What if there was a real playoff in college football?
Every year there is a problem with college football’s Bowl Championship Series, and every year I seem to rip it. However, last year I decided to start my own playoff champion and determine a winner, keeping all of the same formula intact. All of the other bowls will remain intact and the opening round playoff games will be at the BCS locations.
The six conference champions have the automatic berth and there will be four at-large teams who have the next four highest BCS ratings. This means a team like the University of Illinois, who luckily got in the BCS won’t in this format, while a Missouri team that get jipped out of a berth will be in it.
Ten teams make it because there are now ten teams in the BCS, up from a nice, round number of eight two years ago (why not make another bowl game so the NCAA can make more money)? Last year I crowned LSU as the champion after it knocked off Florida in the championship. The same thing would have probably happened if there was a plus one system.
The top six teams get a first round bye, which leaves us with these opening-round matches.
No. 7 USC vs. No. 10 Hawaii: Hawaii almost lost at home to Washington, a below-average Pac 10 team. USC won the Pac 10. There is no contest here as the Warriors don’t deserve this bid for skidding by the likes of Nevada and San Jose State. USC 38-17.
No. 8 Kansas vs. No. 9 West Virginia: Kansas was the surprise team of the year, while West Virginia had the ultimate choke. However, it is still alive with the playoff system. With a second life, the ground game of the Mountaineers gets the job done. WV 35-24.
That leads us to the first round of action where No. 1 Ohio State will take on West Virginia in what should have been the National Championship game.
Ohio State has problems with a spread attack, and this would be no different. Pat White is better than Juice Williams and Steve Slaton is better than Rashard Mendenhall. Plus, the game won’t be at the Horseshoe in Columbus. With that said, the Buckeyes force turnovers and get the job done 27-24.
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Georgia: Having a playoff is stupid because of horrible match-ups like this. Yea right! This would be an unbelievable game and would get higher ratings than the so-called championship this year. I am very partial to the SEC, but a healthy Oklahoma is too tough to beat. OU 31-28.
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 7 USC: Talking about great games, here is another thriller. With a couple weeks to get healthy, LSU will withstand the mighty Trojans and pull out a late victory on a John David Booty pick. LSU 23-21.
No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. No. 6 Missouri: This would be an interesting game featuring a great offense against a great defense. After watching Mizzou get beat by the only good defense it has played, I suspect the same would happen here. VT 24-20.
If that round wasn’t exciting enough, there is still plenty more football to be played.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Oklahoma: This is a really tough match-up for the Buckeyes. A defense that could rival theirs, and an offense that is superior. I don’t see how they could knock off the Boomer Sooners. OU 28-14.
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 Virginia Tech: In a rematch of a 41-point beating by LSU in September, this one would be much more interesting. Tech is a much better team and the neutral site would be a big help. Not a 41-point help though. LSU 20-13.
Now there is a championship game that has the top two teams in the country. Oklahoma would be playing for the championship now if not for a freak concussion to quarterback Sam Bradford against Texas Tech. LSU would be undefeated if not for playing in the near impossible SEC and that third overtime bug.
This game comes down to the health of the Tigers, and in particular, their mammoth defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. Instead of having four weeks to recover for the championship game, the Tigers will have to play two tough games before they get to the championship. That means more nicks and pains as lightning strikes three times. Three just isn’t a good number for the Tigers.
Oklahoma wins the championship 33-31 in three overtimes as LSU gets stopped on a 2-point attempt from Jacob Hester. Les Miles announces a move to Michigan in the post game press conference.
Back to reality, LSU knocks off Ohio State in the National Championship game 24-17 behind a healthy Dorsey.