BCS Controversy: What If There Were Playoffs in College Football?

The regular season for college football is over, and I am absolutely sick to my stomach.

With the BCS at the helm, we don't get to see Oklahoma State's offense take on LSU's defense, and Virginia Tech somehow earned a trip to the Sugar Bowl.

Heck, the LSU-Alabama national championship game could end with both teams having lost once to each other this season.

What a mess.

But how would this morning look if the NCAA had a playoff system? What if the BCS were abolished and the top eight teams battled it out in a single-elimination tournament?

Join me as I take you through this year's college football playoffs and what would be the happiest couple of weeks for sports fans all around the country.

First Round: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 8 Kansas State

LSU has a defense that shut down Georgia for the last three quarters of the SEC Championship. Led by sophomore (yes, sophomore) Sam Montgomery's nine sacks, the boys from the Bayou have an incredible 36 sacks through 13 games.

But this first-round pairing would work well for a Kansas State team that relies mostly on its rushing game. They're 29th in the nation with over 193 yards on the ground per game.

Who would win?

As great a matchup as this would be, LSU is the superior team. The Tigers would employ a bend-but-don't-break strategy for run defense and force Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein to throw—right into that vaulted LSU secondary. LSU moves on with ease.

First Round: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 7 Boise State

Finally, Boise State's Kellen Moore would be given the opportunity to play for a national championship—and the road runs right through Alabama.

Alabama has been able to keep opponents off the scoreboard, allowing only 8.8 points per game—the best in the country. But I think Boise State (and its 43.3 points-per-game average) shreds the Bama secondary to pieces and causes the Roll Tide to roll over.

Who would win?

Boise State, but not by much. Moore wouldn't be allowed to have an off-night. If he does, then Boise State apologists would have no excuse. On neutral ground, I see the Broncos running all over Alabama.

First Round: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 Arkansas

It's an absolute travesty that we won't see the country's top wide receiver go up against the nation's best defense.

Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon has caught over 200 passes for over 3,100 yards in the last two seasons, and the guy isn't even a Heisman candidate? At least let the guy prove he'd be a man among the boys of LSU's secondary.

Arkansas has overachieved to this point and would wilt under the pressure of Oklahoma State's offense. Just look at what LSU did to the Razorbacks.

Who would win?

Oklahoma State. By a mile.

First Round: No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 5 Oregon

This is the only game we'd be able to see and enjoy—but only if we recorded it and get a thrill out of watching games we already know the outcome of.

A Stanford-Oregon rematch would get great ratings, especially on the West Coast, but would Stanford's defense be able to rein in Oregon's offense that produced less than the 53 points the Ducks put up last time these two met?

Who would win?

Oregon. If the Ducks can travel to Stanford and absolutely dominate Andrew Luck and company, they can do it on a neutral field. 

Semifinals: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 7 Boise State

This is the matchup everyone was hoping for, except it would decide who goes to the national championship, not who wins it.

It'd be fire against fire in a game that would see Boise State's 10th-ranked passing offense go against LSU's eighth-ranked passing defense. Can LSU's secondary handle the best passing offense it'll have seen all season? My guess is yes, but that it would be a close one.

Who would win?

Again, LSU takes the cake and wins this shootout. Kellen Moore bows out in style and in front of a national audience—as opposed to the Maaco Bowl against an Arizona State team that went 4-5 in the Pac-12 and is led by a head coach who has been told he'll be fired after the game.

Semifinals: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 5 Oregon

If college football fans want points, they'll surely get it in this game.

Oklahoma State is coming in with the second-ranked scoring offense (49.3 points per game), the best wide receiver in the country and a quarterback in Brandon Weeden who would have gotten serious Heisman consideration had his Cowboys won against Iowa State.

Oregon has the third-ranked scoring offense (46.2 points per game) and a running attack that is led by a running back in LaMichael James, who ran for more than 200 yards four times this season. And he only made 11 appearances for the Ducks.

Who would win?

Oklahoma State, but not before both teams combined for 100 points. Seriously.

National Championship: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State

Now this is more like it, right?

Instead of a rematch between the boys of Baton Rogue and an Alabama team that didn't even win its half of its division, we have two division winners battling it out on neutral ground.

Like the Boise State game beforehand, LSU's secondary will have to match up against a school with an incredible passing attack. Weeden, Blackmon and the rest of the Oklahoma State team have put together an offense that is scoring the second-most points in the country. 

But Oklahoma State hasn't had the best of defenses, allowing 25.8 points per game. That could be trouble against an LSU team that put up 40 or more points nine times this season.

A rock meets a hard place in what would have been the finest national championship this side of 2005, when Texas beat USC, 41-38.

Who would win?

You tell me—would LSU's defense triumph or would Oklahoma State's offense have the last laugh?