I’m not in the mood to lambaste the logic or fairness of the BCS. That’s a tiring endeavor and ultimately pointless. It ain’t going anywhere anytime soon due to large sums of money, under the table deals, compromising photos involving cattle and Notre Dame.
What I’d rather do is put on my magic pretend hat and conjure a… wait for it… gulp… playoff scenario. Whew! Much to my surprise, I was not struck by lightning or shot dead by an assassin’s bullet. Since I’m still among the living (for now), I’ll get to my, ahem, playoff scenario.
It features the top 8 teams according to the last AP Poll. Apologies to Georgia Tech and Iowa, but you lose out. My plan only has room for eight teams. Better luck next year.
I took the liberty to whip up a quick and very basic eight-team bracket:
| 1 Alabama vs.
8 Ohio State |
| 3 TCU vs.
6 Boise State |
| 2 Texas vs.
7 Oregon |
| 4 Cincinnati vs.
5 Florida |
Simple, yet plausible. The traditional Bowl games can be used for the quarterfinal round. Each pair of teams will square off in the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta to keep the sponsors, athletic directors, university chancellors, bankers, bookies and mobsters happy. Two games on January 1st and two on January 2nd sounds about right.
Then you have an NCAA Football Final Four. Pick a host city (Vegas) and you’re all set. Two additional weeks to decide a true on the field champion is all that’s needed.
Any conflict with the NFL playoffs is an easy fix. Wild Card Weekend is January 9th and 10th. No problem. Play the Final Four either on Friday the 8th or Monday the 11th. College basketball and MLB air tournament and playoff games on weekdays and nights. In fact, three of the five BCS games are played during the week.
The National Championship game can be scheduled for Monday the 18th. Case closed.
Think of the possibilities with these eight teams. Alabama might have to beat Ohio State, TCU and either Texas or Cincinnati to win it all, or engage in a rematch with Florida. We could see a Lone Star State tussle between TCU and Texas. What about a 65-61 Oregon/Boise State finale?
High drama decided on the field. Crazy, I know, but I’m certain the bean counters can devise a way to cull some cash from a college football Final Four. Line up a couple fat cat corporations to foot the bill and overcharge FOX or ESPN to pay for the exclusive broadcast rights. It’s really not that difficult to swing.
Is that a helicopter circling my house? Oh know, they found me. Goodbye cruel world. Parting is such –
(sound of gunshot)
Scott Tunstall is the Lead Blogger for Inside the Iggles. You can follow him on Twitter.
