College Football’s Fake Playoff

There is a lot of promise being sold for the 2014 college football season. The BCS will no longer determine our national champion and we will actually have a playoff. Before you start dancing too hard, understand that it’s not the real deal. This four team set-up is only a teaser that the networks and NCAA will attempt to pacify fans with. For those of you who like the spectacle don’t worry all the same old arguing will still be there next year.

A lot of people think that the committee that will select the teams will be problematic. I don’t think that they will be the issue. The source of concern is how this tournament is structured. The NCAA and conference commissioners were not brave enough to set up a real playoff. The four team model is just a fancy way of doing a plus one. I guess change is hard and we have to take baby steps.

There is a simple answer to the playoff problem. All we need is an 8 team playoff that features the conference champions of the five major conferences and 3 at large teams. That way if the SEC has 2 powerhouse teams they both will have a shot. Will there be debates about teams who don’t get in? Yes of course it will but even if we have 64 teams there will be people whining and complaining.

The setup would roll like this; first round will be at the home fields of the higher seed teams. It would nice to see how a Texas team would fare at Ohio State in early December. The semifinals could be at rotating BCS sites with the final being played at another rotating BCS site. Until we get something like this, we are just pretending we have a playoff.

Keith B. Holt

Follow on Twitter @Kholtjr