As a guy who grew up in the deep South, I naturally enjoy college football. If you don’t, than this post will not interest you. If you do, then perhaps you’ll permit me a minute to ramble…
* The BCS is dumb – so my plan calls for an 8 team playoff (open to 16).
* The only sure entry is to win your conference championship. After the 6 major conferences, the last two spots will be decided by play-in games between champions of lesser conferences (Wac vs MWC and MAC vs Con. USA, just an example). It seems silly to me that, theoretically, a team could win the national championship but not its own conference. This will ensure that conference play is meaningful.
* Every conference should have a championship game – right now those that don’t (like the PAC10 have an unfair advantage in reaching the big bowls). You must have 12 schools to have one… so the PAC 10 adds Fresno St. and Nevada (or Utah or Boise St – doesn’t matter to me) and the Big 10 adds Notre Dame. If Notre Dame doesn’t want to join a conference they don’t have to, but they might not be invited to the playoffs. I’m sick and tired of the free ride these guys get just because they’re Notre Dame.
* You can incorporate the 4 major BCS bowls into the playoffs – 2 semifinals, a 3rd place game, and the championship game on a rotating basis. All the other bowls can remain for teams outside the playoffs, so you won’t lose the traditional bowl season. (Of course, an event called the “Meineke Car Care Bowl” or the “MPC Computer Bowl” sure doesn’t scream tradition…)
* BTW – Notre Dame will get invited to a BCS bowl this year (over 10-1 Oregon among others) having won 3 games against teams with winning records – two of which are 6-5 BYU and 7-4 Navy (Michigan is the other). They’re going because they’re Notre Dame, not because they deserve it.
* Reggie Bush will win the Heisman trophy, and deservedly so. Every time he touches the ball you wonder if he will score a TD. But Texas will beat USC.