BCS Rankings: 9 Better Ways to Determine a Champion Than the BCS

This just in...the BCS is still ridiculous.

Given the unique situation the 2011 season offers, the blurry outcome of this year may be the best argument for why the BCS needs to go in the 13-year history of many people’s least favorite college football institution.

Even if you are partial to the illogical “showcase of college football,” it’s hard to deny that it is, at minimum, partially inequitable, unjust, confusing, tainted and underwritten in such a way that the money clearly flows in the direction its founders intended.

So, if a grassroots campaign or gridiron coup was successful and the BCS was overthrown, what next?

Yes, what would our “Articles of Confederation” and then “Constitution” be if we, the football people of the united conferences of America, declared our independence from the BCS and then successfully won the war that would surely ensue?

The following slideshow pinpoints nine better ways to determine the national champion than the current BCS scheme.

The first two slides lay the groundwork for what would be key to leveling the playing field before scrapping the BCS completely (really, they would be welcome changes even if the BCS was still in place), and then the ideas start flowing.

The next question is when do we meet in Boston to throw BCS tickets off a ship in the harbor, and then when should we book Faneuil Hall in Philadelphia to conduct our first “True Champion Convention?”

Split the FBS into Two Divisions

The first issue to address in regards to either scrapping the BCS or reforming it is that of the “haves” and “have-nots” in college football.

Yes, we’re talking about the BCS AQ teams and the non-BCS AQ teams—a situation where everyone is supposedly equal, but in reality...not so much.

The fairest way to handle the question of “automatic qualifiers” is to eliminate the concept completely.

This means splitting the FBS into two subdivisions, one that consists of conferences competing for a FBS national title (the current BCS teams, now known as the FBS teams) and the second that is made of conferences competing for a FBS-II title(the current non-BCS teams, now referred to as the FBS-II programs).

Even if the BCS is made null and void, teams from the MAC, Sun Belt, C-USA, WAC and MWC don’t have any realistic hope of making a national title game, so why not give them their own title to win?

Yes, it sounds complicated and fraught, but in reality any other option is unfair in a free football society. Think about it—what are these teams playing for?

Another compelling component of this plan would be to move high-performing FCS teams up into the FBS-II ranks.

Initiate Conference Uniformity

The other glaringly inconsistent aspect of the current scheme in college football is that the BCS conferences do not face one another on a level playing field.

This inequality can be found in areas such as scheduling and the presence or lack of a conference championship; both issues lead to concerns of “strength of schedule” factors.

To address these very real issues (without having a computer sort it out), it would be prudent to set basic standards for the conferences to comply with.

A few suggestions:

1. Each upper-level conference must hold a conference championship; not doing so creates an inherent advantage for teams who don’t have a title game to play against a top-ranked foe.

2.  Teams at the new level (the BCS teams in the revamped FBS) cannot schedule games against FCS opponents, ever.

3. Teams may schedule one non-conference game with a program from the FBS-II ranks (former non-AQ teams), but other than that all other games must be played against other teams from the same level (BCS AQ teams only).

4. Independent teams are now extinct; everyone must join a conference for the sake of equality. Basically, individual independence is sacrificed for independence from the BCS.

16-Team Playoff

And now, on to the actual solutions, with a 16-team playoff first up on the block.

Before proceeding, it’s important to note that in the playoff scenarios, we are assuming the survival of six BCS-AQ conferences at the highest level (the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and Pac-12 or a variation thereof).

In the 16-team format, each of the remaining BCS-AQ conferences that now make up the FBS send two representatives to the playoff; the first is the conference champion (again, decided by a game), and the second is the team with the next-best record in the conference.

The remaining four slots would go to the teams who (regardless of conference home) have the next best overall record (thereby assuring that conferences having strong years aren’t penalized).

The teams are seeded in a bracket based on record with conference champions playing “second” conference teams in Round 1 (strongest seeded against weakest).

The current bowl system is utilized to populate the 15 games necessary to carry out the plan, with the other 20 bowl games kept to involve the teams not in the playoffs or totally scrapped to emphasize a “true” postseason.

If this plan (or one that involved even more teams) was accepted, then it would make sense to consider shortening the regular season by one game to account for the season extension in terms of the calendar days utilized and increased postseason playing time.

