Time for Simple College Football Playoff: Undefeated TCU and Auburn or Oregon

TCU’s Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin gave the Horned Frogs a 13-0 record, while Auburn and Oregon fight it out for the BCS National Championship on Jan. 10.

There will be two undefeated teams, but TCU will not be the BCS national champion.

In 2003, USC was No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches football polls, but the BCS rating system deprived them of a chance to play in the BCS national championship game.  USC was selected as the AP national champion.

A split national championship possibility exists due to the separate AP and BCS championships.

The BCS rating system cannot be trusted to ensure that the No. 1 team is one of the top two rated teams, but it is good enough to get it right for the top four teams. 

Many fans do not like the BCS bowl game system, but save that for another article, and let’s assume that it continues.

A simple playoff system for college football would work like this:

The BCS rating would identify the top four teams. No. 1 would play No. 4 and No. 2 would play No. 3 during the BCS bowl series.  The winners would play two weeks later in the BCS national championship game.

Yes, this adds one game, but it eliminates any controversy over the national championship, because the combination of the BCS rating system and a playoff for the top four teams would ensure a single national champion. 

It is nearly impossible to image a scenario where the AP and BCS national champions would be different with this approach.

Not only would this result in a single football national champion, but it would generate extra income and interest for college football.