excited about the BCS.
stroker writes:
marc_ash on January 5, 2008 at 4:33 p.m You posted "Nobody in college sports cares one bit about getting the best game accept the fans and the teams themselves." .# 1 true, so? # 2 "accept"
is that a typo or did you go to Alabama?
FatherVol writes:
And if participation is limited to just six conference champions you can bet that there will be litigation from the other conference represented in D1 (or whatever it is called now) football.
stroker writes:
We had 32 bowl games with 32 winners. 32 teams with happy players coaches and fans. There will be one more game for the NC and the winner's players coaches and fans will be elated. Many others will talk until next season how their team was better.No such comparison in any other sport.
In division 2 only ASU is a winner and nobody cares but them. Why reduce the Bowl division to such a depressing enviroment?
CoverOrange writes:
You're right stroker, let's cancel the Super Bowl cuz no one cares but fans in Boston and Dallas. In fact, let's cancel all the games so that all the discussions can be theoretical and never proven on the field and we will all be happy.
invisiblekid writes:
Ditto to what MurrayVol said. I like Packer's idea and had talked with 99gator about something similar on here awhile back but it just isn't going to happen until some of the big boys at the networks start losing money on these games. Once the money starts drying up, then the tradition the Rose Bowl holds so dear be damned.
budd#207344 writes:
Once again we get another media type in favor of a playoff. So we can become just like the pros and have two or three mail-it-in games. As opposed to a regular season that matters. Where you have to win every game and play a competitive schedule (ask Auburn) to get to the big game. The only time the pros are decent is right now in the playoffs. Great exciting meaningful games. Just like every week in the college season. Please give this phooey up and leave the only game with a meaningful regular season alone.
tnbuco#393180 writes:
Please don't trot out the "Every week is a playoff" line ever again. LSU lost their playoff game twice and still lucked into the BCS Champ game!
byobbio writes:
I have to side with budd on this one. It just gets on my last nerve every time one of these ESPN types just won't let it go about the playoff. these are the same people that lobbied to get Woodson the heisman and their doing the same with the playoff. i noticed they've backed off a little this year, but that is what they are doing. I think any playoff system in D1 is ridiculous. You can't put 65 teams in. You can't get a decent playoff with 12 or 8 teams without getting somebody mad that they didn't get it. There is no equal conference system like the NFL so there is no fair playoff scenario. It's all pipe dreams by a bunch of people who don't know anything about college football. Quit comparing it to the NFL, baseball, basketball and NASCAR. You can't print enough tickets in August for the games and there's a big reason for that. Keep your playoffs in sports that aren't exciting enough to begin with.
OUT
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
No way;
Use the basketball system of playoffs, with byes and seeding. I'd think the number of teams could be in the 20's to begin with. Lesser bowls can pick up teams that lose in round 1, or teams that don't make it at all.
The larger bowls could host the round of 8, and have the NC rotate beween the big bowls on a bid basis.
There are obviously details to work out.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Playoff positives (20 teams of more)
-a little less pressure on coaches in that they can have 3 or even 4 losses and be in the NC picture; this helps coaches from really tough conferences
-player development; coaches will get more players involved to build depth
-teams that don't have easy recurting pipelines can still have a chance for the NC, as they will have an entire season to get strong
-teams who improve over the course of a season will be able to compete for a NC (there where several years when the vols were maybe the best in the country at season end, but had a loss or 2 early to knock them out)
-mid-majors and 'cinderellas' get a chance to prove it on the field
-regular season counts much for seeding and/or bye
stroker writes:
tnbuco if every week is not a playoff what happened to UGA and SC and the Ducks etc?
budd#207344 writes:
a little less pressure on coaches in that they can have 3 or even 4 losses and be in the NC picture; this helps coaches from really tough conferences
This is exactly what I have been saying. And the fan will be expected to pay to see games that nobody is really worried about winning cause we are already in the playoffs. And why should I worry about the p[ressure on somebody who make $2M a year. He's paid for pressure
And yes every week is a playoff because the other teams lost theirs too. They use it in a lot of NCAA playoffs, its called double elimination
tnbuco#393180 writes:
UGA got beat by an unranked, bowless oppenent (S. Carolina) same for USC (Stanford) and Oregon's season collapsed when thier QB went down. If you want to take it s step further why wasn't Kansas in the mix with only one loss?
