BCS v. Playoff System—Which One is Better?

Ok ok...the 2007 College football season is now officially over.

LET THE DEBATE BEGIN!!!! (again)

Which system is better, the BCS or a playoff system?

I wrote an earlier article about this very same topic back in November called "Bowl Championship Mistake Why College Football Needs Playoffs"

In my last article, I used the idea of March Madness and how it is something that most every sports fan can get into and enjoy.

However, in this article, I move away from March Madness and into the debate that will rage until either the BCS has been completely made over to favor more teams or until a playoff system becomes the new Road to the Championship.

Let's look at why the BCS has been successful or at least somewhat successful:

-The BCS has provided fairly good television as far as match-ups are concerned.

-Majority of the time, the BCS chooses 1 of the 2 teams in the National Championship Game correctly.

-The BCS National Champion is automatically recognized as the Champion no matter what the AP poll or USAToday poll says.

Now for the bad:

-Too many one-loss and no-loss teams can cause a complete meltdown as to who belongs.

-There have been only 3 true national title games (Texas vs. USC (2005), Ohio State vs. Miami (2002) and Florida State vs. Virginia Tech (1999)) in the 10 year history of the BCS.

-Since 2000, Ohio State, USC, LSU, Oklahoma, and Miami have all played multiple National Title games. Not good for a football division composed of 117 teams. And yes I do realize that these teams are national football powers.

-The BCS has snubbed undefeated teams out of the National Championship game due to "Strength of Schedule" while allowing teams to sneak into the National Title game that got there by luck (see: Nebraska, 2001; Ohio State 2007; Florida 2006)


Those are just some of the reasons being thrown around for the BCS, both good and bad. Onward to the Playoff System!!!

Before, we jump off into why the playoff system is the best option or why it just wastes the nation's time, let me give you a background.

Anyone who attends a Division I-FCS school (like myself) or a school lower than Division I, understands that their team's path to the National Championship does not lie within a jumble of information that flows through a computer.

The path to the Championship, however, is by qualifying, either by winning your conference or by at-large bid.

No computers and no human polls select the Top 2 to play in just one game for the National Championship. Each team in the playoff system knows that you must win 4 more games to be crowned National Champion.

Here are some of the reasons why a playoff system would be good for the FBS teams:

-First and foremost, a playoff system will crown a true National Champion and will silence most every critic.

-A playoff system would not force the season to extend into the next year, which gives athletes time off from their respective colleges and allows them to relax and rest any injuries before Spring Training.

-Playoff games can be played at host schools or at neutral sites.

-There is the possibility of a Cinderella team (which is why March Madness is so popular)

-The 11 D-I FBS Conference Champions are automatic bids into the bracket with 5 possible at-large bids (similar to FCS playoff system).

-Gives the little guy recruiting power (MAC, Conference USA, WAC, Mountain West).

Ok, now here are a few of the reasons why a playoff system would be bad for FBS:

-The Independent colleges must have affiliation with a FBS conference.

-There will be no Rose, Cotton, Fiesta, Gator, etc. Bowl games.

-Colleges may complain about Finals weeks which would occur around the Quarter and Semi-Final games.

-Top 25 Rankings are only relevant to those seeking at-large bids

-101 college teams will not play a post-season game.



Now, I know I might have missed some on the good and bad of the BCS and the Playoff System but these are just some of the more talked about reasons that I have heard from people in this great nation of ours.

If left up to me, I would immediately dump the BCS and institute the Playoff System only because I know it works but that is just me. The only tragedy would be to get rid of the prestigous bowl games that we have all grown up with.

I have written this article not to tick people off but to let you, the readers, decide for yourselves which system seems best.