What Would Life Be Like Without the BCS?

With so many controversies over the last several years surrounding the infamous Bowl Championship Series, it is time to scrap this system of computers and so-called experts and start over. 

There is no fair way of getting a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup with 120 or so football teams without a playoff. Somebody will always be left out saying, "We were robbed," with the current bowl system in Division I college football. 

Of course, Division I college football cannot and will never figure out how to construct a playoff system like Division I FCS (formerly Division I-AA) currently has.

So, let's go back to the days of split national championships (which still occur anyway), when we never had the notorious No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Let's look back to roughly 1990 or so and apply the old Bowl Alliance to today's quagmire and see what shakes out.

For the purposes of this exercise, the following must be accepted: the Big 12 South will fill in for the old Southwestern Conference, USC will beat UCLA next week, and Oklahoma will beat Missouri.  As for the Alabama/Florida game, it is really not that important, but just to shake things up even more, let's assume Florida wins.

The Automatic Bids

The Orange Bowl accepts the Big 12 Champion (the old Big Eight). In this scenario, Oklahoma gets the nod. The Sugar Bowl accepts the SEC champion (Florida). The Cotton Bowl takes the Big 12 South Champion (Texas, based upon the fact that Texas Tech played two Division I-AA schools).

The Rose Bowl is all set, with USC representing the Pac-10 and Penn State coming from the Big Ten. The Fiesta Bowl gets to pick the best independents left, assuming they can break other conference commitments that exist at this time.

The Matchups

The Rose Bowl will feature USC versus Penn State. Since the Orange Bowl would not be able to get an Oklahoma/Florida matchup if the Gators win the SEC, the next best opponent for the Sooners would be Alabama. Crimson Tide fans will travel to the Miami (they did in 2000). 

Since the next highest ranked team that does not have an automatic bid is Utah, the Utes would head to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl against Florida. While a rematch between Texas Tech and Texas in the Cotton Bowl would be fun, a more intriguing matchup (and better audience) would be Texas vs. Ohio State.

This leaves the Fiesta Bowl (who used to always get good games between independents) with a Texas Tech/Boise State matchup. 

Analysis

For college football fans, there are five great games, all with national championship implications. Of course, Ball State would be left out, but somebody had to be left out.

Who would be the national champion? Things would probably result in a split championship, with the winner of the Sugar, Orange, and Rose Bowls laying partial claim to being No.1. 

However, it would be interesting to see the attendance and TV ratings with five games all involving a potential national championship contender.

More importantly, can the fictitious BCS create any better matchups or a better buzz? 

Remember, these bowl games are the highlight of the college football season.  In the current system, Cincinnati and the Virginia Tech-Boston College winner would need to be included (probably in the Orange Bowl).

Only one of the three mid-major schools (Utah, Boise State, Ball State) is required to be included, and either Texas Tech or Texas would be left out. Is this a fair and accurate portrayal of the top teams in college football? 

Of course not, and it's the seminal example of why the BCS should be scrapped.