The system is set up to give the chosen ones (big name schools from the BCS conferences) multiple oppurtunities to get into the Championship but unknowns (Kansas) are on a one and down scenario.
Kansas bested a team tha LSU beat handidly. UGA lost handidly to a team that LSU beat barely. How does UGA get to be above Kansas?
Fans in the NFL pay all the time to see the lesser games!
Come to think of it so do college basketball fans every November and December.
ibvolman writes:
Tickets really shouldn't be a problem at all. Just know the seating of each stadium, and do the print your own online ticket like so many other events are going to. Allot a site for each school, and let them sell x# of tickets. Other tickets can be sold by the same system to the general public.
DadwasaVol writes:
Amazing that there is no major college football national championship.
tnvol737 writes:
I see several problems with this system. 1. Injuries. Requiring multiple games after already playing 12 regular season games plus the SEC Championship (13 total)would kill any SEC team's chances. Unlike the other conferences, the SEC is brutal and extra games would create a problem. 2. Kids. These are college age kids who have to worry about school (academics) and going to visit with their families for the holidays. Additionally, this would extend the season past New Years (you cant play more than one game in one week). 3. Fans. This would require fans to travel to multiple venues through-out the country more than once. Think how expensive this could get! Also, think about the deminished crowds. 4. Bowls. What happens to all the other bowls. I personally like having lots of games to watch this time of year (was I the only one who watched Tulsa last night?).
I am not a fan of our current system, but I do not think a play-off is the answer.
adimatteo#261830 writes:
why this obsession with a playoff, we have 119 teams, 12 games, we cant play double elimination tournament like baseball, we cant do a basketball tournament, etc. Enjoy the basketball, etc.
We have already made college football less exciting, heck, unless its a BCS bowl its nothing anymore, such ashame. Lets get it as sterile as the pros.
Any system will still have the same arguments, given a 12 game schedule, all the confreneces, which confrerences are good one year, etc.
keep the bowls, the parades, the excitement, a playoff will prove nothing, except to strip college football of a little more fun, and excitement...
I recall when we loved to watch the pagentry, get excited our team was at abowl, and yes, sometimes continue to argue who was better, now the obsessionwith a"#1" means everything...
byobbio writes:
I agree with adimatteo. College football is as exciting as it gets and any playoff will ruin it. Let's face it, college basketball is great, but there are so many empty seats throughout the season that it must not matter until SEC play. That's ridiculous. Who cares if they are 13-1 or whatever. They haven't beaten anybody, but they are guaranteed to be in the tournaments, unless they loose out. Keep football the way it is. Packer, shut up and stick to high school football.
OUT
fishportion writes:
What if you made it truly like a final four and played both semifinal games on the same day back to back splitting the tix between the four teams..then the winners would play the next weekend and the two teams would split the tix(with the big corporate types)
adimatteo#261830 writes:
and lets stop students from painting themselves, bringing in signs, and loud cheering.
Its college, its 119 teams, no one will ever agree with such limited games.
My point is that when schools and kids are disappointed that they are going to a New Years Day Bowl because its not the NC game, thats ashame, and thats what we have become.
Each sport is different, enjoy what it is,I refuse to accept that any system will stop the arguing, thus in the end we gain nothing but lose the bowls, excitement, etc.
feathersax writes:
Packer thinks he's a college football "purist"? I want to eliminate the BCS, go back to ten teams in the SEC. This playoff talk bores me to tears. When the so-called sports journalists begin to rant about it in print & the other media, I light my cigar & turn elsewhere. Kinda like when I read all these negative Vols vent their spleens. Hey...I feel better now. Back to work.
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