Championship ranking system defies logic

With three days before the Bowl Championship Series selections, now is a perfect time to explain why there should never be one again.

Exhibit A: The national championship.

At this point, it’s down to four teams ““ Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida ““ that will have a shot at that game. Alabama and Florida will play each other on Saturday while Texas can only secure a bid with an Oklahoma loss to Missouri.

I realize you haven’t seen so many states in the same sentence since your States and Capitals test in fifth grade, but take a deep breath. Here’s where it gets complicated.

Texas beat Oklahoma by 10 points earlier this season. But now, under a system that’s harder to understand than Ozzie Osbourne, the computers have Oklahoma out-polling Texas by 0.01 of a percentage point. That 0.01 is the difference in who gets to play for the championship.

Huh?

The game was already played. Texas is better. Done.

Now if this was the first time this has happened, fine. But since the BCS began in 1998, situations like this have plagued college football like 14th century Europe.

As for Alabama and Florida, if they play a tight one on Saturday, who’s not to say they’re the best two teams in the country?

You see, these four teams all have legitimate gripes with the BCS. But it doesn’t end there.

Exhibit B: Utah, Boise State and Ball State.

Just about every season, there are unbeaten teams and every season, those teams don’t get a shot at the national championship.

It’s like saying “Hey, great job on doing everything right. Have a muffin.”

(Full disclosure here: After calling Utah overrated a few weeks ago in this space, they’ve made me look dumber than Plaxico Burress at a nightclub. Touché, Utes, touché.)

Anyway, going undefeated should be an automatic bid to at least keep playing until you lose. Unless you win the national championship, you should never end the season unbeaten. It’s practically sacrilegious.

That’s why I’m pulling a page out of Obama’s book and calling for a playoff.

Eight teams. Three weeks. None of this co-champion nonsense.

Because, after all, this is America.

Let the Ball States and Utahs out there live the dream.

The problem is there are very few people who realistically believe that mid-major schools can compete with the nation’s powerhouses on a neutral field.

But that should not be the sole reason for keeping them from trying.

The system we have does exactly that. It says to everyone that you’ve got to play in the right conference to have a shot at winning it all.

The BCS is an average system for a game that deserves better. It’s like settling for leftover chicken that sat on the stove overnight just because it’s there, instead of that Sicilian Pizza from CPK you’ve got in the freezer. All it takes is a little effort to right that wrong.

It comes down to denying the little guy a shot to win it all. What if Rudy never got a shot to play in his final game for the Irish? What if the Little Engine That Could never had the chance to climb that hill? What if Hugo Chavez had a free election instead of giving away refrigerators in exchange for votes?

Exactly my point.

A playoff is what this country wants. It’s about as simple as that.

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