TCU, Boise State in the BCS Title Game? Project System Shock Is On

With both TCU and Boise State scoring big opening weekend wins over ranked major conference opponents, the possibility is open for yet another postseason matchup between TCU and Boise State, this time at the BCS title game.

While there is a lot of football to be played between now and January, there is real chance for the success of Project System Shock. 

And what is Project System Shock?

It is based upon the understanding that there will never be a FBS college football playoff until the BCS title game has not one, but two teams from non-Automatic Qualifying conferences (or one non-AQ team and a Big East school).

Until the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10, and Big 12 realize that the "little boys" of college football could steal their candy and eat it, too.

The BCS conferences know they would make more money with a college football playoff than with the current BCS and bowl system.

BCS conferences fear losing control of the college football world, so that outsiders such as Boise State could start getting a larger portion of the overall revenue and 5-star recruits.

They also fear that a playoff system would weaken the regular season and reduce the value of the conference TV contracts.

Little do the leaders of the BCS realize that they would make it much harder for non-AQ schools with a playoff than the current BCS system.

With a 16-team playoff, the most likely scenario would call for home games for the first round, followed by seven games at neutral locations (bowl sites or NFL stadiums). 

A first-round home game would result in a huge payout for the home teams.  Imagine what Ohio State fans would pay for a first-round playoff game.  The one game alone would likely profit home teams more than a BCS game.

TCU Coach Gary Patterson is on the record as opposing a playoff because it would become a whole lot harder for non-AQ schools to get into a national title game.  He believes that the BCS conferences would game the system to make it near impossible for TCU and similarly situated schools.

And he is right.  It would be much harder for Boise State and TCU if they had to go to Austin for a first-round game, followed by a trip to the Georgia Dome to face Miami, followed by a trip to the Sugar Bowl to face Alabama, just to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl to face Ohio State in the title game.

Ultimately, despite that, most fans would support a playoff just so that college football would finally have a champion, rather than the winner of a beauty contest that we have today.

Every team would actually start the season with a real chance at making the title game, rather than the handful that have a chance to make the BCS title game this season.

Ratings would be even higher.  Fan interest would increase. Money would increase.  And we would finally have a real national champion.

And the only way that we will ever get a playoff is if two outsider teams crash the system and force a change.  And Boise State and TCU would be perfect weapons to destroy the current system.

Now, if a Boise State and TCU BCS title game destroys the BCS and results in a return to the pre-1992 system, that would still be a good result.

For those too young to remember, New Year's Day was once the greatest day in sports, with four or five meaningful bowl games which would decide the mythical national title. 

After watching football all day long, fans across the nation would have a pretty clear understanding of which team deserved the title of national champion.

Sure, it was an imperfect system, but it was better than today's system.  Not as good as a playoff, but at least New Year's Day would be meaningful once again.

So, playoff fans and old school fans, unite!  Jump on the TCU and Boise State bandwagons and hope that the Frogs and Broncos meet for the third consecutive postseason. 

This time, the game could change the college football world forever.