As the regular season of college football comes to an end, and the bowl season fast approaches, many football fans have to be scratching their heads, wondering what happened this year.
Never in Bowl Championship Series history has there been back-to-back weeks where the top two teams in the nation both lost. Then again, how often is the title game played between a team with two losses and a team with no wins against top-20 opponents?
Ohio State is, once again, in the national championship for reasons beyond me, while No. 6 Mizzou is not in a BCS bowl. This is probably so that No. 13 Illinois, a team with three losses-including one to Mizzou-could make a bowl. Didn’t anyone learn from last season that the Big Ten is not that strong of a conference?
The BCS has made mistakes, for sure, and has always been accepted as a flawed system. This year, though, has bordered on ridiculous. It has embarrassed itself to the point of no return, and people should be clamoring for its dissolution.
It appears that it is finally time to go to a playoff-style system in college football. December Disarray may not have the ring that March Madness has, but it would put many college football fans at ease, and it seems to be the only logical solution to an illogical situation.
So what if the regular season ends up being a little less exciting, and the bowl games, aside from the national championship, lose some significance? It is the only way we will truly know what the best team in the nation really is.
The biggest issue I have with the BCS is its snubbing of Hawaii, which finished the season 12-0 and never achieved a ranking higher than 10. Unlike Ohio State, Hawaii beat a top-20 ranked team and, unlike any team, they did not lose.
I don’t care how good or bad a team is supposed to be, going undefeated warrants a chance to be named the best in the nation.
Boise State finished their Cinderella season last year with a victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, which should have been proof that a mid-major team can, in fact, win big games.
That, coupled with probable Heisman winner Colt Brennan and a perfect record, makes a case that the Rainbow Warriors are playing in the wrong game at New Orleans.
These are the reasons why I like the National Football League more than college football. Sure, I receive a lot of flack about it at times, but at least there is a no-questions-asked playoff system in the NFL.
If the team that earned the championship is not allowed to play in it, at least have a playoff system that will legitimize the picks for the championship game.
If the BCS had its say in the NFL, though, the Patriots could make the championship even if they lost in the playoffs because they are the better team.
Because Hawaii is being denied a shot at the national championship-an opportunity the team deserves-and Saint Louis University is still without a football team, I’m going to stick to my football on a professional level.
Landon Burris is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.
