FYI, other countries have sports & are pretty passionate about them. Ever been to a soccer game in England?

Just because sports aren’t your cup of tea doesn’t mean that everyone who likes them is stupid. At their best, games are battles of strategy, skill, and athleticism. It’s why the Greeks had the Olympics, and they’re responsible for a lot of discoveries in math & science.

@ KG, Astrofan:
I don’t buy into conspiracy theories, sorry. If Boise State went up against USC or Ohio State, they would lose. You can complain about the good teams not wanting to schedule Boise State or Utah, but if they did, you guys wouldn’t be undefeated anymore. That is a fact.

FWIW I think whatever playoff off system was chosen there would still be more arguments – how many teams 8 or 16? How would they be chosen? Then I think regular season non-league games would be even LESS competitive. Because you certainly wouldn’t want to play a team you might play in the playoffs (because it’s very hard in competitive college football to beat a team twice) Not to mention that you’ve actually eliminated GOOD New Year’s bowl games.

I know I am in the minority (I didn’t even read all the posts to Trent) but I am glad to know I’m not the only one who is OKAY with the current system!!

I have to completely disagree that the system has worked more often than not. This year is a prime example because you have a sizable number of one loss teams that are equally deserving as Oklahoma, and in Texas’ case more so because they won head-to-head on a neutral field. I also argue that Utah deserves a shot being that they are a major conference team that is undefeated. I bring up 2004, when Auburn finished undefeated and got no shot. I also bring up 2001, when Nebraska had no business being anywhere near the title game. The BCS is a complete farce in every way and the ONLY way to settle a championship the right way is via a playoff.

On my site I offer a 16-team playoff proposal that incorporates the current bowl games.

http://reidfischer.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/we-need-playoffs-in-college-football/

Read my above description of D-3’s system (similar to D-2 and 1-AA). Problem solved on both accounts (although your second argument is pretty far-fetched in the first place).

Academically and economically.

Academically it’s unfair for 8 schools to be forced tot ake more time away from academics solely for athletic gain. (you can argue the same for other sports, but they have their tradition and they’ve made it work)

The second is economically… the economics of the NFL.

Not that they have a say in it, but why would the NFL want the best player sin college to have another 2-3 games a year of wear and tear on their bodies before they come to the big leagues. Heck does it potentially hurt the draft standings of the elite teams players because they played those extra highly competitive games?

GO GATORS :)

A few years ago Boise St. beat Oklahoma in a Bowl Game…a guy by the name of Ian Johnson, running back I think, had something to do with…as did a statue of liberty play. It was amazing. I would have thought that they proved themselves as a program and when going undefeated this season, could have gotten in but I am not sure what kind of crowd a Utah/Boise State national championship would bring (although I seem to remember that Boise St. travelled well). Also, no big schools want to play Boise St (especially on the blue turf) so beating a big team in the regular season does’t seem to be an option even if Boise is up for it.

Also, Notre Dame isn’t part of a BCS conference but if they had gone undefeated (I know, they are a few years or more away from that) could they have gotten into the National Championship game? The automatic bids are a crock.

I am glad that my team is in a division where there is a playoff…in fact they are playing this weekend…1-AA baby…oh wait it’s call the “championship subdivision” now. Go JMU!

I don’t have a BCS solution…just adding fuel for the fire.

Trent I usually agree with everything you write, but I have to disagree with you and some of your supporters on this issue. The BCS system is nothign more than a way for the “upper tier” programs to maintain their “dominance” over the lesser have’s. I am an East Carolina Grad and when I was in school we consistently played “upper tier” talent as an independent, much like Notre Dame. We beat U of Miami after our Hurricane Floyd devestated our campus in a game many remember, but most forget that three years earlier we had beat them 31 to 6 at their stadium. We played Syracuse, WVU, Univ of SC, NC State, VT, and other “big name” schools, and our tradition of anywhere-anytime continues to this day. This year while LSU, Ohio State, and Texas were playing D-1AA schools we were having to play top 25 teams week after week just to offset the fact that we are not included in the BCS cartel. But the sad truth is that for winning our non BCS conference we will get less money for facilities and perks than a school like Duke that is traditionally horrible in football but just happens to be in a BCS conference. Over the course of a few years the distance between the have’s and the have not’s will increase exponentially and even schools like ECU, Boise State, Fresno State, and Utah that have shown that they can compete with the “upper crust” BCS teams will have to face facts that the system is not set up fairly and that the status quo is hard at work to maintain itself.

Oh yeah they can strip scholarships. Happens pretty often to guys who “aren’t good enough” They only put out press releases when it’s for a violation. Sometimes they’ll give you a job as a “graduate assistant” as compensation. Here’s a news story from when Spurrier went to South Carolina:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2005-08-04-scholarship-rule-change_x.htm

I only know a couple dozen former D1-A players but their experience was like this. Mr Hot Shot is top dog in his region in high school. He gets recruited heavily. He has two basic options – second or third fiddle at a big school or start as a freshman in a smaller one. He makes his choice, doesn’t really matter. Before he takes a single snap in college – ADs make some sort of lip service about classes and tutoring, but the tutors are handing out the answers and the profs don’t care. Coaches are telling him to live and breathe football. All his buddies, family etc tell him he’s great, a shoe-in for the NFL. Some alumni and “scouts” and “agents” tell him how high he’s gonna get drafted. Now keep in mind, this seems to happen regardless if the guy is a real top-10 prospect or a top-1000 prospect. So he’s already thinking he’s got millions lined up. Who cares about intro to psychology? The player is being lied to by everyone he talks to. No one says, pay attention while you’re here it might be useful, they’re all saying put all your effort into football, that’s all that matters. So yeah, the lucky guys I don’t know get drafted and cash in. Other guys get drafted in the 7th round and get cut from the practice team. Still others figure out they aren’t going to make it and have wasted years of that free scholarship opportunity. Now even if they want to do right they usually give up, how are you going to earn a BBA in one year when you’ve taken Music Appreciation for 6 semesters? I’m not saying these guys are blameless, but to say college football isn’t a problem is crazy.

