Playoff Is The Only Solution to BCS

The BCS is a joke.

You've heard it said many times, many ways but this year was concrete proof that college football is in dire need of a playoff system. You had four teams (LSU, USC, Georgia, West Virginia) that all had possible claims to the national title when the dust settled. Isn't there some thing inherently wrong with that?

Eric Bischoff wrote a book called "Controversy Creates Cash", and maybe he was right. Attendance has been up across the country and some point to the discussion about how truly flawed the BCS is as one of the contributing factors.

You know what also would create cash? An eight team playoff. I think it works for that group of 65 in March, wouldn't you agree?

Since the inception of the BCS in 1998, there has been one controversy free season, 2005-06, which featured USC and Texas in a thrilling Rose Bowl. Here is a list of BCS controversies.

• 1998-99: Kansas State finishes third in the BCS with one loss but is not invited to a BCS bowl while fourth ranked Ohio State and two loss Florida. Kansas State was invited to the Alamo Bowl and lost that game to Purdue.
• 1998-99: One loss Arizona, ranked seventh, was invited to the Holiday Bowl, even though the Orange Bowl featured two lower ranked teams (Florida and Syracuse)
• 1999-00: Kansas State was again snubbed by the BCS after being ranked sixth. Eighth ranked Michigan took their place.
• 2000-01: 12-1 Florida State was chosen over 11-1 Miami for the national title game after Miami had beaten Florida State in the regular season and their only loss came to Washington, who also had only one loss. Florida State lost to Oklahoma and Miami and Washington both won their bowl games.
• 2001-02: Nebraska was invited to the national title game, despite the fact they were ranked fourth and not even winning their conference. Miami destroyed Nebraska in the title game while one loss Oregon beat two loss Colorado (who beat Nebraska to win the Big 12) in the Fiesta Bowl.
• 2003-04: In this season three teams (USC, Oklahoma, and LSU) all had one loss. USC was ranked first in the AP and Coaches poll. Oklahoma lost to Kansas State which dropped them to third in both polls. This moved LSU into the second spot in both polls. However, the BCS chose Oklahoma and LSU and LSU and USC both won their games and there was a split national title.
• 2004-05: This season featured five undefeated teams (Oklahoma, USC, Auburn, Utah, Boise State). USC beat Oklahoma in dominating fashion while Auburn and Utah both won their BCS bowls, leaving three undefeated teams at season's end.
• 2006-07: Going into the last poll of the year, undefeated Boise State and one loss Louisville, Michigan, Florida and Wisconsin all had claims to the last spot in the title game. Florida eventually took the spot by a .0101 points and went on to win the title while Michigan lost to USC in the Rose Bowl.
• 2007-08: In what was arguably the craziest college football season in recent memory, the BCS did not disappoint. In the final two weeks of the season the top two teams lost both weeks. LSU lost in triple overtime to Arkansas and Missouri beat number two Kansas to take the top spot in the BCS. The next week, Missouri lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game and West Virginia lost to Pitt. This took originally fifth ranked Ohio State to first and the national title game. LSU won the SEC title game over Tennessee and that win pushed them over higher ranked Georgia and into the title game. Undefeated Hawaii was not given a spot in the title game as well. Georgia went on to dismantle Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl and LSU won the national title. In a shocking twist, Kansas was given an at large bid despite losing to Missouri.

The only way to solve this is a playoff, eight teams, three weeks, one champion. There would be no debate, no complaining and no controversy. The way I would set it up is this.

Six BCS conference winners (Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma, USC, West Virginia, Virginia Tech
Mid Major (If applicable, this year, Hawaii)
At-Large team (Georgia)

Then you seed the teams.

1. Ohio State vs. 8. Hawaii
2. LSU vs. 7. Georgia
3. Virginia Tech vs. 6. West Virginia
4. Oklahoma vs. 5. USC

You can hold the first round at the four major bowls (Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta) and then hold the later rounds can rotate which sites would host. It just makes so much more sense than what we have. Some are calling for a Plus-One format but that wouldn't have solved anything because USC and Georgia would have been on the outside of a Plus-One. The current BCS contract run until 2010 and hopefully the powers that be can cut through the politics and stubborn nature of some of the involved parties to give the people what they want and deserve; a college football playoff.

The Rantings Of An Upset Fan

There are times in the life of a sports fan where going into a game, they know their team has no chance.

For me, today was one of those days.

My Tennessee Titans headed into a Wild Card matchup with the San Diego Chargers yesterday afternoon. On paper, this was a mere formality. The Titans could not keep up with the Chargers, especially without two former Pro Bowl lineman and two of our receiving targets. Not to mention Vince Young came in on one leg with a hurt quad.

