BCS Bowl Predictions: Weak BCS Slate Proves Playoff System Is Necessary

College football needs a playoff system.

I realize that isn't some sort of ground-breaking epiphany, but with each passing year it becomes more and more obvious. If the purpose of the BCS system is to produce interesting bowl matchups, it failed miserably in that regard this season.

The BCS has major flaws in its rankings alone, with Alabama arbitrarily being ahead of Oklahoma State, but that isn't even the point. The real issue is the manner in which the BCS bowl slate as a whole is selected.

Out of the five BCS bowls this season, I would say only three of them are interesting in the least. One of them is the national championship game, which had better be compelling, and one of them is the Rose Bowl between Oregon and Wisconsin, which developed on its own accord.

The only bowl the BCS crafted on its own that looks like it should be a good one is the Fiesta Bowl, which will pit No. 3 Oklahoma State against No. 4 Stanford. The other two BCS games will feature a "clash" between Clemson and West Virginia, as well as a game between Michigan and Virginia Tech.

Because of the ridiculous rules set forth by the BCS system, an undeserving team like West Virginia receives a BCS berth because it won the embarrassing Big East conference.

At the same time, Boise State gets left out presumably due to a weak schedule and No. 6 Arkansas is left out in the cold due to a rule saying no more than two teams from the same conference can be in BCS bowls.

The premise of the BCS should be the 10 best teams play in a series of meaningful bowls, but instead we get matchups like Clemson vs. West Virginia, which nobody would give a second thought to during the regular season.

While some may say that a playoff system would destroy the prestige of the marquee bowls, I think the opposite would be true. The latter rounds of the playoff could be designated as the bowl games, such as the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, without being tied down by conference affiliation.

Not only would the matchups be guaranteed to include teams of the highest possible quality, but there would be much more on the line than simply winning the bowl. Not only would a victory mean winning a prestigious bowl, but it would also mean advancing in the hunt for a national championship.

It is already blatantly obvious a playoff is needed in order to accurately pit the nation's two top teams against each other, but this season's BCS bowl schedule as a whole leaves plenty to be desired. Not only does the BCS National Championship Game need a playoff to dictate things, but all of the other BCS bowls need a playoff to be relevant again.