While the debate on whether the Bowl Championship Series or a college football playoff is the best for the game of college football is as heated as ever, there's a much simpler explanation to explain it all. It would strongly behoove most proponents of the playoff to first take a look at exactly why a college football playoff is so far removed from reality — mainly so they can ground themselves in reality instead of staying optimistic by quoting statistics such as, "63% of individuals interested in college football prefer a playoff system to the BCS, according to a recent Quinnipiac University study."
As great a statistic as this is and as maddening as it can be to sometimes really step back and think about, it doesn't mean anything. And that's because the powers that be in the powerhouse colleges and conferences exhibit the one obstacle that truly and fully stands in the way of the seemingly no-brainer playoff system: greed.
The college and conference heads like to spout off nonsense about how they "care" about how the player's grades would be affected in a playoff atmosphere are spewing complete and utter nonsense. They don't care. Why would they? Indeed, pretty much everything they say either doesn't add up or simply doesn't make sense when you take a look at the bigger picture — with said bigger picture being that they profit immensely from the current system. As such, everything they say to the contrary is fueled by this simple fact. These people have an agenda and that agenda is to keep the BCS in place to further line their own pockets down the foreseeable road. To think otherwise would be inherently ignorant to the immense greed that exists in our world today. Tis sad and scary, but true.
Think about how many college football bowl games there are. Now, how many wins does it take to become "bowl-eligible" again ... isn't it six? Six out of 12 regular season games? Talk about rewarding mediocrity.
To become "bowl-eligible," a team merely has to win half of its 12 game schedule? HALF! Think about that for a moment, will you?
Since when is it okay anywhere in life to simply accomplish or achieve half of one's goals? Would it be okay if the college football players got just half of their mid-term exams correct? Of course not — they'd probably be kicked off their football team!
And have you seen some of these college bowl games? Not just the actual games themselves, but even some of the names just scream mediocrity. The Chic-Fil-A Bowl? The Meineke Car Care Bowl? The AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl? Seriously? Now, I get that it's all about getting sponsors and whatnot, and that directly links as yet another source or contributing factor to the greed preventing a true competitive playoff from occurring.
Actually, scratch that. Yes, the actual games. Troy vs. Ohio? Florida International vs. Toledo? Middle Tennessee vs. Miami of Ohio? Save for degenerate gamblers and those with direct ties to the team in some way, who in their right mind would: a) get amped up for these types of games and b) make an honest effort to watch the whole game? I'd go on a limb and say even Mel Kiper, Jr. himself didn't watch those three games in their entirety. Although I'm sure he'll say he did.
While I inherently disagree with rewarding six-win teams with much of anything, couldn't the situation be resolved with a four-team playoff and oodles and oodles of middle-of-the-pack team bowl games leading up to it? Isn't that a win-win for everyone, including the ridiculously laughable bowl game sponsor names?
Apparently, the powers that be think that if a college football playoff were to occur, bowl games would cease to exist. And maybe they would. That would essentially mean 85+% of the bowl games would no longer be on the schedule. Just think about how much sponsorship and media revenue would be going up in smoke should this happen. Now bottle this thought and you've got yourself the primary reason as to why the conference and college powerhouse fat cats are blocking the playoff championship motion with all they've got.
As for evidence against the BCS, there's quite a bit, really. Let's see ... Tulane in 1998, Marshall in 1999, Utah twice in 2004 and 2008, Hawaii in 2007, Boise State thrice in 2006, 2008, and 2009, and Texas Christian University twice in 2009 and 2010. All of these teams were all screwed by the BCS system in a big, big way. For something that's proclaimed as the perfect indicator of the nation's top teams, that's quite a lot of unsatisfied customers, is it not? And this isn't even including the years when a one or two loss team could have made a somewhat legitimate claim to fame and prominence (see: Miami of Ohio in 2003 and Louisville in 2004).
What an awesome system!
Ultimately, when it's all said and done, the fact of the matter is that, until there's some kind of plan to ensure the major college football conference heads and the year-in, year-out powerhouse college heads won't stand to lose a ton of money should the switch to a playoff occur, nothing is going to change. Absolutely nothing. This is just how it is, no matter how much BCS apologists argue to the contrary. It's all about the money and it's all about the greed. Ironically, these things exist in a sport that's supposed to be so pure and free from financial dilution. Almost like rayyyy-yeah-yaaaaain on your wedding way, huh?
As for what the kind of plan this would entail ... that's a topic for another day. Although I still stand by my main decision of a four or even eight-game playoff with tons and tons of bowl games leading up to the main event to keep everyone happy and fulfilled. It's a genius idea, if you ask me.
If you have a suitable alternative plan or would simply like to praise the merits and genius behind mine own, please feel free to express it in the comments. That's what they're there for!
Leave a Comment