The college football world is no stranger to the BCS and their prerogatives when it comes to deciding who will make it to one of the five, including the National Championship, bowl games at the end of the season. What remains a daunting question for many fans, coaches and players alike is how exactly it works. Sure on one hand we are told that strength of schedule is computed by a super computer to determine who has the higher score, but on the other hand pundits and the rest of the college football world remain shocked as how somethings just don't seem to add up.
A prime example would be this years BCS standings and how they are panning out. We have undefeated Florida State and Ohio State at #1 and #2 respectively. Behind them sits a true pantheon of SEC teams who without the one loss would easily be in the driver seat towards another consecutive SEC National Champion. So the question is this, is a team's record a direct reflection of the competition they faced? You better believe it!
Auburn has played more ranked opponents this year than Florida State and Auburn COMBINED! This makes that one loss seem a bit trivial does it not? Credit should be given where earned however for terrific seasons for both of the undefeated teams. But credit should also be given to those teams who play the best and still come out on top. It's not a challenge to coast through a season with minimal threats and rightfully deserve a spot in the title game. If Alabama's embarrassment of Notre Dame last year wasn't enough to swing your opinion then nothing else possibly could.
It goes without saying that this system needed fixing. With the mass populous in favor of the change, the NCAA had no choice but to alter the way the playoffs would be set.
The years of complaints fell on deaf ears for a majority of the time. Big named advertisers were busy lobbying for chances to promote and continue their charades at the benefit of major broadcasting networks such as CBS, ABC and Fox namely.
For 2014, we are set for an exciting and new phase of college football. The playoff system is set to include the top four teams in a semi-final bracket, which will allow the team who prevails victor two consecutive games in a row to be the champion. Although minimal for the start (i.e. only four teams) this sort of system has great potential. Its success is visible all around the globe in events such as the FIFA World Cup and professional leagues like the NBA, NFL etc..
Will this be goodbye to the classic bowl games from the yesteryear? Instead it will be a gateway for organizations, sponsors and the NCAA to continue to advance their companies outreach although this time it wont be in heavily lopsided football contest. It will be the best teams and most consistent teams that come out on top. Isn't that how it should have been all along?
A prime example would be this years BCS standings and how they are panning out. We have undefeated Florida State and Ohio State at #1 and #2 respectively. Behind them sits a true pantheon of SEC teams who without the one loss would easily be in the driver seat towards another consecutive SEC National Champion. So the question is this, is a team's record a direct reflection of the competition they faced? You better believe it!
Auburn has played more ranked opponents this year than Florida State and Auburn COMBINED! This makes that one loss seem a bit trivial does it not? Credit should be given where earned however for terrific seasons for both of the undefeated teams. But credit should also be given to those teams who play the best and still come out on top. It's not a challenge to coast through a season with minimal threats and rightfully deserve a spot in the title game. If Alabama's embarrassment of Notre Dame last year wasn't enough to swing your opinion then nothing else possibly could.
It goes without saying that this system needed fixing. With the mass populous in favor of the change, the NCAA had no choice but to alter the way the playoffs would be set.
The years of complaints fell on deaf ears for a majority of the time. Big named advertisers were busy lobbying for chances to promote and continue their charades at the benefit of major broadcasting networks such as CBS, ABC and Fox namely.
For 2014, we are set for an exciting and new phase of college football. The playoff system is set to include the top four teams in a semi-final bracket, which will allow the team who prevails victor two consecutive games in a row to be the champion. Although minimal for the start (i.e. only four teams) this sort of system has great potential. Its success is visible all around the globe in events such as the FIFA World Cup and professional leagues like the NBA, NFL etc..
Will this be goodbye to the classic bowl games from the yesteryear? Instead it will be a gateway for organizations, sponsors and the NCAA to continue to advance their companies outreach although this time it wont be in heavily lopsided football contest. It will be the best teams and most consistent teams that come out on top. Isn't that how it should have been all along?