Prior to 1998, the college football world repeatedly complained that there was no clarity in crowning a national champion. That the 1997 national championship was just the latest split between two teams, Nebraska and Michigan, provided more fuel to the fire. The BCS was hatched to solve this issue.
Controversy repeatedly dogged the BCS during its 16-year run. So much so, that a 4-team playoff was created in 2014 so that that the inequities of only allowing 2 teams to play for a title would be resolved.
In theory, the playoff represented an improvement. But sometimes the gulf between theory and practice appears as wide as the Grand Canyon. .
No less a sage than Kirk Herbstreit opined earlier this month: “Before the 2021 season, you can almost pencil in Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson into the playoffs. And you can almost do so before the 2023 season”…and so on.
The playoff era seems to have created 3 monopolies that loom larger each year. Even programs with very high levels of success, such as Oklahoma and Notre Dame, seem comparatively small.
In its rankings, the selection committee turned a blind eye to some of 2020’s game results. For example, the Sun Belt’s 3-0 mark against the Big 12 was long forgotten by the time the last rankings were made public.
The bowl season, so awesome in my youth, has devolved into a bloated farce. The player opt outs that started with Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette have erupted into a deluge. Wednesday’s Cotton Bowl between Florida and Oklahoma was ruined when 8 Florida starters, including its top 4 receivers, said “no, thanks”.
Today, an unbeaten San Jose State team was shorthanded and quickly found itself in a 27-0 hole. When North Carolina plays in the Orange Bowl, a potentially fantastic matchup against Texas A&M will be marred by the absence of the Tar Heels’ star running backs, its best receiver and its star linebacker.
The solution to the current mess will undoubtedly be an expansion to 8 teams. Such expansion will clearly solve some inequities but will further trash the bowl system. Maybe that cost is acceptable.
Count me among the old-timers who loved January 1 when the 4 big bowls all played. When the incomparable Rose Bowl could count on the Pac 8 (or Pac 10) champ playing the Big 10 winner, the tradition was a reassuring balm to start a new year. I did not mind the controversies that would sometimes ensue and, in fact, got some pleasure out of the politicking.
Oh, did I mention that Alabama is a 20-point favorite tomorrow against Notre Dame. Yawn….the old days were not bad. Not bad at all.