Playoffs ... Be Careful What You Wish For

The easy answer to fixing the BCS is incorporating a playoff system. But, as Barrett Sallee explains, if done improperly, a potential playoff system might do more harm than good.

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Another season, another BCS mess. This time Texas, Utah and, to a lesser extent, USC, all sat at home watching the BCS Championship Game, while Oklahoma and Florida battled it out on the field of Dolphin Stadium for college football supremacy. It’s the fifth major BCS controversy in the last six seasons, for those of you keeping score at home. As the great playoff debate slowly picks up steam, it got me thinking – do we really need one?

The argument for a playoff is that it would take the National Championship out of the hands of the computers and voters, and determine it on the field. But, would it? The answer is no. Playoffs determine the hottest team, not the best.

This has never been more apparent than recently in the NFL, where the Arizona Cardinals – yes, the Arizona Cardinals – won the NFC Championship and came within a Santonio Holmes toenail of winning the Super Bowl. This is the same team that lost games this season by scores of: 56-35, 48-20, 47-7 and 35-14; and, according to Vegas, were +5000 in August to win the Super Bowl. Would you want the same thing happening in college football?

What if TCU snuck into the hypothetical playoff, got hot, and took home the crystal football? Nothing against TCU. The Horned Frogs had an outstanding season. But, they weren’t the best team in FBS in 2008. Playoff defenders will tell you that cream always rises to the top, and no unworthy team would ever to take the title. But, how many people thought the Cardinals would make the Super Bowl? Aside from the 12 Cardinal season ticket holders, nobody.

This offseason, a few more of the decision makers running college football will change their minds in favor of a playoff. It won’t matter. It’s not nearly enough to make a difference, but it’s still nice to see that sanity is slowly seeping in.

Most of these playoff systems simply won’t work. Whether it be the eight-team playoff that everyone and their brother seems to favor, or Mike Leach’s hoops-style 64-team bonanza, they all have their flaws. Most of them have very serious flaws. College football doesn’t need Cinderella stories like George Mason and Valparasio crashing the party. The sport is strong enough as is.

With 120 teams in FBS next season, it’s impossible to objectively determine the best teams in America. Polls and computers have to play some role, regardless of how we determine a champion. But, save for 2004, the BCS has been pretty close most of the time.

A four-team playoff, commonly known as the “plus one” system is the only option that would be more appropriate than the current BCS. Even in the last two seasons, which were two of the most convoluted years at the top of the BCS, there are generally no more than four teams that can stake a legitimate claim for the National Title. There’s no need to flood a potential playoff with unnecessary and unqualified teams. The importance of the regular season must be protected, and the way to do that is with the “plus one.”

All of the things that we say we hate about college football are also the things that make it great. If it wasn’t for the seemingly fortuitous way we crown a champion, we wouldn’t hang on our teams every play as if it were life and death, even in early September. We don’t just need a playoff, we need the right playoff, and the right playoff, is the “plus one.”

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Story Archive:
Playoffs ... Be Careful What You Wish For – February 4, 2009
UGA Loses RB Samuel For Spring Practice - January 28, 2009
Alabama Signs Coach Away From Auburn - January 21, 2009
America Deserves a USC vs. SEC Title Game – January 10, 2009
Chizik Putting Together A Solid Staff – January 6, 2009
End Of The Season Accountability – December 31, 2008
3 Non-BCS Games You Should Watch – December 10, 2008
Who Will Be The Next Auburn Coach? – December 3, 2008
Big XII Blunder – December 1, 2008
Arkansas’ Loss Has Been Ole Miss’ Gain – November 23, 2008
SEC Championship Hype A Bit Premature – November 20, 2008
Auburn vs. Georgia Still Has Meaning – November 12, 2008
Auburn In Must-Win Situation vs. Ole Miss – October 28, 2008
Georgia vs. LSU – SEC Elimination Game – October 21, 2008
Franklin’s Firing Isn’t All Bad – October 8, 2008
SEC West September Synopsis – September 28, 2008
Fixing Auburn’s Offense – September 15, 2008
Wells or Not, USC’s Defense Will Dominate – September 10, 2008
No Need To Panic, Auburn Fans – September 2, 2008
SEC and ESPN Reach Mega Deal – August 25, 2008
What Will Happen In The SEC – August 18, 2008
Bama Is Not Back – August 5, 2008
SEC Under-The-Radar Games – July 26, 2008
Enough With The Buckeyes – July 16, 2008
SEC Coaches: How Many Is Too Many? - July 8, 2008
New Coordinators No Problem For Auburn - July 1, 2008