Also, athletes are guaranteed (I’m not sure if it’s in writing, but I’ve never heard of a coach revoking a scholarship) 4 years at the school. If a kid gets injured, he is kept on scholarship and allowed to finish his/her degree.

So the way it works at the big times schools is that college football acts as a minor league for kids who go to the NFL, and for kids who don’t, they get a college degree that many otherwise would not have had a chance to get. The problem isn’t college football.

What is that reason? Because the Big East and ACC teams are so much better than MWC and WAC teams that their champions deserve automatic bids? Did I read that right that 9-4 Virginia Tech gets an automatic bid but 12-0 Boise State gets left out? I don’t think the “mid-majors” necessarily deserve automatic bids for their champions, but why should anything be automatic? Any given year the voters and computres can judge the strength of the conferences and rank the champions and other good teams accordingly.

Or how about Notre Dame getting a share of the BCS money ($1 million/year) even if they don’t qualify for the BCS?

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/bcs_explained.html

But the BCS is a (monopoly) business and supposedly has the right to do what is best for its bottom line.

How do we know? Who decided the BCS conferences…oh, right the BCS conferences did. What’s the point of having and winning your conference if they don’t matter in the end? It’s certainly not Boise’s fault that the Big 12 or PAC 10 doesn’t invite them in. The contending schools stay far away from Boise State when they look at scheduling out of conference. Let’s book Appalachian State instead.(Oops) It’s ridiculous that the NCAA set standards (these 119 schools are big enough to be 1-A) yet the cool schools decide amongst themselves who is in or out. Fewer eligible schools means bigger slices of the pie. Coaches like Mack Brown know a playoff is trouble, how does a coach making too money with far greater resources explain losing to a MAC school?

I agree it’s ridiculous to pretend like anyone cares about football players as students. If universities cared they would work with the NFL to enforce some sort of “Gotta get a degree” program. You sign up for four years and graduate or don’t come at all. They’d also stop allowing players to major in university studies or other such nonsense. It’s sad too, because in the non money sports, the student athletes are tremendously impressive people that can do amazing athletic things and still find time for grades. Oh and then they go get real jobs instead of ending up screwed because they got injured and cut and don’t have any kind of education (grade inflation starts pretty early for superstars).

@Mitch – Yep, how do they do it :) Those poor players!

Ok, I’m done, I’m done, don’t take my posting privileges away…:( It’s sad I let this get me riled up, my team will never compete for a title.

I am a fan of 2 of the teams up there (not FL or OU), and I think I’m the only one in my group of fan friends who doesn’t hate the BCS. The anti-BCS whining is coming from people who wish their team was in the MNC. I say to that – win your games! Your WHOLE SEASON is the playoff. USC lost to Oregon State, Penn State lost to Iowa, Florida lost to Ole Miss (probably the worst loss of the lot!), Texas , TT, and Oklahoma have their threesome, and Alabama lost to Florida, which is probably the best loss. Many of the losses were to teams that should have been easy to beat.

Boise State and Utah are undefeated, but they’re not BCS so I say get over it. You know that going in. There is a reason, so forget your bias & acknowledge that you’re not playing at the same level as the other teams. Sorry.

OU is in because of media bias. They had giant, blowout wins at the end of the season and got everyone talking. Of course the media gets it wrong – remember how good the SEC was supposed to be? And they’re kind of mediocre this year.

So Trent, I agree with you, although not for the reason you state. It sounds nice, to let the kids go to class, but basketball does it. The bigwigs don’t care about the kids, they care about the money.

…Lisa….a sports fan in Canada who doesn’t really get into college football. I will watch bowl games but I can take it or leave it.

Stoops did play the politics better than Brown and used the media to make his case. Still, when it comes down to it, UT beat both teams in the Big 12 Championship Game. Do I think UT’s case was decisive over OU’s…no. Which is why there should be a playoff. BCS does not do its job.

Consider these examples. Auburn being left out the year USC pummeled OU. Or how about last year when LSU slipped in and several other one loss teams were still available.

Even the lower division…the non money making division has a playoff. It doesn’t seem to hurt those school’s student athletes. You know, the athletes that really are students.

Of course it would help if the teams that were playing for the title were required to play teams from other BCS conferences in all but one (maybe the first game) of their non-conference games.

The BCS selects the two teams with the best resumes, not the two best teams. Sometimes those coincide, as happened a few years back with that awesome Texas-USC matchup. But more often you get one or more teams that might actually be the best left out in the cold. Texas and USC this year (funny enough), Auburn ‘04, Oregon ‘01, Washington and Miami ‘00. The list goes on. And of course, I doubt anyone now believes that Ohio State was one of the two best teams in the country the last two years.

Although I do hope they don’t change the system before Cal makes the Rose Bowl.