| The Proposed Marriage of the BCS and a Playoff Format | |
By Alex Giles
Date: November 19, 2002
Every year about this time in College Football, the BCS nay-sayers attempt to articulate all of the reasons why the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), a system instituted prior to the 1998 season, is inadequate, unfair, or just plain ridiculous.
Heading into November, the BCS rankings featured eight undefeated teams that were positioning themselves for an appearance in the National Championship game. At that time, many observers felt this would surely be the season where public outrage would finally bring an end to the BCS...at least in its current format. Now, three weeks later, after several truly unexpected upsets, all appears to be fine again in the world of the BCS...right? We have only two undefeated teams, Miami and Ohio State, and they are ranked #1 and #2, respectively, in the most recent BCS ranking. Presumably, this sets the stage for a true National Championship game between the top two teams in the country, exactly what the BCS is expected to produce. Or does it?
Some will argue that Ohio State clearly isn't one of the top two teams in the country, despite its #2 ranking in the BCS - only .01 points behind first-place Miami. Some will even go so far as to say that Ohio State may not even be the best team in its own conference, siding with 11-1 Iowa instead. Even if you do believe that Miami and Ohio State are truly the two best teams in the country, in order for the BCS to escape serious scrutiny this season Miami and Ohio State will have to win the remainder of their games - Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech for Miami, and Michigan for Ohio State.
However, what happens if either Miami or Ohio State lose one of those games? Worse yet, what happens if both Miami and Ohio State suffer a loss before the end of the season? The simple answer is that College Football and the BCS would be right back where they were three weeks ago...prime for revamping... More
Part 1 - BCS Inadequate
Part 2 - Revamping the BCS
Part 3 - The Solution
Part 4 - Conclusion
