Playoff - That Word Doesn't Mean What You Think it Means

Listen – I will be the first person to admit I know little (okay, nothing) about the politics involved in college athletics.  All I know is that it’s about money.  If anyone tells you their beloved alma mater would never cheat in any sport in an effort to get some of that money, then ask them for the cup they’re drinking from and start chugging because then you too can be in that happy, delusional place.

Now, again, prefacing this next statement by saying I probably don’t know what I’m talking about, I think the cheating/lying/scandals are worse in football than basketball (well, maybe not.  Basketball DOES have Calipari).  The only bowls that matter are the BCS games, and teams spend the entire season with the pressure of knowing that nothing less than perfection will get them there – literally, one loss could mean your shot at a championship is sitting next to Lindsay Lohan’s career in the gutter.  What team sits there saying, “Gee, we can’t wait to play in the WhoGivesAShit.com Bowl in Boise, ID, outside, on December 19th?”

Now, the NCAA/BCS/whoever is trying to hock this new four-team playoff system because we’ve been begging for one – though not necessarily THIS one (at least I haven’t).

As far as I am concerned, it was always going to involve more teams.  Maybe not the 68-69-100 that basketball has, but more than FOUR.  There’s still a selection committee that is still going to show glaring favoritism (hello, 2006?  Michigan was robbed.  That is all).  I feel like the “selection” process will involve them fighting over the fourth team LSU, Alabama and Auburn will play.

I know, I know - I am coming off as angry and bitter, I get it.  It’s not because the SEC has won the past 47 BCS titles or that Bobby Petrino is a filthy pig or that Urban Meyer is a liar.  It’s just that…well, I honestly think this playoff “solution” lacks as much logic as the BCS(hit).  Four teams are not enough for this to be called a true playoff.  It’s just picking two more favorites.  If Boise State goes 12-0, will they get in this time?  Or will the committee find a reason to leap frog 11-1 Ohio State over them?

This all goes into effect for the 2014 season, so we’ll have to see how it shakes out, but I think a four-team playoff is a copout.  

Talk to me when there are 16-teams, multiple rounds, and more than one conference vying for a championship.  Until then, my skepticism remains.

I think that this gem from Dan Wetzel’s column about this whole thing sums it up nicely 

In 2010, Rick Baker, president of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, said, "A playoff system would ruin the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic."

Tuesday, Rick Baker, president of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, said, "It's a great day for college football. We congratulate the conference commissioners and presidents for their diligent work to enhance the postseason."

See?  Even the bowl presidents don’t know what they’re talking about.  It’s not just me!!