BCS Buzz...

I'm tired of all the poor ideas for a BCS replacement; An eight team playoff.  A four team playoff.  A plus one idea. They're are all stupid.

I am not a god.  I am not saying that I have all the answers, or the best idea, but I do think my idea is better. I love college football and hate the BCS, so if you’re like me then read on.

I have spent the off-season devising a plan to replace the BCS. I tried to start at the heart of the college post season.

The BCS committee seems to have a problem with making significant changes in the post season and understandably so. So in order for my idea to fly it must be relatively the same. My proposition is this:

Dear BCS,

I feel like we haven't gotten off on the right foot. So let’s cut to the real issue.

I don't like how you are not cooperating with congress and I am sure that they don't like it either, so shut up, put down the Starbucks, lock the cherry oak door to your office and unplug your desk phone.

1) I propose two, sixteen-team playoffs. One of the playoffs is entitled the "Championship Series.”

The other playoff is entitled the "Secondary Series.” Now if the NCAA were to adopt my idea, they can call the two playoffs whatever they in their infinite power would like.

2) The Championship series includes the eleven conference champions (does not include the 1-A Independents conference) and five at-large bid teams. The five at-large teams are selected by an NCAA committee, similar to the selection of today's at-large teams into BCS Bowls. To appease the BCS committee, we will not destroy the computers they use, instead we will use the BCS system to seed the teams in each playoff.

The sixteen teams in the "Championship Series" will be seeded as such. Of the 16 teams selected, the highest ranked participating team in the BCS Rankings would be the #1 seed and the second highest ranked participating team in the BCS Rankings would be the #2 seed and so on and so on.

3) The second playoff, "The Secondary Series", would be filled in slightly differently. I propose that this series in composed of the teams that finished second in their conference, however, this only applies to the six BCS conferences.

This would also depend on if any of the six teams that finished second in their conference were able to get into the "Championship Series.” Supposing that six second place teams entered the "Secondary Series” the other ten teams would be issued in according to the BCS.

The next ten unused teams that are ranked in the BCS would join these six to form the "Secondary Series.” If one team that finished second in their conference made it into the "Championship Series" then 11 "unused" teams that are ranked in the BCS would be entered in the "Secondary Series" and so on and so on.

Here is a taste of what this past years "Championship Series" first round matchups would have been.

1) Oklahoma                                                                                 1) Florida

8)Buffalo                                                                                      8) Troy

4) Texas Tech                                                                              4) Penn State

5) Ohio State                                                                               5) Boise State

3) USC                                                                                        3) Utah

6) Cincinnati                                                                                6) TCU

2) Texas                                                                                     2) Alabama      

7) East Carolina                                                                            7) Virgina Tech


4) One main concern of the doing away with the current BCS system is that a playoff would last too long into January. With this system both playoffs would be going on simultaneously, which would be great for TV, and to win the championship for both series would mean that the winning team must win four games.

The current break between the conference championship games and the BCS National Championship game is six weeks. It would be extremely easy to play four games in six weeks with a guaranteed bye week before the National Championship game. The time frame for the post season would not last longer and would be filled with 30 football games in six weeks!

5) Another concern the BCS has with doing away with the current BCS system would be losing the current media, advertising and fan aspect of the popular bowl games. However, I propose that 30 of the 33 current Bowl Games are stilled played.

Each year the bowls will be assigned to certain games in certain rounds according to the popularity and financial draw of the Bowl Game. Only three Bowl games would need to be eliminated and I believe the three should be: The New Mexico Bowl, The Eagle Bank Army Bowl (Army must participate) and the Texas Bowl (Navy must participate). I have now included the former diagram with the Bowl Games now associated with them.

The "Championship Series" would include the following bowl games: Citi BCS National Championship Game, FedEX Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, All State Sugar Bowl, AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, Capital One Bowl, Outback Bowl, Chick-fil-a Bowl, the Music City Bowl and others.

The owners and sponsors of the Bowl games should have no problem with the new style of selecting the teams that play in these games, because it is a guarantee that two good teams will be playing.

This style should actual provide for more money to be made at the games. Take the Insight Bowl for example, which is played in the 57,000 seat Arizona Stadium and has never eclipsed the 50,000 mark for a Bowl Game because Indiana, Rutgers, Colorado, New Mexico and Baylor don't bring the big crowds.

The largest attendance record for the game was 49,103 by Kansas and Minnesota last year. See the difference in attendance when 2 higher profile teams are playing in the game? Imagine if the Insight Bowl was a first round game for Texas Tech and Ohio State last year?

6) The negatives are defended. The best thing about my new idea is the building anticipation through December and January, as well as the new chance to fill out more brackets!

The fact that 32 teams will get to participate in a fair and accurate way to determine the TRUE National Champion is music to my ears. The fact that 60 college football games with the weight of a national championship will be played in six weeks is the anticipation and post season excitement that the sport needs and wants so badly.

Sincerely,
John Hamilton

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