If this scheme were put in place, here is a very rough outline of Round 1 matchups based on today’s standings.

Left Bracket

LSU vs. Kansas State

Clemson vs. West Virginia

Stanford vs. Georgia

Oklahoma vs. Penn State

Right Bracket

Oklahoma State vs. Wisconsin

Alabama vs. Cincinnati

Oregon vs. Arkansas

Virginia Tech vs. Michigan State

Eight-Team Playoff

For those who argue that a full-blown four-week, 16-team playoff is over the top, an eight-team scheme may fit the bill for blowing off the BCS and declaring a “real” champion.

In the eight-team plan, each of the six FBS conferences (again, assuming the split) sends its league champion, and then the two best No. 2 teams are included in the bracket (“best” determined by record with a suitable number of clear tiebreakers).

The bracket is seeded in the same format as the 16-team scenario—strongest vs. weakest—and again, the current top bowls could be used as venues for the seven-game playoff.

Using this approach, the rough draft of the Round 1 matchups would be as follows (based on today’s standings).

Left Bracket

LSU vs. Stanford

Clemson vs. Cincinnati

Right Bracket

Oklahoma State vs. Michigan State

Oregon vs. Alabama

Final Four

For the minimalist who wants the least impact on scheduling and extra playing time (meaning an increase in possible injuries), a simple “final four” format may be best.

In this scheme the four “best” conference champions (as determined by record and then established tiebreakers) make the mini-playoff and square off for the big enchilada.

This plan would obviously leave out two conference titleholders and a slew of secondary teams who would be relegated to bowls with money but no meaning.

The very simplified Final Four plan would look as follows based on current standings:

LSU vs. Clemson

Oklahoma State vs. Oregon

Scrap All Computers...Back to the Future

For the lover of the “good old days of yore” why not go back to the tradition of populating teams and conferences into their traditional bowl slots and then hoping for the best?

Yes, it’s “Back to the Future” in college football, and teams square off all season, receive a bowl bid and then at the end of the bowl season a final AP and Coaches Poll (previously UPI) is used to determine the champions.

In this scenario there can be ties, debates, co-champions, etc., but the computers don’t decide who walks home with the crystal pigskin.

Pure Science

Since we all know that human voters can’t be expected to be completely be unbiased, the “pure science” approach takes the human element completely out of the process (expect for those 22 players on the field and all the coaches).

In this scheme three computer scenarios are approved as the “Super Three” that will run all the numbers, week by week, and rank the teams based on strength of schedule, wins/losses and even margin of victory, etc.

As the season winds to a close, the “science” method can be used to either populate a given playoff grid, determine bowl matchups or simply fill in the blank for the BCS format if it proves too difficult to kill.

This means of determining a national championship forever answers the question of whether college football is an “art” or a “science.”

No voters, no polls...it’s all math for all.

Draw a Name from a Hat (aka “Pick a Winner”)

In what sounds like nothing more than extreme sarcasm but in reality may hold the key to how to handle the replacement for the BCS, why not let Lady Luck take her seat at the head of the college football conference table?

Yes, why not round up the head coaches for the 16, eight or even four best teams in the land (you could decide based on final records, winning percentage, conference champions, etc.) and draw straws or pick a name out of a hat for who plays who?

Indeed, let those with the superior stats draw their playoff opponent from among those teams who are deemed deserving of a shot at the big enchilada but are not in a commanding position.

Each week the number of teams “in the hat” lessens until two teams remain standing...imagine the drama as coaches “draw” their next opponent in a prime time “pass the hat” affair.

Just the thought of it makes the current “BCS selection show” look about as exciting as watching your spouse replace a doorknob.

Gridiron Survivor

In a twist that TV executives will love, the collegiate football postseason packs up and heads for the nearest island to determine a national champion Survivor-style.

Challenges could include teams facing each other while swapping defensive schemes, both teams being required to run the triple option offense in alternate quarters and completely alleviating scoring kicks and punts for a single contest.

Additional tests might include changing the size and shape of the ball (i.e. Nerf, mini-ball, rugby ball, basketball), requiring a mandatory lateral pitch on every offensive play or obligatory tequila shots for each defensive player after allowing a score.

Viewers from around the country would participate in interactive voting that would determine which team gets voted off the island on a weekly basis and then ultimately a national champion.