Points:
This is one of the most obvious questions that have ever been posed. College football is in so much need of a playoff I can almost hear fans beginning to revolt at the fact that there isn't one. The benefits of having a true, competitive college football playoff completely overshadows any of the downsides of getting rid of the BCS Bowl system. At its most basic, the BCS bowl system essentially ranks teams from #1 to number #117 in Division 1-A football, the highest division of competitive football in the NCAA. It's used to eliminate human errors when it comes to ranking teams. It's too bad the flaws (listed here, here, and here) have compounded upon one another year after year to where there is essentially no way to tell who is the true national champion. The most compelling argument happened at the very beginning of this year with Boise State upending Oklahoma in probably one of the most exciting football games to ever be played and with Florida beating Ohio State on the same field just a short time later. If there were a true playoff system, even just an 8 team playoff, the excitement generated would catapult college football directly into the NFL-level stratosphere. You'll have your dissenters that feel the system is "fine as it is" for whatever reason, but they clearly have not thought this through. You have to look at some very important facts, the most important of which is that fans want this to happen. Fans don't just consist of drunk and broke college students, fans consist of boosters, alumni, and future prospects which have a direct hand into the future and direction of the football programs at most schools...
13-0 Teams
Let's clear the air, not all 13-0 teams are created equal. A Boise State 13-0 is totally different than a USC 13-0 or an LSU 13-0. Not only are the conferences, especially the SEC, different than Boise State's, the early season opponents are different as well. Boise State, although part of one of the greatest games in the history of man, didn't deserve a shot at the national championship. Weber State and Southern Mississippi don't count as great early season opponents. You know what? Michigan didn't deserve a chance either. Neither did Ohio State. Not under the current BCS system. The two teams should have been Florida and USC. Throughout the season the two teams scheduled the toughest opponents (Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, etc.) and play in tough conferences while avoiding the usual Northwestern Methodist cake-walk.
Suggestions
Here are some suggestions to help solve this. Instead of, at least initially, a 16 team playoff, how about we schedule an 8 team playoff and let the juggernauts of college football slug it out until the end of the season? I'm slobbering at the fact that I could possibly see a Michigan/Florida match-up. Isn't part of college football based on rivalries? What about creating new ones? Not just interconference, but intraconference. Notre Dame/USC is probably the best intraconference rivalry and it is at best one-sided. At worst, a joke. Notre Dame is no longer a power. Michigan and Florida, as an example, would bring people out to finally settle the debate as to whether or not the Big 10 is as strong as they are and if the SEC is truly THE power conference. Financially, the networks would have a bulge in their pants thinking about the number of people watching a match-up they've never really seen before, for example, Miami/USC. You'll have two powers, from different conferences, from different parts of the country, going for the jugular so they won't get sent home. The current bowl games are a total waste of time and sometimes I question whether the players care THAT much about winning Papa Johns.com Bowl. I'm a huge Arizona State Sun Devils fan and last year they were awarded an invitation to the Hawai'i Bowl.......hold on, I'm trying to keep the puke down. Not only was Dirk Koetter fired, the Devils got their asses handed to them, and nobody from Phoenix could make it to the game. By the way, they played Hawai'i. What kind of stamp on a season can you put on playing a team from one of the "freaky states?" Not so sure, come on everyone, let's review.
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