I really wish they would have blown us out, because maybe it wouldn't hurt this much if they did.

Tennessee came out and did what it did best in the first half. They ran the ball and had Vince Young make some throws to keep drives alive. The Titans also harrassed Philip Rivers and kept LaDainian Tomlinson in check. The only problem was, the Titans offense was too conservative and too predictable. Add in the fact that Titans running back Chris Brown coughed up the ball deep in San Diego territory, you had a recipe for disaster.

In the second half, it was clear that San Diego had adjusted...and the Titans had not. Rivers found holes all throughout the Titans secondary and led them to a 10-6 lead.

Then the wheels fell off.

The Titans responded by driving right down the field including a beautiful throw to Ben Troupe down the sideline. But yet again, the Titans offense sputtered out and they called on Rob Bironas to pull them within three. Bironas missed by a hair.

He missed?

Are you sure?

That looks close.....

...Crap.

That play proved to be the deathnail in the Titans season. The Chargers took the ball and drove right down the field and got to 4th and Goal at the Titans one yard line. The Chargers decided to go for the throat and the win and sent their offense on the field. Rivers handed the ball to Tomlinson who lept high into the air and was hit by Stephen Tulloch. Tomlinson was knocked back. Tomlinson then had the awareness to reach the ball over the line. Touchdown Chargers.

This is where things got blurry for me.

That play was one of the most egregious officiating gaffes of the season. Tomlinson's motion was clearly stopped and he was knocked back. The refs all swallowed their whistles and let the play go. Let it also stand that Tulloch should have wrapped Tomlinson up. Jeff Fisher challenged the play but Ed Hochuli apparantly did not see what I saw and said the ruling stand. The Titans went on to lose the game 17-6.

This game summed up the entire season for the Titans. A good defensive effort spoiled by a poor offensive showing. There are three major reasons why the Titans offense is putrid.

1. Fisher/Chow: What happened to the offensive genius? Chow has done nothing to open the playbook whatsoever all season. Also, has the man ever heard of a counter play or a toss or even a sweep. The Titans run nothing but draws all game and then they call stupid pass plays for two or three yards. Maybe it has something to do with Fisher's conservative style clashing with Chow. Fisher gets lumped in for his gameplan, which totally stinks. He likes to get a small lead and cling to it until the very send. Where is the killer instinct that the Chargers showed yesterday? People may not like coaches like Bill Belichick, but the man knows how to put teams away and it gets results.

2. The Wide Receivers: These guys are the biggest bunch of jabroni's masquerading as pro wide receivers in the entire NFL. This is the depth chart at WR for the Tennessee Titans

• Eric Moulds
• Roydell Williams
• Paul Williams
• Justin Gage
• Joel Filani
• Brandon Jones
• Biren Ealy
• Chris Davis

I have seen Pop Warner teams with better wide outs than that. The Titans better take some of their cap money ($40 million before re-signings) and invest in a wide reciever.

3. Vince Young: Even if your wide outs stink, there's no excuse for 18 interceptions and seven touchdowns. Vince has slumped this season and is not the same Vince. Vince has tried to prove that he can throw and it's cost himself and this team dearly. You can sense his hesitation to run. That's not the Vince I remember. Where's the Vince who bolted from the pocket against Houston in OT to win it? I don't know but Vince needs to find him soon.

Adding to the offenses woes was the horrendous performance by the kick return team. The Titans always have to drive 75-plus yards to score and that lays at the feet of the returners that just totally stink. That is the one area the Titans missed Pacman Jones the most and his return will be greeted with open arms as far as I'm concerned.

They say there's always next year, but right now, I have a bitter taste in my mouth.

Tom's NFL Playoff Preview: Wild Card Round

Saturday's Games

Washington Redskins @ Seattle Seahawks: 4:15, NBC

Easily the most interesting game of the NFC bracket, the Seahawks, who are 7-1 at home (3-0 in the playoffs at Qwest Field) take on the red hot Washington Redskins who have .500 record on the road. Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck has an injured wrist but will not prevent him from making the start. Shaun Alexander, while having a disappointing season has averaged 101 yards over his last four playoff games. The last time Alexander came up against the Redskins in the post season he left after 6 carries for 9 yards with a concussion. Seattle won the game 20-10. It will be interesting to see if the clock will strike Midnight for Washington and Todd Collins turns back into a pumpkin. The Redskins win, but close in a tough enviornment.

