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I’m trying to understand what makes the braintrust of college football world go round. Well, at least the bowl season. Does anyone think this needs to be fixed or organized a little better? I just went through the 2008 BCS bowls (I LOVE college football), watching a bunch of massacres. Even the “national championship” was a blow out. I mean, congrats to LSU. You won. We can debate this all day, but when it comes down to it, Division 1 football (what are they calling it now- Championship sub-division?) has a paper champion. Every other sport in every NCAA division, has a tournament, even women’s water polo! Why is it that there is such resistance to a national tournament?  Finish it on the field.

We’ve had 32 bowl games this year. Thirty-two!! 64 teams playing that extra game. And some of these teams go 1 1/2 months between their final game and their bowl game and show up razor sharp (sarcasm alert). On top of that, AD’s and coaches are scheduling an extra game (12, instead of 11) on their fall tilt just to hope to be bowl eligible - 6 wins, at least 5 of them against the conference formally known at D-1. This year, you had 6 teams play in bowl games that were 6-6 (Cal, ‘Bama, Maryland, Colorado, Nevada & UCLA). Is that considered a successful season? Sure, you end up playing in the Petrosun Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA (they should have just called it the Tidyflush Toilet Bowl), but when is enough, enough? Is it more money? Television dollars? Ticket sales?  Alumni support?

Getting back to my original thought… What’s wrong with a playoff? I heard the UGA President suggested an 8-game playoff. With the four major bowls serving as the 1st round. I think its a fantastic idea. Schools still get their money for appearing the bowl, and at most 2 teams will play one extra game and two teams will pay two extra games. I don’t understand why any college team, especially one that wants to call and claim themselves as national champion, wouldn’t want to do that. Competitors, right? Athletes, right? I say erase the doubt and settle it on the field. Don’t leave it up to writers and pre-season polls to determine who’s in and who’s out. The sad part about this suggestion, is that it barely caused a ripple. The “N-C-two-A” didn’t even give it enough credence to create a committee to discuss the possibility. Or at least reject it with come type of common sense. They just said no. The same way I did when I was 6 and I didn’t want to eat my green beans. I’d love to sit in on a meeting with the NCAA and just hear the reasons behind not having a playoff. We have to remember that these are the same people that thought to bring in the 64/65 game for the basketball tourney. I wonder how many man-hours went into that decision process. Is that one extra game, extra team really necessary? Did they think this was going to be innovative and shake up the world of basketball? Ok, ok, so you give one more team hope, a shot, you’re in the dance. Want to be labeled as the last team in? As if 64 teams aren’t enough. The 64/65 game kind of reminds me two male black widow spiders. They fight and fight to win. The winner then gets to mate with the female. There’s a little joy, hopefully some satisfaction, then he gets his head ripped off. End of story. Lamb to the slaughter.

So come on, NCAA, lets get this one right. Bring on the playoff. Satisfy the masses. Who loses in this scenario? No one. Who wins in the current scenario? The players, schools and alumni. Could you imagine if basketball had “bowl games”, and the top two teams were selected to play in the national championship? If you use the basketball model, how many times has the number 1 or number 2 won the whole thing? That’s right. Its not a given. Settle it on the field. Just like every other sport, game and event is done. Welcome to the 21st century.