I'm here to help. After much thought, after sifting through hundreds of e-mail suggestions over the years and after being struck by a bolt of lightning this playoff revelation came to me ...
1. If you can accept the concept of two national champions each season then read on. That's what this playoff proposal is based on.
This looks like a good place to start. No I can not accept two national champions. What the hell does the word champion even mean to you? Right now the NCAA can't figure out a way to crown one true champion but you want them to try and tackle two. Genius.
In my BIG (Bald, Idiot, Goofball) playoff, the first national champion is named after the regular season, just like the old days. This season that would mean Florida already would have a trophy based on the AP poll. It doesn't have to be AP, it can be coaches, Harris, heck, any one of them. The point is, in the BIG playoff there is a regular-season champion and a playoff champion, not unlike baseball which has pennant winners and a world champion.
Ok so you propose naming a national champion with polls. What poll? Even this week the AP poll has Florida at #1 but the USA today poll has OU. How can you decide which poll is king? Is that not the problem with the BCS. Play the games. Decide a champion. Why does college football insist on not playing the games. I mean heck why don't we just take the pre-season poll and just give them the championship cause well the polls said they were the best. And do you watch baseball. This system is nothing like a pennant. You have to work your way through the playoffs in order to win one of those puppies. The pennant does not mean "regular season champion"
I know what you're thinking. What's Dodd been smoking? Hang with me. There have been a handful of split national champions through history. No one was hurt. Why not make it possible every year?
What's the downside of doubling the number of teams that can claim national titles?
Think of the offseason arguments. Think of the banners that would be hung. In my playoff, this probably means the end of the conference championship games, but we'll leave that up to the leagues themselves. That's all details. The structure is now in place.
Ya no one was hurt but split championships suck. Everyone likes to think the one that they won is the title. And the downside with having two national titles is that we won't have a true champion. Thats the problem with todays system. Not that we have too many... that we don't have one. But ya lets have two. That makes sense. The NCAA should focus on naming one true champion, not dance around the issue. And think of the off season arguments? I hate the off season arguments. Sure it gives people like me and you something to "write" about but I would trade that all for a true playoff. That will give me plenty to argue about.
Still reading? Good. Here's the next bombshell.
Let the Rose Bowl go off on its own.
Any discussion of a playoff is a non-starter with the Pac-10, Big Ten and The Granddaddy. Without getting into all the reasons and picking at all the old sores just realize that this 21-school, one-bowl alliance is extremely loyal to the Tournament of Roses Parade.
So let 'em go off on their own. We're going to have our own playoff. It's possible, if you've already determined a regular-season champion. That way the Big Ten and Pac-10 are competing for a national championship and get to keep their traditional postseason home. The only way this doesn't work is if the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions are ranked 1-2 in the polls. A 1-vs.-2 game might devalue an eight-team playoff but we'll take our chances. A 1-vs.-2 Rose Bowl has happened twice in the more than century-long history of the game.
If you're cool with letting the Rose go out on its own, let's get to the meat of the issue.
For real? You propse a system where two of the strongest conferences in the country are left out of the race. So teams like USC, Ohio State, Penn State, Cal don't get a shot at the second title? I'm sure they will be OK with that. The Rose Bowl officials will love this one. Make their game even less important.
Bracket your playoff.
We're using this Sunday's final BCS standings. We have to remove No. 5 USC and No. 8 Penn State because they have chosen not to participate. Fair enough. That means the eight-team playoff includes teams 1-4, 6-7 and 9-10 in the BCS. Good news for Utah and Boise State. They're both in.
This playoff folds in all the major bowls in three weekends in January.
Just one question. How can the winner of this "playoff" call themselves a champion? They wouldn't even have to deal with the #5 or #8 team in the country. If USC was #1 and Penn State #3 and Ohio State #7 (all possible) how can the winner of your "playoff" call themselves a champion without playing the best teams in the country.
He continues with some logistical nonsense about his "playoff." I won't go on because even Dodd can't mess up copy and pasting dates and names of BCS bowls. I really wonder if this guy even watches college football. Although I do love articles like this for two reasons:
1) It gives me something to do instead of my homework
2) It gives me hope because if this guy is getting paid to write.. anyone can f-ing do it
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