Cotton Bowl Will Reportedly Host First National Title Game in New Playoff Format

The 2013 BCS title game is fast approaching kickoff, while only one year of the BCS era in college football remains. The playoffs will begin in 2014 and host cities for the first year are coming into view. 

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com reported on Jan. 6 that the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl would be the national-semifinalist sites for the first round of playoffs. One day later, ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy reported that the Cotton Bowl would likely host the national-title game. 

When the playoffs were announced, the game-selection committee said that six sites would be considered for the first year. The Cotton Bowl was included in that list. 

This is a sign that the bowl games will not be phased out with the playoff system. That can only be good for college football. It will keep the traditions alive while finally appointing a title winner with a fair selection process. 

The future of the national-title game site is not clear beyond the 2014 season. According to BCS executive director Bill Hancock, bids will be accepted from any major venue that is willing to join the process to become a future host of the game. 

That is similar to the way that the Super Bowl cities are selected. 

While knowing where the game is played is nice, how the teams will get there is still a bit hazy. 

The selection committee has yet to be put together, and the BCS committee doesn’t have much time to get that job done. Whoever is selected to the committee will be monitored closely, as some have said that selections of big-conference commissioners or former players would lead to bias. 

For this to work, it has to be structured like the NCAA tournament selection committee. If college football botches this decision, it will be a bigger mess than if it decided to play the games at Texas high schools. 

All we have right now are sites for games, but just the thought of playoffs has to get your blood pumping. It will be bowl games that mean something, to college football fans' delight.

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