Washington 24 - Seattle 21

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Pittsburgh Steelers: 8:00, NBC

The must-see matchup of the weekend is a rematch of a 29-22 victory for the Jags in Week 15. The Steelers come limping in with injuries long the offensive line and without star running back Willie Parker. Pittsburgh has lost the last three meetings against Jacksonville, two of which were at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh has never lost two games at home to the same team in one season in its history. Look for that to change with a strong performance from Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew on the ground and a solid, yet un-inspiring performance from David Garrard.

Jacksonville 31 - Pittsburgh 21

Sunday's Games

New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1:00, Fox

This is a tale of two teams headed in opposite directions. The Giants are coming in off of their strong performance against New England and Tampa Bay comes in with their starters having seen limited time over the past few weeks. The real question is, can you ever be too rested? The Bucs are a veteran team, but QB Jeff Garcia has said that he feels rusty and it will show under the pressure of the Giants defensive line. Expect a solid dose of Brandon Jacobs and a surprising performance from Eli Manning as the Bucs shake off the rest a little too late.

New York 28 - Tampa Bay 17

Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Seahawks: 4:15, CBS

This is one of those weird games. It could be a great game, or it could get ugly, and get ugly fast. The Titans are banged up all across the depth chart. Vince Young is a game time decision but expect him to play, but being affective is another story. Young has not been the same since he first injured the quad and I wouldn't expect the explosive play from Vince on Sunday. LenDale White is a game time decision as well with a back injury, I would expect LenDale to give it a shot but to eventually give way to Chris Brown and Chris Henry. The Titans also lost TE Bo Scaife and WR Roydell Williams to a lacerated liver and broken ankle respectively. The Chargers come in riding a six game winning streak, that featured a 23-17 overtime thriller against the Titans. The Titans have lost the last two meetings in San Diego including 40-7 beat down last season. In the last three matchups, LaDainian Tomlinson has rushed for 364 yards and contributed 5 touchdowns. Expect more of the same as the Chargers run by an undermanned Tennessee squad.

San Diego 35 - Tennessee 17

K-Mart's NFL Playoff Preview: The Quest for 19-0

So the Patriots did it. They finished the season 16-0. Now the question is, can they win just three more games to become the first team ever to finish the season 19-0? Well they have their well deserved week off after a hard fought win against the New York Giants. The Giants aren't as lucky and have to travel to Tampa Bay for their wild card game against the Buccaneers. Hopefully the injuries they sustained in the Patriots game won't hurt them...

The Redskins and the Titans managed to sneak their way into the playoffs with victories this weekend. The Redskins travel to Seattle who rested their starters on Sunday and lost to the lowly Falcons. We'll see if that has any effect on the game this weekend. The Titans go to San Diego to play the Chargers who have won six straight after realizing that they are a much better team when they hand the ball off to LaDainian Tomlinson. It only took Norv Turner ten games to figure that one out...

The best wild card match up is between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jaguars beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh mid-December. Since then the Steelers have lost Willie Parker which throws a wrench into their offensive game plan. The Jaguars have been one of the hottest teams as of late and have a better record than the Steelers, but they have the misfortune of playing in a division with the Colts...

Game of the Week:

Jacksonville (11-5) at Pittsburgh (10-6)- This is a rematch of their December 16^th game which the Jaguars won 29-22. In my opinion, even though the Steelers won their division and are the home team, they are the underdogs in this game. Not having Willie Parker really hurts and the Jaguars play the same style of football the Steelers do- smash mouth defense and run first offense. I think the healthier Jaguars will beat the Steelers easily.

Jaguars 31 Steelers 20

Upset Special:

Washington (9-7) at Seattle (10-6)- The Redskins come in riding a four game winning streak. In that streak they beat the playoff bound New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys and knocked the Minnesota Vikings out of playoff contention. The Seahawks are 2-2 in their last four games losing to Carolina and Atlanta. Carolina forced the Seahawks into a one dimensional offense and was able to hold them to ten points. The Redskins defense is considerably better than the Panthers' and should have no trouble replicating their success on defense. Todd Collins is playing well in place of Jason Campbell, he manages the game well, makes smart decisions with the ball, and has made several big pass plays. In three starts, Collins has thrown 5 touchdowns to 0 interceptions. So as long as the Redskins take care of the ball on offense, they should have no problem winning this game.

Redskins 27 Seahawks 17

Ugh Seriously they have to Broadcast this Game?:

New York Giants (10-6) at Tampa Bay (9-7)- The Giants may have gained confidence from last week's game against the Patriots, but not only did they lose the game but they lost 3 more players to injury including their starting center. The Giants have not won a playoff game under Tom Coughlin and they haven't won a road playoff game since 1990. Neither will change this weekend. The Buccaneers are rested and ready to play. Their defense will make Eli Manning uncomfortable all day, and he caves under pressure. He played well against the Patriots until they started blitzing late in the game, then he fell apart. The Bucs will use that to their advantage and should coast to victory.

