How To Turn It Into a True Bowl Championship Series

You’ve probably seen literally hundreds of college football playoff ideas. But you have not yet seen a proposal that makes you say, “Wow!”

First, I should bring to the forefront a couple of assumptions that I believe are paramount to any playoff proposal’s chance to survive the rounds with critics, skeptics, university presidents, and fans.

Assumption #1: The playoffs must embrace the bowl system, not reject it. Most playoff proponents error in creating a playoff versus BCS dichotomy. However, the BCS, with a few but significant additions and modifications, already provides the vehicle for a college football playoff system. The idea is to actually build on the BCS foundation…to truly make it a Bowl Championship Series, not just in name, but in detail.

Assumption #2: The playoff system must not only salvage the excitement and importance of the regular season, it must enhance the regular season. Many argue that a playoff system would destroy the regular season. If done incorrectly, a playoff could devalue the regular season. However, if correctly instituted, a playoff could make more regular season games meaningful and thus add to the already exciting games from September through late November and early December.

Assumption #3: A “BCS” conference should not inherently have built-in mechanisms to give that conference’s teams advantages over other teams. The BCS rankings systems (including two levels of pollsters and unbiased computer systems) are the integral qualifier for the BCS playoff participants, not stuffy suits and dollar signs.

So, here goes: 

Participants

Use the current BCS formula to rank teams. Any conference champion (from whatever conference) ranked in the BCS top-20 receives an automatic invitation. At most, this would give you 11 participants; however, in most years this number is likely between six and eight automatically qualifying participants. These automatic qualifiers are in the playoffs simply by the fact that they won a conference championship on the field and finished in the BCS top-20.

The 12-team playoff field is then completed by a Selection Committee similar to NCAA Basketball. The Selection Committee selects the remaining “at large” teams participants by using predetermined criteria. The “at large” participants must meet certain qualifications. To qualify as an “at large” candidate, a team must have:

1)      at least nine wins;

2)      ranked in BCS top-25

* Limitations. The selection committee cannot allow more than 2 teams from any one conference to compete in the playoff. (This is essential to ensure the importance and quality of regular season games). 

First Round: December

With the 12-team playoff participants selected through the automatic qualification process and the selection committee, the BCS is now ready to establish the initial playoff match-ups. 

The four conference champions with the highest BCS ranking are given a first-round bye. They earn an automatic bid to one of the four BCS bowl games on New Year’s Day. 

The remaining eight playoff participants play in four First Round games sometime in December. These games must be played before Christmas (at least one week before New Year’s Day) and at least one week after the final game of the regular season. Likely, these games will be held sometime the week before Christmas, after students have taken final exams. 

The First Round games are hosted by the next four highest BCS-ranked conference champions. (If there are fewer than four conference champions left in the field, then the highest BCS ranked non-champion(s) host the games). The match-ups are then based on BCS rankings, as close to No. 5 v. No. 12, No. 6 v. No. 11, No. 7 v. No. 10, and No. 8 v. No. 9, as possible. It is essential to have these First Round games hosted at the next four highest ranked conference champions for at least two reasons: 

1)  It places a premium on winning your conference and raises the stakes for the regular season;

2)  It would be difficult for fans to travel to multiple locations to follow their team during the playoffs, especially during the holiday season. It will be much easier to fill stadiums if conference champions host home games. 

* Limitations. The selection/match-up committee cannot allow teams from the same conference to play each other during the First Round. Match-ups can be adjusted to ensure that same conference match-ups are avoided. (ie, we don't want to see Iowa at Ohio State during the first round...rather, Iowa would go on the road to Oregon and Ohio State would host Virginia Tech. This is important to ensure national interest in the playoff). 

The winners advance to the New Year’s Day BCS Bowls to face the already automatically qualifying top-4 conference champions.

The losers advance to two pre-determined post-New Year’s Day BCS Bowls (facing each other). This is important because (1) the participants remain part of the BCS in showcase consolation match-ups and (2) it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the four losers to align themselves last minute with other bowl alternatives.

