By ERIC FISHER
ERIC FISHER
If you want additional time to build toward the championship game, make the tournament five weeks. If you want to cut the field to eight teams, that’s fine, too.
Can’t be done? Logistics too difficult?
Wrong. It’s already been done – by the NCAA.
Two weeks ago, Villanova celebrated its first national championship after defeating Montana, 23-21, in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title game. Aside from the awkward-sounding name, the game was wonderful.
The game was wonderful because it was the culmination of a fantastic season. The championship was the also the culmination of a month-long tournament. That tournament included a 38-28 victory over Holy Cross, a 46-7 stomping of New Hampshire, avenging Villanova’s only loss this season, and a dramatic 14-13 triumph over William & Mary. The road to the title made the championship even sweeter for quarterback Chris Whitney, all-purpose receiver Matt Szczur and the rest of the Villanova Wildcats.
In contrast to Villanova’s month-long journey, Texas and Alabama will have spent a month of doing nothing prior to their national championship game on …
How many of you can complete the previous sentence? What day is the national championship game? Where is the game being played?
The fact that many of you can’t answer those questions demonstrates the problem with the current system in the Bowl Championship Series, or whatever they’re calling Division I football these days. The NCAA might be making a lot of money from the BCS, but this system is damaging overall interest.
Remember when New Year’s Day meant something in college football? There are five bowl games on New Year’s Day this week. There are five more on January 2. Not one of them means a darn thing in terms of the national title picture.
Time for another quiz: Aside from Penn State’s game, how many of the New Year’s Day bowl matchups can you name? How about the five games on Jan. 2?
The reason you can’t name them is, aside from the game involving your local team, the other games are virtually meaningless. Yes, the teams and conferences involved receive money. Yes, there’s pride on the line. Otherwise, nobody cares. The magic of college football on New Year’s Day is gone.
For the record, the New Year’s Day bowls are the Outback (Northwestern vs. Auburn); Capital One (Penn State vs. LSU); Gator (West Virginia vs. Florida State); Rose (Oregon vs. Ohio State); and Sugar (Florida vs. Cincinnati).
There are some intriguing matchups on New Year’s Day. They’re interesting, but meaningless.
The same intrigue isn’t there for the Jan. 2 slate of bowl games: Cotton (Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi); Liberty (East Carolina vs. Arkansas); International (South Florida vs. Northern Illinois); Papajohns.com (Connecticut vs. South Carolina); and Alamo (Michigan State vs. Texas Tech). I know you’re excited about seeing South Florida play Northern Illinois in Toronto!
The most interesting event over the New Year’s holiday weekend, arguably, isn’t even a college football game. It’s the NHL’s Winter Classic, pitting the Flyers against the Boston Bruins in an outdoor game at historic Fenway Park. (Not to mention NFL games with playoff implications.)
The bowl schedule, of course, doesn’t end this weekend. Boise State will face TCU in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday.
How many people are interested in the Fiesta Bowl’s battle of unbeatens? Now, imagine this game was a national semifinal or quarterfinal game. Would you be more interested?
Better yet, imagine TCU or Boise State playing one of the big conference teams in a playoff. The interest level would far exceed the interest in Monday night’s Fiesta Bowl.
The major arguments against a playoff system are the logistics are too difficult and that the student/athletes would miss too much class time.
The second argument is simply laughable. The NCAA holds championship tournaments in every other sport and in every other level of football except its highest level of competition.
Those Villanova student-athletes were able to juggle football and academics. In fact, their tournament took place during the final month of the semester. The end of the BCS tournament would take place during winter vacation. Logistics also aren’t a huge problem in the other playoffs.
The BCS system is all about money. The NCAA and the big conferences that control the BCS make a lot of money from this system.
But the NCAA and big conference schools are short-sighted. They are taking short-term gain (money) over long-term gain (interest).
The national championship game is next Thursday in Pasadena, in case you didn’t know. What if Texas had reached the championship game by edging Ohio State and holding off upstart TCU? What if Alabama got there by surviving a scare from Oregon and thwarting Boise State’s upset bid?
In addition to building interest for the national championship game, a playoff system would crown a true national champion and enhance the champions’ feeling of accomplishment.
Just ask Chris Whitney, Matt Szczur and the rest of the Villanova Wildcats.