Buccaneers 24 Giants 14

Best Sunday Game:

Tennessee (10-6) at San Diego (11-5)- The Titans had a 17-3 lead going into the fourth quarter in their regular season game. They managed to squander it and lose 23-17 in overtime. The Titans know they can beat the Chargers, but the Chargers have finally gone back to the formula that won them 14 games last year- hand the ball of to LT and let him do the work. The Chargers should get their first playoff win in a decade if the Titans can't slow down LT.

Chargers 28 Titans 24

K-Mart's BCS Preview

Illinois Fighting Illini(9-3) at University of Southern California Trojans(10-2)-The Grandaddy of them All once again kicks off the BCS season featuring an intriguing match-up between upstart Illinois and USC. The Trojans are entering their third straight Rose Bowl, beating Michigan last year and losing to Texas the year prior. The Fighting Illini are driven by their dual threat quarterback Juice Williams, who's balanced by Big Ten offensive player of the year Rashard Mendenhall. The Illini will need a solid game from those two if they hope to stick in this game. The Trojans, a pre-season favorite to be in the National Championship game, is healthy and playing some of their best football all season. Senior quarterback John David Booty's finger has mended has only thrown one interception in the past four games. The Trojan defense has been allowing 12.75 points per game since their loss to Oregon, and only 79.2 yards on the ground. While the Trojans clearly have the better defense and deeper offense, the Illini have proven that they can win a big game on the road. They beat Ohio State 28-21 in Columbus, OH in November, however they will be hard pressed to repeat the upset here.

Trojans 38 Fighting Illini 14

Hawaii Warriors(12-0) at Georgia Bulldogs(10-2)- The Warriors are the only unbeaten team left in division 1-FBS football, however, they rode the league's easiest schedule to that record. They beat only one ranked team, a 12 point win over Boise St. and they had close calls with Louisiana Tech, Nevada and Washington- not exactly the cream of the crop. They do boast one of the best offenses in the league this year, but have not faced any great defenses. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, feel a little bit gypped that they aren't playing in the title game as they were 3^rd in the BCS standings before West Virginia lost their #1 ranking the final week of the season. They were leapfrogged by LSU who won the SEC championship game that the Bulldogs couldn't even play in. The Bulldogs, like most SEC teams, boasts a tough, speedy defense, and a solid offense. Their defense should provide a stiff test for the high powered Warrior offense.

Bulldogs 31 Warriors 27

West Virginia Mountaineers(10-2) at Oklahoma Sooners(11-2)- This is going to be the best BCS game outside of the national championship game. The Mountaineers are upset over the sudden departure of their coach who left to take the job at Michigan. They are also 10-0 in games in which Pat White doesn't get hurt. For an offensively oriented team, they boast a pretty good defense and have allowed about 17 points a game. The Sooners are playing their best football of the year. They have rolled over their opponents on offense this year, scoring at least 17 each game and have topped 40 points 8 times this year. The Mountaineers are going to have their hands full trying to slow down the Sooners' passing attack. This will be the highest scoring BCS game.

Sooners 38 Mountaineers 31

Kansas Jayhawks(11-1) at Virginia Tech Hokies(11-2)- The Hokies got off to a slow start this season, getting blown out by LSU in week two and then losing a close game to Boston College in week 8. They haven't lost since that week and won the rematch with BC in the ACC title game. Their defense has been solid all year having only allowed more than 20 points 4 times this season. The offense has struggled at times, but has been clicking as of late. The Jayhawks are another team that benefited from a weak schedule. They played two ranked teams (only one is currently ranked) and only won one. They were clearly over matched in the game against Missouri. The Hokies are better than any team the Jayhawks have faced this year and they should win it easily.

Hokies 27 Jayhawks 17

Louisiana State University Tigers (11-2) at Ohio State University Buckeyes (11-1)- The Buckeyes are once again the #1 team in the league heading into the national championship game and once again are facing a talented SEC team. With memories of last year's blowout loss to Florida fresh in their minds, the Buckeyes are hoping to avoid losing in this game for the second year in a row. Their defense is solid, though it has not been tested much this year, and the offense has been surprisingly efficient. The Tigers come into the game as the first two loss team to play for the BCS national championship. They are favored to win because they came through the SEC, but this game will be closer than most people expect. The Tigers have beaten six ranked teams this year, but struggled to beat Tennessee in the SEC championship game, and has a loss to unranked Arkansas on their record. Their offense will be the best the Buckeyes have seen all year and the challenge will be whether or not the Buckeyes have the answers.

Tigers 24 Buckeyes 20