College Football Playoffs: The Solution is Worse

Okay, that B.C.S. thing is dead.  What did those initials stand for anyways?  Officially, Bowl Championship Series. Unofficially, Beyond Completely Stupid. There was this computer rating system involved, but it took a member of Mensa to begin to figure it out. The system attempted to pit the best two college football teams against one another in a single championship game.  But, more often than not, no one really knew who those two teams were for sure. Chaos and gnashing of teeth ensued.

So, now, we’re going to have a four team playoff system.  Yippee ki yay. Guess what? This new plan will solve absolutely nothing. Chaos will still reign and teeth will still be gnashed.

Watching this process of trying to remedy the old B.C.S. problem and replacing it with the new four team playoff reminds me of negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union over nuclear weapons limitations during the 70s and 80s.  Those talks concerned the famous S.A.L.T. (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) treaties.  It boiled down to, after years of hot air around a big table, the two sides agreed to limit their respective abilities to blow each other up to about 2,000 times over instead of 5,000 times over.  Those numbers are not exact (nor anywhere close actually) but you get the idea.

Here’s the point, now that some all knowing committee is going to select the four “best” college football teams, instead of the “two” best, the possibility of everything  blowing up is still prevalent.   Despite all the lengthy deliberations and negotiations, nothing has actually changed. In fact, it’s worse.

Now, I hold a simple broadcast journalism degree from a public university in Athens, Ga. Mathematics is not my strong suit.  But, good ol’ Southern common sense tell me, this new plan means even more disgruntled college football programs will claim to be among the “top four”.  This system widens the “pissed off and indignant” pool substantially.

They should left the whole thing alone years ago.  To me, there was nothing wrong with the A.P. Poll, and the Coaches Poll, to crown a national champion.  The bowl games still made sense.  And when it was said and done there was only one football program left kicking the proverbial dog.  Now, oh boy, we’ll never hear the last from Boise St. fans. Not to mention whatever team finishes fourth in the S.E.C.