re: Schedule Change to Fix the BCS

Here's a better way to address it:

Have Six Power Conferences that are mandated to have 12 teams and a conference championship game. That's 72 teams with a shot at an automatic bid.

The six conferences are SEC, ACC, Pac 10, Big 10, Big 12, Big East.

After the conference championship games are played, the six conference champions plus the two non-champions with the highest BCS ranking play in the following bowls:

Rose - Big 10 vs Pac 10
Sugar - SEC vs Big East or at large
Fiesta - Big 12 vs Big East or at large
Orange - ACC vs Big East or at large

The traditional tie-ins are kept, for the most part. Aside from the Rose, the other teams are seeded based on ranking. For example, if the Big East Champ is ranked higest of the three teams that aren't tied to a traditional bowl, they would go to the bowl with the lowest ranked champion (excluding the Rose). Teams from the same conference would NOT be allowed to face each other in the Bowl Round.

Two BCS Bowls will be played on New Year's Day; the other two will be played on 1/2.

After all Bowl games have been played, the four bowl winners are seeded based on BCS rank. Two semi-final games would be played on the first Friday/Saturday after 1/8 and would pit Sugar vs Orange and Rose vs Fiesta (regional) or 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 (seeds). The two winners would play in the NCG the following Saturday.

This system would work well because:

* It keeps the current bowl system and actually helps to restore some of the "tradition" that has been lost in the current process.

* For those who complain that a playoff would make the regular season less exciting, you still have two teams fighting for two at large spots, which is essentially what you have now.

* Non AQ conference teams would likely only need to be ranked in the top 8 to get a shot to play. However, unlike the current system, they would have to get up for TWO big games instead of one to become the champions.

* A team from a strong conference that doesn't win its conference still has a shot to play if it is ranked high enough.

* The networks still get 5 separate nights with a primetime BCS game.

* For those who argue that 15 games would be too many for the student athletes, we're only talking 2 more games for 2 teams and 1 more game for 2 others, with those games coming after a full month's rest. They would be fine.

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After all Bowl games have been played, the four bowl winners are seeded based on BCS rank. Two semi-final games would be played on the first Friday/Saturday after 1/8 and would pit Sugar vs Orange and Rose vs Fiesta. The two winners would play in the NCG the following Saturday.

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You are still putting teams against each other prior to the playoff you are proposing.

For example, according to your breakdown:

Rose - Ohio State vs. Oregon
Sugar - Auburn vs. UConn
Fiesta - Oklahoma vs. Arkansas
Orange - Virginia Tech vs. TCU

If Ohio St, Auburn, Oklahoma, Va Tech win, then Arkansas, Oregon, UConn, and TCU are out of the title game.

What about Wisconsin, Stanford, or Michigan State?

A playoff system would allow the BCS #1 and #2 to only meet in the Championship like in basketball and it would allow the top teams in the country to come out of the pack. If LSU, Arkansas, Auburn, and USC were in the playoffs it could possibly be all four of them in the finals thus proving the SEC's domination in the country.

I still like your idea because it is the most feasible with all the money involved in the BCS.

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every other damn sport has a playoff and it's pretty damn exciting.

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Not as exciting as college football. See the previous examples. When a good pro team loses, it's really just a meh moment.

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How would a fricking playoff ruin college football? If I'm not mistaken, every other damn sport has a playoff and it's pretty damn exciting.

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Nobody gives a damn about college basketball or college baseball during the regular season.

A game like LSU/Oregon will be awesome next year but in your proposal it is close to meaningless. On top of that some team can go 7-5 and win their division in the Big East and then play for a National Title. Awesome.

I hate the idea of a playoff, but that proposal looks good.

A plus one is the most obvious solution in the world. Here's the obvious truth....if you don't finish in the top 4, you really don't deserve a shot at the national title. Usually the discussion is between the top 3, or 4 max.

A plus one, adds one extra game and makes it a 4 team playoff. SIMPLE, and it preserves everything wonderful about the college football regular season.

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if you don't finish in the top 4, you really don't deserve a shot at the national title. Usually the discussion is between the top 3, or 4 max.

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If you had a 3 team playoff this year, no one could argue. Unfortunately, bringing that 4th team, Stanford, into it opens up the debate for Wisconsin, Ohio State, etc.

It is not likely, but if Stanford somehow won it all, those other 1 loss teams would have a good argument that they could have won it all.

It would have been the same in 2003, when a playoff between USC, Oklahoma, and LSU would have been great. However, did Michigan really deserve to be there?

Since the BCS started, college football has probably crowned the best team as champion more than any other sport. Just because team b beats team a in a 1 game playoff doesn't mean that team b is really the better or more deserving team.

A playoff rewards the team that gets hot at the right time. The BCS rewards the team that has done more throughout the season. I enjoy both in sports and actually like the fact that college football offers something different.

I wouldn't mind a 4 team playoff, but no system is going to be without issues.

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and waters down the regular season and non conference scheduling

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yeah because college football non-conference scheduling is so awesome . CFB already waters down regular seasons with McNeese, ULM, Troy, etc...

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You are still putting teams against each other prior to the playoff you are proposing.

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Exactly. That's actually the point. You have a defacto 8 team playoff without actually changing much about the current bowl setup. Everybody wins. Also, it's better than a "plus 1" which would still be relying on a popularity contest to pick the final 2.

PLAYOFF!