sbtulsa, tulsa (11/25/2008 9:46:12 AM)

What we used to have is coaches and writers voting their opinion on teams they have not seen play. Concurrently, we had coaches doing the same thing. It was all subjective and flawed. How many times did Penn State get left out of the championship because they were an independent and couldn't always schedule enough of the best teams all year long? Same issue with the coadhes poll.

Then we went to computer ratings that apply a consistent set of rules during theseason and apply them impartially. That's flawed also.

We are now iusing an amalgamation of the two above flawed systems to crown a national champion.

How much better would a playoff be? Well, first you would have to pick 4,8, or 16 teams to start with. What system would you use to do that? Probably some combination of the above three flawed methods. So any playoff would be just as flawed and only somewhat more credible because it ends in play on the field.

My suggestion is screw all the polls. Take the champions of the bcs conferences. Add enough non BCS teams to get to eight. Then play it off. That adds three more games to the champs season, so drop two or three regular season games. Maintain what would amount to minor bowls for entertainment value and assure the employment of second rate announcers and analysts.

Oh wait. That will be flawed by unforeseen upsets within the conference that really should not have happened. God forbid Baylor or Vanderbilt should ever kncok off a Tennessee, or Alabama. what would the world be like if Northwestern ever got good?

No, any alternative to the current way of crowning a national champion would have warts somewhere simply because you can't envolve all 119 d-1 teams in a playoff system. Unless you consider the regular season as meaning something.

trainman, muskogee (11/25/2008 10:00:27 AM)

I am a big sooner fan but i agree with COACH BROWN 100 percent. If all 3 teams finish in a tie they all have a legitimate case for who should go to the BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. You could say that well O.U. just hammered TECH this is true but if they beat BAYLOR they would only have 1 loss should they not be considered because they had a bad game against O.U.? One thing is for sure in all of this mess the B.C.S. COMMITTEE is praying that O.S.U. beats the SOONERS and they get BAILED OUT once again.

wsums2, Cincinnati (11/25/2008 12:02:41 PM)

This is a dilemma that would be truely resolved only by virtue of a playoff system. It's like a bad intersection where a couple of people must die in a traffic tragedy to garner sufficient pulic outcry before the local government reacts and puts in the appropriate traffic signals to regulate traffic safely.

Perhaps the answer lies with the fans. Scream loud enough and they listen. How do you scream loud enough, you don't have a vote. You can all write letters, but who to? The President-elect, BCS President, NCAA President. Every good cause requires a champion, one willing to walk the talk. You will have endorsement from most of the top NCAA College programs in the nation and all the next tier and below schools. Think Boise ST, Utah, BYU, TCU, South Fla, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Wake, etc want the opportunity to play through to a National Championship. Sure they do!
We need help, we need someone with clout, to lead the cause, and do more than apply lip service, they have to lead the charge for reformation and a playoff. Reformation you ask, yes, reformation. Right now the current system is profitable, lucrative, provides big dollars to all the big guys in charge. NCAA, BCS, Bowls, Larger Conferences, Larger Schools, etc. Don't forget the Media, ESPN, Fox Sports, ABC, magazines, etc who make their living from all that football brings to us.

Our champion must present a new playoff system that will increase the revunue without harming the old way of life. A playoff would impact the bowls, media, current payout to conferences and schools, and student atheletes. The players get none of the filty lucre while in school. The NCAA legislated that edict long ago. If they stay healthy through three or four years of competition, they get an education and the elite atheletes get the opportunity to play for real money in the NFL or other leagues.

Personally, I hope OU wins out and wins the B12, goes on and wins the NC. They are playing the best football right now. Wouldn't be too upset if Texas did the same, but no-one ever mentions the fact that Texas would have probably lost that game with OU if Ryan Reynolds stayed healthy, but that's also part of the game. I do like Texas, Mack Brown, and Colt McCoy. Mike Leach and Grahm Harrell are class acts as well. Anyone of these three would definitely challenge Alabama or Florida for sure.