BCS Bowls

New Year’s Day

The four highest-ranked conference champions host the four First Round winners in the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowls. As closely as possible, the selection committee aligns the remaining eight teams in No.1 v. No.8, No.2 v. No.7, No.3 v. No.6, No.4 v. No.5-type match-ups, with regard to traditional bowl tie-ins (SEC=Sugar, Big XII=Fiesta, ACC=Orange, PAC 10 and Big Ten=Rose).

For purposes of ranking the remaining eight teams for the match-ups, the selection committee treats the four highest-ranked conference champions as No.1 through No.4. Thus, if any non-champion team is actually ranked in the BCS top-four, the highest they could be ranked for purposes of the BCS bowl match-ups is No.5. Again, this places a premium on winning a conference championship during the regular season.

BCS Consolation Bowls

Showcase match-ups of the four First Round runners-up. Likely the Cotton Bowl and one other prestigious bowl host these games. Avoidance of same-conference match-ups and geography are the main considerations for these games. 

Final Four

The starkest addition to the BCS system is that the four winners of the BCS bowl games advance to a semi-final round. These two games are played at least one week after New Year’s Day (probably on the first Friday or Saturday at least one week after New Year’s) at pre-determined site(s), likely hosted at one of the four (or five or six) BCS bowl sites. There are two alternatives:

1)  The two semi-final games are held at different sites;

2)  The two semi-final games are held at the same site (as in the NCAA Basketball Final      Four).

Games held on back-to-back nights or as a day-and-night double header.

This system would not be a burden on any one team’s fan-base as many attendants of these games will likely be major college football fans in general, regardless of which teams are playing. (Like NCAA Basketball’s Final Four) 

National Championship Game

This game is played at least one week after the Final Four round (probably on the first Friday or Saturday at least one week after the Final Four round) at a pre-determined site, likely hosted at one of the four (or five or six) BCS Bowl sites. 

December 6, 2009 Example

To illustrate how this BCS playoff system will work, here’s a look of what it would likely look like this year, based on the season's final BCS rankings: 

Automatic qualifiers(conference champions in BCS top-15)

(1) Alabama (SEC)

(2) Texas (Big XII)

(3) Cincinnati (Big East)

(4) TCU (Mountain West)

(6) Boise State (WAC)

(7) Oregon (PAC 10)

(8) Ohio St. (Big Ten)

(9) Georgia Tech(ACC)

At Large Selections (at least nine wins, BCS top 25 [based simply on BCS rankings for illustration purposes])

(5) Florida

(10) Iowa

(11) Virginia Tech

(14) BYU

Automatic Bye (top-4 conference champions, auto advance to New Year’s Bowls)

(1) Alabama

(2) Texas

(3) Cincinnati

(4) TCU

First Round (December 18-19)

(14) BYU at (6) Boise State

(10) Iowa at (7) Oregon

(11) Virginia Tech at (8) Ohio State

(5) Florida at (9) Georgia Tech

* Note that standard match-up procedures would have paired No. 10 Iowa at No. 8 Ohio State. To avoid this same-conference match-up, No. 10 Iowa plays at No. 7 Oregon and No. 11 Virginia Tech plays at No. 8 Ohio State. 

Winners (based on ranking): (6) Boise State, (7) Oregon, (8) Ohio State, (5) Florida

New Year’s Day BCS Bowls

Sugar Bowl: (1) Alabama v. (8) Ohio State

Rose Bowl: (2) Texas v. (7) Oregon

Orange Bowl: (3) Cincinnati v. (6) Boise State

Fiesta Bowl: (4) TCU v. (5) Florida

Consolation Bowls:

Cotton Bowl: (10) Iowa v. (14) BYU

Capital One Bowl: (11) Virginia Tech v. (9) Georgia Tech

Final Four

BCS Bowl Site:

Semi #1: (1) Alabama v. (4) TCU

Semi #2: (2) Texas v. (3) Cincinnati

National Championship Game

BCS Bowl Site: (1) Alabama v. (2) Texas

Winner? To be determined. Result? AMAZING!