Is There any Doubt we Need a Playoff?

After attempting to watch and remain interested in 2 highly unentertaining BCS bowl games, the need for a playoff is more obvious than ever. I know BCS sunshine pumpers like this guy want to argue, but after yesterday's blowouts, it's hard to argue the BCS didn't lose a heaping chunk of its already waning credibility.

Let me preface this by saying I understand the BCS is significantly better than the old way. It does attempt to give us a 1-2 game, which is more than we had before. Now, that being said, just because it's better doesn't mean it's time to stop evolving it. Can you honestly tell me that USC and Georgia aren't playing better than Ohio State and LSU right now?

Another major argument from BCS proponents is that a playoff would cheapen the regular season. Every game is a must win for title contenders as they navigate towards a top 2 placement in the final BCS standings. If there were a playoff, the regular season games wouldn't mean as much. Tell that to the Auburn fans who watched their team pour their guts out for 14 games in 2004 and go undefeated in the SEC and beat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, but somehow were denied a chance to even play for the national title.

USC's victory may be a little tainted because Illinois had no business whatsoever in the Rose Bowl in the first place. Let's call them this year's Notre Dame. Giving the bowl committees the power to select the teams that play in their games as opposed to the teams that most deserve to be there is a huge strike against the BCS. Missouri dominated Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl and beat both Illinois and Kansas (Orange Bowl participant) on a neutral field. Missouri finished 6th in the BCS standings. Kansas finished 8th. Illinois finished 13th. I'd love for a BCS Sunshine Pumper to justify that for me...

Georgia, meanwhile, has been the best team in the country since an inexplicable hiccup in Knoxville in early October. They'd won 6 straight heading into the Sugar Bowl last night where they proceeded to dominate an undefeated Hawaii team. The Warriors 10 points was 18 points lower than their previous season low. They'd scored 50 or more 4x this season, yet mustered just one TD against the 'Dawgs. Had the Vols not handled business down the stretch, it's a safe assumption UGA would have manhandled LSU in the SEC Championship game.

So I hope the BCS committee and their supporters are satisfied. They brought us two remarkably bad bowl games yesterday featuring two great teams and two teams that didn't deserve to be there. While tonight's Fiesta Bowl has the potential to be entertaining, the upcoming Orange Bowl will certainly be one of the lowest rated BCS games in history. Early next week, LSU and tOSU will play for the national title. Regardless of who wins, you'll never convince me that they're the best team in the country.

But hey... at least it's better than it used to be.

Thank Goodness

I, like any non Big 10 homer, would like to thank Illinois for fulfilling their civic duties today by knocking off #1 Ohio State, in the Horseshoe no less. The Buckeyes had to be the weakest team in recent memory to be ranked #1 this late in the season. The Big 10 is a joke this year and had they sent a participant into the BCS Championship game, it would have been a sham equivalent to Oklahoma reaching the Sugar Bowl after getting rolled by Kansas State in 2003. Besides, no one wearing a sweater vest should be allowed to attend a football game, let alone coach one.

This puts LSU in the driver's seat as the clear #1 team in the country, with Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, and Oklahoma left to battle it out for the role of sacrificial lamb to Les Miles and his magic 8-ball. It looked - for a while - like an Ohio State/Boston College matchup in the championship game, which actually may have ended the BCS format. No way the real power conferences like the SEC and PAC-10 would stand by idly while two average teams which won mediocre conferences dueled for the National Title.