Friday, April 30, 2010

NCCA Football: BCS vs. Playoff system

One topic that has generated a lot of discussion lately is over the current college football championship system. Some people believe that the current way (BCS) is the best way to decide a national champ. However, many people also think that there should be a playoff system, similar to the NFL.

In the article A College Football Playoff that Works, Chris Suellentrop argues in favor of a new playoff system. He argues that fans, coaches, and the media are demanding a new playoff system. He proposes an 8 team playoff that would consist of the champion of each of the 6 major conferences in college football as well as two at-large teams from mid-majors. He goes on to say that the basis of this playoff is that if you aren't good enough to win your conference you can't win a national championship.

On the opposite side of the argument, in an article titled BCS Chief: A College Football Playoff Would Increase Problems, the author, Bill Hancock, argues against a change to a playoff system. Hancock argues that the current BCS system has given smaller schools a chance to play in big-time bowl games. He uses the example of the TCU football team from last season to prove this point. He also argues that the BCS system is too good of a way to make a large amount of money that helps the NCAA and each individual school.

Bill Hancock's article against implementing a playoff was the more convincing argument. This is because he used quotes and opinions from current coaches to back up his views. Whereas, Suellentrop did not use any evidence or quotations from experts to back up his argument.

After reading these articles my opinion has not changed about this topic. I still believe that a new playoff system needs to be put into place. I believe this solely for entertainment purposes. It happens too many times that the BCS games are complete blowouts. These games are supposed to be the best of the best playing each other. Instead, it often times turns into a very lopsided game that is not fun to watch.

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