Counterpoint: The BSCS

We presented you with a scenario that involves conference champions (well, some of them, anyway) yesterday. Of course, we know there's "no perfect solution," as the BCS sycophants repeatedly tell us

So I go back to the solution I proposed in December 2007, the arrogantly titled Boiled Sports Championship Series.

To recap, I simply proposed that since everyone thinks the rankings are so critical and, as currently constituted, make the regular season so incredible, that's fine -- we'll keep the rankings. The top six in the BCS go into the playoff -- the rest of the schools out there continue to be invited to play in the meaningless bowls they currently play in. Yes, it'll still be fun for a 6-6 team that eeked in (like we all hoped the Boilers would have). No, it won't diminish these bowls.

We'll also provide first-round byes for the number 1 and 2 teams in the playoff -- thus further ensuring that the regular season means every bit as much as it currently does. So here's what you have... the top six in the BCS are as follows:

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Cincinnati
4. TCU
5. Florida
6. Boise State

Yes, Oregon, Ohio State and G-Tech and Iowa miss out. So what? They miss out in the current system, too, and I don't think you can make much of an argument that any of those programs deserve to be in the discussion. They all had their shots at a special season and they all found ways to botch it. The Top 6 did not.

As I said, 'bama and Texas get byes into the semi-finals.

Cinci (3) plays Boise (6) in the Sugar Bowl the weekend of 12/26.

TCU (4) plays Florida (5) in the Fiesta Bowl the weekend of 12/26.

Let's just say for argument that Boise beats Cinci and TCU beats Florida.

The weekend of 1/2/10, Alabama (1) plays (6) Boise State in the Orange Bowl while Texas (2) plays TCU (4) in the Rose Bowl.

And then the following weekend, 1/9/10 (right around when the current national title game is played), the finals occur between the winners of those two semi-final games.

Can you honestly tell me this wouldn't be a better scenario than what we currently have? Is it perfectly fair? Of course not. But who said the goal had to be perfection? I think this would be damn close to "perfection" based on the excitement it would generate.

I tend to agree that 16 teams are far too many. I don't care if BYU (14 in BCS) or West Virginia (16) think they could hang -- it doesn't matter. They aren't close to the top. Nobody would cry about injustice if three-loss teams don't make it.

Yes, I realize this doesn't factor in conference championships -- who cares? Why should that matter? Unless we realign all of college football with 6 or 8 major conferences, there's no way to level the playing field. There are going to be strong conferences and there are going to be weak conferences. So let's just use the rankings system to determine the seeding and then let those guys play it out.

Just take a look at the BCS rankings! This scenario pits the six teams that are clearly the most deserving. Five unbeatens and 1-loss Florida. Everyone after 6 has major flaws on the resume.

Point is, no matter what scenario you like, almost anything is better than the current setup. For those who care about parades and tradition -- why can't those peripheral traditions continue? You rotate who hosts the semi-finals and national title game every year and each bowl remains happy. You're adding 1-2 games to the season for these teams, at most.

It's fun to dream, isn't it? Because that's what this all is -- dreaming.

The Boiled Sports Championship Series

Hey, I have a wild idea -- how about making the Bowl Championship Series an actual, you know, SERIES? I know, I know, this is crazy talk I'm spouting here. But it is called a "series" and it's really anything but. And yes, I know we need to get used to the idea that universities and the old, crotchety men who control the bowl games are not interested in a playoff.... BUT, it's fun to talk about this time of year. And I think one of the main reasons it's fun for me to talk about is that it's just so damn simple and logical to come up with any number of better scenarios to close out the college football season than the way they currently do that it's laughable.

First, the arguments against a playoff or bracket-type tourney need to go away. This argument that the players are in school and all that crap is downright insulting to the rest of us. College basketball players miss tons of school since many of their games are played on weeknights and then nearly all conferences have a conference tourney in early March followed by the famous gigantic nationwide tourney for the rest of March and into April. Yet they all seem to get by.

And let's not forget that college football players travel all season long. And they play spring ball. So to suggest a few more games in late December or early January -- when nearly every single school in the nation is on break -- would hurt these guys academically is disingenuous at best and a giant F you to the fans with working brains at worst.

How about the idea that they shouldn't play so many games since they're only in college and aren't professionals. This is similar to the argument too many OTs are "dangerous." Please. Where was the concern over additional games when D-1 schools were allowed to add a 12th regular season game a few years back? Where's the concern about those conferences that have a conference championship game?