Yes, we need a champion with a plan, any volunteers?
Bo

Stick61, Tulsa (11/25/2008 12:24:51 PM)

Yes - playoff system. As soon as possible.

mrdon, (11/25/2008 12:53:55 PM)

Mack, Bob or Mike -- it doesn't matter. There is no fair system. Period. Start with a hundred or so teams and 11 or so contests for each team to absolutely, positively determine who is the best in the nation. There is no system which can get you there beyond the mathematic certainty that fans think a playoff system will give them. It is never going to happen. There will always be a team and/or a coach who "unfairly" gets left out.

And there will always be a coach and fans that want something else -- two out of three, four out of five, rock scissors paper -- whatever. There is a simple solution -- don't play bonehead football -- win all your games and win the championship game.

Oh, and remember the teams that "deserved" to play the championship game that get beat by the ones that don't. But that's impolite to mention.

Swarm, (11/25/2008 2:35:59 PM)

WSUMS2: NICE TAKE!!!!! YOU ARE NOW ENTERERED INTO FOOTBALL MAN-LAW'S GREATEST COMMENTS. WELL SAID, BO! NOW LET'S HAVE A ANALYSIS OF THE WEAKNESES
OF THE BCS.

1. "THE BREAK" TO LONG OF A LAY-OFF FROM DEC. TO JAN. MOVE THE BOWL GAMES UP AFTER CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS ARE DECIDED AND CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS GET A BYE WEEK. THE BYE WEEK FOR CONFERENCE CHAMPS IS A REWARD FOR WINNING YOUR CONFERENCE. WE WILL CALL IT "NCAA'S 1ST ROUND ELIMINATION BOWLS."LOSERS OF CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS PLAY IN THIS ROUND AND HAVE TO BE IN TOP 25 TEAM. FOR LOSING YOUR CONFERENCE YOUR REWARD IS YOU GET TO PLAY A EXTRA GAME IN THE LOSERS BRACKET. WINNERS TAKE ALL WINNINGS AND ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND /LOSERS GO HOME AND GET NOTHING OR A SMALL SHARE OF THE WINNINGS.

2.CONSOLIDATE THE BOWL GAMES. TO MANY BOWL GAMES! HAVE MORE BOWL GAMES THAN THE FLAVORS OF ICE CREAM AT BASKIN ROBBINS.

3.ALL 2ND ROUND GAMES ARE AT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS HOME FIELD ANOTHER REWARD FOR WINNING YOU CONFERENCE.

4. TO BE CONTINUED/UNDER CONSTRUCTION

~^v~^v~^v~^v~^v~^v~^v~^v~^v~^v~TULSA UNION FOOTBALL~^v~^v~^v~^v~^v~^v

marlin, (11/25/2008 7:49:34 PM)

........it's all about the money!

SoonerChris, Tulsa (11/25/2008 9:23:03 PM)

To me it is a flawed argument they are using. Bottom line is if the regular season is the playoffs then 97% of the teams are eliminated 3 weeks into the season - what incentive do the fans of the 100 teams that are out of the playoffs have to watch the game. That is right they have no incentive. If this was the case I would not have bought OU season tickets throughout the 90's. Give the fans a break with these lame arguments and just tell us they all love their bowl games and the money and perks they recieve to go to them and be done with it! If this is such a great system we should implement it throughout the NCAA!

soonershark, Prague (11/26/2008 2:47:50 PM)

The 12 conference champs do not each deserve a slot. The Big East does not deserve a slot with mainly 8 basketball schools making up the conference. Everyone in the, another traditional basketball conference, the ACC, does not deserve a guaranteed slot. Its top team has as many losses as the Big XII's top three teams combined. There are multiple 10-12 team conferences, but maybe the Big Eight and Southwest Conferences should have stayed intact. That way instead of only two Big XII teams taken, UT and Tech would come out of the SWC and OU and OSU would come out of the Big Eight.

The odd thing is that the traditional basketball conferences often get fewer NCAA basketball tourney teams than the football heavy Big XII.