Written by Jarrett D Qualls
College football is a big draw here in Arkansas, as most Arkansans look at the Arkansas Razorbacks as their pro football team. College football is some of the best and most exciting football you can watch. There are many great teams and exciting finishes are usually a guarantee.
This is why deciding the national championship by the BCS bowl system is such a let down for most college fans.
This year’s National Championship, the Alabama Crimson tide will take on the Texas Longhorns. Both team are undefeated and sit atop the BCS polls at #1 and #2. These teams deserve to be in the championship. However, let us look at how the rest of the rankings come out.
BCSPolls
| RK | Team | W-L | Harris | Coaches | CPU % | BCS | |||||
| RK | Points | % | RK | Points | % | Prev | Avg | ||||
| 1 | Alabama | 13-0 | 1 | 2841 | .9968 | 1 | 1470 | .9966 | 1.0000 | 2 | .998 |
| 2 | Texas | 13-0 | 2 | 2721 | .9547 | 2 | 1409 | .9553 | .9200 | 3 | .943 |
| 3 | Cincinnati | 12-0 | 4 | 2467 | .8656 | 4 | 1280 | .8678 | .9300 | 5 | .888 |
| 4 | TCU | 12-0 | 3 | 2579 | .9049 | 3 | 1336 | .9058 | .8400 | 4 | .884 |
| 5 | Florida | 12-1 | 5 | 2395 | .8404 | 5 | 1240 | .8407 | .9100 | 1 | .864 |
| 6 | Boise State | 13-0 | 6 | 2358 | .8274 | 6 | 1216 | .8244 | .7800 | 6 | .811 |
| 7 | Oregon | 10-2 | 7 | 2130 | .7474 | 7 | 1096 | .7431 | .7800 | 7 | .757 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 10-2 | 8 | 2081 | .7302 | 8 | 1077 | .7302 | .5100 | 8 | .657 |
| 9 | Georgia Tech | 11-2 | 10 | 1787 | .6270 | 10 | 921 | .6244 | .6900 | 10 | .649 |
| 10 | Iowa | 10-2 | 11 | 1772 | .6218 | 11 | 918 | .6224 | .6100 | 9 | .618 |
As you can see by the BCS poll listed above, there are five unbeaten teams, one, one-loss team (who was last year’s National Champion) and four two-loss teams in the top ten. Any of these teams could be a good contender for the national championship and could argue that they too deserve a chance.
So why do Alabama and Texas get the chance over the rest, because of the teams they played during the regular season? If a team beats the teams that are on the schedule then they should have the opportunity at the title. These teams should not be punished because of the conference they are in or because the teams that they played were not as “good” in the eyes of the BCS.
This is why the NCAA should institute a playoff system for college football. One of the biggest draws in the NCAA is March Madness, which is a college basketball tournament that allows many lower ranked team a chance to compete for the championship. This allows for some magical moments when Cinderella teams can come from obscurity to win it all.
Football is America’s new favorite pass time and TV ratings would skyrocket with a playoff/tournament type event for college football, maybe one day that dream will become a reality. Until then let the yearly complaining about the BCS system begin.