Speaking of which, one of the other idiotic arguments that are always brought up is that you can't ask a school's fans and alumni to travel to multiple playoff games. Why not, exactly? They play 4-6 road games a year and fans travel to those. And the aforementioned conference championships put teams into "playoff" type games far from home already once.... and then you add a bowl game, so you're already asking the fans to travel many times. What's a couple more? Do people really think that Ohio State fans or LSU fans or Oklahoma fans or Michigan fans or USC fans wouldn't travel to multiple playoff games? Really? Of course not... nobody really believes that the fans wouldn't be there. It's idiotic and, again, insulting to suggest that. People go to the effing Music City Bowl; they'll come to playoff games.

So what do I propose? Well, I propose what I've proposed to anyone who will listen for several years now. A small playoff, consisting of the top 6 teams in the country. Feel free to continue to use the BCS formula to determine this listing. And feel free to keep all the crappy bowl games that currently exist. Sure, they won't mean anything but, guess what -- they don't mean anything now, either!

Your top-6 BCS ranked teams are as follows:

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Va Tech
4. Oklahoma
5. Georgia
6. Mizzou

Sure, we've eliminated teams like USC, Kansas, WVU and Hawaii. But you can make easy cases to exclude them just like the cases made to exclude them from the title game: USC lost to a 41-point dog at home, Kansas played the 109th schedule in the nation, WVU just lost to Dave Wannstadt, and Hawaii plays in a joke conference.

Another supposed ill of a playoff is that it would make the regular season not mean as much. I beg to differ. Notice that Michigan is still gone? And USC? And one-loss Kansas? I'd say those teams would find their regular season games just as critical as they do under the current system, wouldn't you agree?

And if you're going to complain that "perfect" Hawaii doesn't get a shot under my system, then you're right. But they get no shot under the current system, either. And let them play four or five tough nonconference games and then their cupcake conference and maybe their strength of schedule will get them into the top 6.

In addition, one more way to make the regular season continue to "matter" and those to keep those top 2 spots just as coveted as they are now, would be to give teams #1 and 2 a bye in the first round of the Boiled Sports Championship Series (BSCS).

First up, for argument's sake, is #3 Va Tech versus #6 Mizzou. And let's just say that's played in the Sugar Bowl. That same weekend is #4 Oklahoma versus #5 Georgia in, for example, the Fiesta Bowl.

Now, even in this college football season where there has been so much upheaval and no clear above-the-cut teams, imagine the possibilities here. First of all, Oklahoma versus UGA would be an awesome matchup that a lot of people would love to see. It'd be like the current BCS Orange Bowl except that, after it's over, the winner would be moving on to another huge game.

So now we've got two winners from the first weekend of the BSCS. Let's say, just for fun, that it's Oklahoma and Mizzou. Well, now we bring OSU and LSU into the fray and continue with highest seed playing lowest seed, and so forth.

The National Semi-Finals would be #1 Ohio State versus #6 Mizzou in the Rose Bowl, while #2 LSU and #4 Oklahoma would tangle in the Fiesta Bowl.

And then what might happen? Could Mizzou's dream season continue and perhaps put them into a National Championship against the one team able to beat them (twice) this year, Oklahoma? Or maybe OSU and LSU would wind up against one another for the title anyway. Who knows?

What we do know is that this would make for an impossible-to-dispute national champ and it would take all of three weekends. Looking at this year's calendar, how about 12/22, 12/29 and 1/5? Or 12/29, 1/5 and 1/12? It's right in the same wheelhouse as the current bowl dates and the most your team would play is three total games, or two more than they're currently playing.

Now, obviously, there are those who would love a system like this to be expanded to two dozen teams or things like that. But I've got no problem with keeping it exclusive. I do agree that one of college football's wonderful things is how critical the regular season games are. Expanding this playoff field much bigger would indeed minimize that importance.

Beyond these six teams, as I said, the other bowls that litter the landscape of college football could very easily continue to be played without upsetting anything or anyone. Those 7-5 teams out there would still love some postseason football and the bowls would love the cash. It's a perfect match.

As for the BCS bowls, you just keep rotating them as to who has the first round, semi-finals, etc., just like they currently rotate the national title game. It's really not that hard. Hell, I was able to come up with this and I think about boobs most of the day.

Your thoughts are welcome in the comments.