Solution To BCS Problem

Once again, the BCS -- and more importantly the way the champion of college football is decided -- is mired in controversy. Who should play Ohio State? Michigan or Florida? There really is no winner in all of this. What college football fans like myself want to see is a playoff. That is the one true way to decide the champion -- just like college football does at the Division 1-AA, 2, and 3 levels. This would be a rather simple solution. Take the top eight teams (yes, there would be controversy on this as well but controversy over who is eighth and who is ninth is better to deal with than figuring out the top two) regardless of conference or region. For 2006 that might look like this: 1. Ohio State 2. Florida 3. Michigan 4. Louisiana State 5. Southern California 6. Wisconsin 7. Louisville 8. Boise State. To all you Texas, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame fans that feel slighted ... tough. Next we will take all four of the major bowl games -- Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange -- and add to them the Cotton, Gator, and Capital One Bowls. This way, the tradition of the Bowl Games is not lost. The Cotton, Gator, and Capital One Bowls would permanently serve as hosts for the quarterfinal games, rotating so that they will all get the 1 vs. 8 matchup every three years (while hosting the 2 vs. 7 and 3 vs. 6 games the other two years) while one of the "Big 4" would get the 4 vs. 5 quarterfinal every four years (the year after hosting the National Championship Game). This would be the 2006 Bowl Schedule under this plan: Quarterfinals: Gator Bowl: 1. Ohio State vs. 8. Boise State Rose Bowl: 4. Louisiana State vs. 5. Southern California Cotton Bowl: 3. Michigan vs. 6. Wisconsin Capital One Bowl: 2. Florida vs. 7. Louisville Semifinals: Fiesta Bowl: 1/8 Winner vs. 4/5 Winner Orange Bowl: 2/7 Winner vs. 3/6 Winner CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Sugar Bowl: Fiesta Bowl Winner vs. Orange Bowl Winner There are flaws in this plan I'm sure but it is so much better than what we currently have that it is like comparing the payrolls of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to that of the Red Sox or Yankees. It makes too much sense to not have this sort of playoff to determine a true college football National Champion.