BCS Mess

It is fitting that last night's BCS Selection Show on FOX aired just before an episode of "The Simpsons," as quite frankly the whole process of determining the college football national champion is worthy of Homer's signature exclamation "D'oh!" In the end, the SEC champ Florida Gators jumped two spots in the final BCS poll to finish second behind undefeated Ohio St. and set up a matchup between the two schools in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game on January 8th.

Of course, Florida's victory over Arkansas wouldn't have meant much had USC defeated UCLA in its final game of the regular season, thus locking up the second spot and a trip to Glendale, AZ for the title game. However, the BCS's latest doomsday scenario played out when Southern Cal was shocked by the Bruins and voters were left to decide between the 11-1 Wolverines and the 12-1 Gators. Yes, I said the voters since college football still can't seem to get it right when it comes to deciding a champion.

Mind you, these voters that made Florida #2 and Michigan #3 in the final poll were the same ones that kept Michigan #2 after their narrow defeat to Ohio St. on November 18th, with an 86 point lead in the Harris Poll and 30 point lead in the USA Today coaches' poll. So, basically, the same voters who thought Michigan was 86 and 30 points better, respectively, than Florida a few weeks ago have done a complete about face and moved Michigan below the Gators. And all this despite the fact that they haven't played a down since the Ohio St. game. I agree with ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde in that I do not have a problem with Ohio St. vs. Florida as the championship. It's how the voters got to this result that makes little sense to me.

Florida coach Urban Meyer made no secret of his desire to have a shot at Ohio St. and he has been working the pollsters like a pro for weeks. Well, it obviously worked. Maybe the voters felt guilty over denying fellow SEC member Auburn a shot two years ago after an undefeated season. Maybe there was a regional bias outside the midwest against an all Big 10 rematch, or voters didn't want to see two teams play each other again. Ohio St. coach Jim Tressel did not even vote in the final USA Today coaches' poll, curious given that the voter-by-voter results of the final poll were made public and that he had voted in every other poll during the season.

Heck, you could even make the (weak) argument that Ohio St. should not have to beat the same team twice in a season to win a national championship. But it happens in other sports - notably college basketball - all the time. As for the assertion that Florida gets the nod because the SEC was a stronger league than the Big 10 this year, I counter with the following question: If this was the case then why did voters not drop Michigan below Florida after they lost to Ohio St.? If the SEC was a better league than the Big 10 on December 3rd then logically it would have been on November 19th as well. Right?

I also do not buy the "Well, Michigan had their shot (against Ohio St.) and they lost" argument for a second. For one, Michigan was undefeated going into the Ohio St. game while both Florida and USC already had one loss. Second, with the Ohio St./Michigan game coming at the end of the year the loss was fresher in people's minds than Florida's October 14th defeat at Auburn. I have to think that this also worked against Michigan to a degree.

My point here is that the polls should be little more than a curiosity in deciding the national champion. How about this crazy idea: Settle the matter on the field with a 4-team playoff. Teams 1-4 and 2-3 play each other first followed by one final game with the two winners to decide the champion. So, this year you would have Ohio St. vs. LSU and Florida vs. Michigan in the "semifinals" with the winners going head-to-head for the title. Only one extra game, which should mollify all those AD's concerned about academics and a longer season.

It is not that hard to decide a championship legitimately, folks. College football just makes it seem that way.