The BCS is ruining college football.

[Cali Coug]

I am sick of this. The BCS has ruined the regular season of college football, at least as much as they possibly could. They have destroyed non-conference games, to the point where the actual college football season largely begins in week 4 or week 5 (there are a handful of upsets which are fun, and maybe 1 or 2 good matchups non-conference in the first 5 weeks, but that is about it).

Take a look at the top 25. Who have those teams played non-conference? Who has the best non-conference win in the top 25? Off the top of my head, it is likely OU v TCU. I believe only 5 teams in the top 25 have a non-conference loss (again, because they don't play good non-conference teams, not due to the greatness of the top 25). Those teams are TCU (OU), tOSU (USC), Michigan State (Cal), Oregon (Boise State), and UConn (North Carolina). The Pac 10, coincidentally, has been involved in 3 of those games, largely because the Pac 10 is about the only major conference to still play big non-conference games (something I think they regret this year and may not repeat in the future).

The BCS does not reward big non-conference games. It encourages a risk-averse strategy, ala Hawaii, which teams, including BYU, are buying into. The SEC has always had that strategy, as has the Big 10, by and large. It has spread to everyone else (to a lesser extent with the Pac 10).

Who is the best non-conference win against for the Big 12? Likely OU v TCU. Colorado beat WVU, but that isn't great. Missouri beat Illinois (also not real impressive anymore). That's about it.

Who is the SEC's best win non-conference? Georgia over ASU? Florida v Miami? South Carolina v NC State? Alabama v Clemson? That's it. None of those are impressive.

How about the Big 10? Michigan State v ND? PSU v Oregon State? Wisconsin v Fresno State? That's it. Seriously.

The Big East? Definitely South Florida v Kansas. WVU beat Auburn (decent, not great). Uconn beat UVA and Baylor (neither are great wins). Louisville v Kansas State (not great at all).

The ACC? They have done better than the others above. It is likely Maryland v Cal. Then you have VT v Nebraska, or Florida State v Colorado? North Carolina v ND? Georgia Tech v Mississippi State? Wake v Mississippi? Some decent wins, and all around far superior to the others listed.

And then there is the Pac 10: USC v Ohio State, USC v Virginia, Cal v Michigan State, Oregon v Purdue, UCLA v Tennessee. USC v Ohio State is good, the others are ok, not great.

There are very few great matchups anymore non-conference. It is a real shame.

Weeks 1-5 are almost exclusively [BCS team] v [directional very bad school]. The voters have already decided who is good and which conferences are great before the season begins.

I hate the BCS.

Give me a 16 team playoff. The first round is at the higher seeded team's stadium. The second round could be a continuation of the seeds with teams going to bowl games to play, or the seeds could be ignored for the 2nd round and the bowls could pick their best matchups, with bowls picking in a predetermined order. Then the final 4 play it out in 2 prestigious bowls, with the title game to follow. The top 16 teams could even be determined by a BCS-type formula. Rather than just SOS being a factor, they could separately factor in non-conference SOS to encourage risk taking.

Rather than feeling like a season is a bust for another top 15 finish (and maybe a reward of the Armed Forces Bowl), I could hold open hope for a slot in the top 16 and a chance at a magical run (however unlikely). Biggest and best event of the year!

[il Padrino Ute]

I'm with you, Cali.

I despise the BCS because all it does is crowns a fake champion. Far too many teams are eliminated from their little party for the reason of geography. If your team isn't located in one of the top tv markets, it will never get a shot.

I like the 16 team playoff idea. 11 conference champions and 5 at large bids. The playoffs could start the 3rd weekend of December and the championship game would be played right around New Years Day. That would be no different than it is now, so college presidents couldn't play the idiotic "it takes the athletes away from school for too long" argument.

The BCS sucks. It sucked in '04 and if the Utes get in this year, it will still suck.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

I like the 16 team playoff idea. 11 conference champions and 5 at large bids.

you guys would still complain. It would be the same exclusionary system with a different name, because there's no way they'd let all 11 conferences in.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

you guys would still complain. It would be the same exclusionary system with a different name.

As it is now, the non-BCS teams have to meet the requirements set by the BCS. A playoff with all conference teams gives all an equal chance. Nothing to complain about if that was the case.

The only reason I could think that not all 11 conference champs would get in is because the sissy boys of the BCS would not like it.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

you guys would still complain. It would be the same exclusionary system with a different name, because there's no way they'd let all 11 conferences in.

I wouldn't even do 11 conference champions. I would just take the top 16 from a certain poll (even the BCS poll) and would have them play it out. It would be great to watch. I would weight non-conference SOS separately to encourage people to schedule up in the regular season rather than down. Let's make the entire season actually relevant again. Eliminate the conference championship game and perhaps even eliminate 1 non-conference game if you have to in order to have a 16 team playoff.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

As it is now, the non-BCS teams have to meet the requirements set by the BCS. A playoff with all conference teams gives all an equal chance. Nothing to complain about if that was the case.

The only reason I could think that not all 11 conference champs would get in is because the sissy boys of the BCS would not like it.

If a team can't make it into the top 16 of the rankings, I don't think they should be playing for a chance at the title. The top 16 would be perfect. Take a year like this where the Big 12 has at least 4 teams who are legitimate top 10, even top 5, teams. The SEC has at least 2. Why exclude them due to conference affiliation? If you win, you can be in the top 16. Look at BYU, Utah, TCU, Tulsa, BSU, Ball State, Hawaii (last year), etc.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

I wouldn't even do 11 conference champions. I would just take the top 16 from a certain poll (even the BCS poll) and would have them play it out.

Then you'd have all the same big-name teams in every year, but at least they'd be playing each other.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

If a team can't make it into the top 16 of the rankings, I don't think they should be playing for a chance at the title. The top 16 would be perfect.

The voters would skew the rankings to exclude the teams they didn't want in.

[TripletDaddy]

I think they should do a 16 team playoff, with SC getting an auto bid every year. That is what America wants.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

Then you'd have all the same big-name teams in every year, but at least they'd be playing each other.

Sure, but you would have non-BCS teams too (which is why 16 is critical instead of 8 which would exclude non-BCS teams in general).

Right now, Round 1 would look like this:

1. Texas v Ball State
2. Alabama v FSU
3. PSU v Missouri
4. OU v TCU
5. USC v tOSU
6. Georgia v Boise State
7. Texas Tech v Utah
8. Florida v Oklahoma State

There would be some fantastic games in that group. Missouri would beat PSU, I think. Georgia v Boise State would be a fun rematch of last year's game (with a closer score, I think). Utah v Texas Tech would be lots of fun, and OSU v Florida would be sensational. Texas, Alabama, OU and USC likely win.

Then you could play Round 2 in the bowls (round 1 was played at the home field of the higher seeded team). It could look like this:

Texas v Oklahoma State
Alabama v Texas Tech
Missouri v Georgia
OU v USC

Or you could let the bowls pick for their favorite matchups.

I will point out, that in this scenario, I think it is very likely that the Final 4 could have 3 teams, maybe even all 4, from the Big 12 (Georgia and USC having the best chance to advance, I think). Under the BCS system, only 2 of those teams can be in a BCS bowl, and they wouldn't ever play each other, even if they are both the actual best 2 teams in the nation.