The Fight for the BCS: Why the System Works

Everywhere on this website, and anywhere else for that matter, all you read about is how the BCS needs to be taken out and replaced by a playoff. 

I disagree, and here is why.

The BCS is said to have started in 1998 between Tennessee and Florida State, but it was truly started in 1992 under the name the Bowl Coalition. Ever since that year it has been constantly expanding and adapting to the ever changing game of college football. 

Probably the largest complaint with the BCS is the lack of love for the small teams (Utah, Boise State, BYU, TCU, etc.), but what people don't realize is that the BCS is working to adjust to this influx of very talented small schools.  

It's not the BCS's fault that all of a sudden these small schools started getting better. In 1998 Appalachian State would never beat Michigan, Utah would never beat Alabama, and Boise State would never beat Oklahoma. 

These upsets didn't truly start until 2004, with Utah leading the way.

Now the BCS is starting to adjust, even setting up guidelines on how to let a conference become a BCS conference. 

Without the BCS determining the national champion, we would lose several important aspects of college football. 

The first thing gone would be the bowl system. 

The bowls do more than just provide the best month of the football year. If you are selected for a bowl, then you receive a payout, and if you win, then you receive a bigger payout.

I assume that most fans do enjoy their very nice stadiums and million-dollar coaches. Without the bowl system, these things cannot be afforded. 

With money paid out from a bowl appearance, colleges can not only make their athletic facilities nicer, but also their academic ones. 

The last major reason for the BCS is the regular season. There isn't a more exciting regular season in the world.

The NFL plays 16 games and has a playoff, and the regular season means nothing. The Giants and the Titans both lost in the first round last year, and most years the top teams don't even play their starters the last couple of games.

College football is different. Every game is important. Whether it's the first game or last game, every team knows that one loss could take them out of the national championship race. There is nothing more exciting. 

Ohio State versus USC would be way less exciting if we all knew that they would play again in the playoffs, and Alabama versus VA Tech would be the same way.

Now, before you once again cry foul at the BCS, just think of the world without it. If nothing else, give it credit where credit is due.  

The system works. If you just look with your own eyes instead of through the media's, then you will see that it does work.