BCS=Bowl Championship Scam: Here's a Real Playoff

When the final seconds ticked off the clock at last year's Sugar Bowl, it was official: The BCS was a scam.

The Utah Utes had just demolished the Alabama Crimson Tide and were still undefeated. They had nobody left to play and were left scratching their heads. So was America.

It came as no surprise this year that once again at least one team will wind up undefeated without an opportunity to play for a National Championship. Last year it was Utah; this year it will be either TCU or Boise St.

Is there a better way to do this? Is there a way to make this fair?

Actually, there is. And ironically, it's really quite simple.

There are, believe it or not, only 11 conferences in Division I football. So why not reward each conference champion a spot in a 16-team tournament? I can already hear the "so-called" power conferences gnashing their teeth at me. Well, get over it.

The NCAA basketball tournament is the greatest tournament on earth for one reason: It allows all conference winners a title shot, and football should be the same. Simply win your conference and you're in. Now, of course there will be great teams in better conferences who deserve to be in as well, but don't worry, they will be.

With 11 conference winners in the field of 16 you then simply add the five highest ranked teams that were not conference winners into the tourney. Of course good "bubble" teams are going to be left out, but so what, they are in the NCAA basketball tournament as well.

And to be honest, come on! Are we really going to argue about whether or not the 12th or 13th ranked team gets in? Are we really? What chance does the third ranked team have now? None.

What's great about this is that no undefeated team gets left out of the tournament. And if you play in the power conferences you most likely just have to be ranked in the top 12 to get in.

Once you have your 16 teams selected, seed them accordingly, just like the NCAA selection committee does for basketball.

It's the only fair way to do it. Who cares if the Troys, Central Michigans, and East Carolinas get in? They won their conference; they earned it.

It will make for some incredible drama when a team like Central Michigan every now and again takes down a school like Alabama or Texas. That's actually what we love about the NCAA basketball tournament—the Cinderellas. It's the Gonzagas, the Valparaisos, the George Washingtons that make the tournament what it is.

So without further fanfare, here is the 2009 NCAA college football tournament the way it should be. Of course, I played the role of selection and seeding committee. The higher seeds will host the first round and then the rest of the tournament will take place at neutral stadiums across America. It will be the greatest month of December America has ever had.

No. 1 SEC Champion Alabama vs. No. 16 Sun Belt Champion Troy

No. 8 Big Ten Champion Ohio St. vs. No. 9 ACC Champion Georgia Tech

No. 5 WAC Champion Boise St. vs. No. 12 (at large bid) LSU

No. 4 Big East Champion Cincinnati vs. No. 13 (at large bid) BYU

No. 6 (at large bid) Florida vs. No. 11 (at large bid) Penn St

No. 3 Mountain West Champion TCU vs. No. 14 Conference USA Champion East Carolina

No. 7 Pac-10 Champion Oregon vs. No. 10 (at large bid) Iowa

No. 2 Big 12 Champion Texas vs. No. 15 MAC Champion Central Michigan

Are you the least bit interested in this tournament? I am. Would you like to see Florida host Penn St. in the swamp in the first round? I do. How about TCU and Texas square off in the final four? I would.

After seeing what this tournament looks like on paper, it's hard to imagine the American football fan is still settling for the same old crap. After all, it is we who pay for the current BCS scam. We are the ones filling up the stadiums for the meaningless bowl games.

If we are ever to have anything remotely close to the above tournament it will have to be the fans who ultimately make it happen. If we ever want our National Champion decided on the field we have to boycott the current BCS system.

Until then, the BCS will pay universities millions to shut their mouths and our National Champion will continue to be fraudulent, decided by Dr. Pepper, Tostitos, and all of the other corporations looking to profit off our love of college football.