In comparison to the rest of the sports world, there is a very unique system for determining a championship team in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) segment of American Collegiate football. This system is despised by just as many people, maybe more, than even the last US president. But I am here to make a case as to why the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) is important to college football as opposed to just going to a playoff system. I will illustrate the advantages of the BCS over a playoff in several points below.
The BCS makes the regular season more important
This is probably the easiest argument to make. No one can dispute the fact that by not having a playoff in the FBS division of college football, the regular season becomes the playoff in effect. If you win all your games, you will have a chance to play for the national championship. Now there are certainly exceptions to this rule unfortunately, and I am not here to argue that the BCS is perfect. Its a shame that "lower-tiered" conferences are often left out due to schedule strength, but this is a huge part in determining whether a team is worthy of a premier bowl or even a shot at the national championship. You can't argue that a team such as Boise State that may only play one or two great teams and a mediocre conference schedule is more deserving than a team who plays great teams throughout the season.
There is also the potential for a log-jam of teams that may be just as deserving to play in the BCS championship game that may be left out, like Auburn who went undefeated in 2004. A lot of people point to the 2004 season as a perfect example as to why the BCS is flawed and must be replaced. I will argue in subsequent points below that the BCS is not the only system that would fall to these unique situations. For now, suffice it to say, that the BCS makes every single game during the regular season the most important game of the season... until next weeks game.
Bowls are unique and special (Tradition)
College Football is steeped in tradition, from great rivalry games like the Red-River Shootout (Texas vs. Oklahoma), the 3rd Saturday in October (Tennessee vs. Alabama), Army vs. Navy, or the Civil War (Oregon vs. Oregon State). Games like these make the regular season enjoyable, even if your favorite team is not really in contention for a bowl game, or championship. And who can dismiss the unique trophies that go along with these special contests like the Paul Bunyan Axe, or the Little Brown Jug, or the Iron Skillet.
The bowl games themselves are part of this unique tradition in college football. Statistics for most consecutive bowl game appearances and most bowl game wins are just a part of college football lore as any of the rivalry games and trophies. The bowl games pit teams that would normally never play each other during the regular season for one last hurrah before the seniors must hang up their cleats. Bowl games are about money, sure, but they also look to make the most intriguing matches between opponents to help sell tickets. And isn't that what we all want... the most intriguing matchups? Lower-tiered teams get the chance to prove they have what it takes to beat the big-boys in a one game winner take all opportunity. Because let's face it 9 times out of 10 Boise State is not going to beat Oklahoma. But in college football, upsets are celebrated, and in the one game take all format of the BCS Championship Game... the upset potential is even with the favorite's chances of winning.
Bowls allow more teams to travel and enjoy the experience
This ties in with the previous points in that with the plethora of bowl games, more student-athletes get a chance to travel and enjoy a working-holiday for a hard season. Let's face it, 99% of teams are not good enough to win a championship no matter if you have a playoff or the BCS. The players are not professional athletes. They put in incredible amount of time and effort to get better during off-season workouts, spring and fall practices, and the actual game weeks themselves. But never forget that these people are students first. Most of the players will go on to become professionals in other fields, not necessarily the sport they play. The bowl game experience is a great way to say thank you for a great season. Or it's a way to let the fans have one last chance to see that all-conference player who will be hanging up his cleats since it's his senior year. The student-athletes deserve a last hurrah. Only the Bowl system can provide this.
Playoffs can never have enough participants
This is where the playoff system would have a problem that makes them just as poor a choice to crown a national champion as the BCS. Unless you start with a 119 team playoff, you are not giving someone a fair chance to go on a run and win the tournament. If you have a 4 team playoff... the 5th best team is left out in the cold and is not given a fair shot. It is the same with 8, 16, 32, or whatever your level of participation for a playoff system is. The argument that a team who is in 3rd place in the BCS standings is unfairly left out of the festivities is the same argument as that 5th place team who would be left out of a four team playoff. In either system someone will be left out with a valid case as to why they should be in. In the BCS system, the whole course of your season is taken into account. Lots of teams lose early in the season only to become contenders again by getting better throughout the season. This emphasizes the whole season as a body of work and goes to strengthen the first point above.
BCS makes Sports Talk shows relevant
A lot of playoff proponents argue that the true champion is determined on the field in a playoff system. That may put a few teams’ fans minds at ease. In fact only the teams that get in the playoff (see the point above) have a chance to "prove it on the field". In the BCS system, there is plenty of fodder for speculation throughout the season, and especially once we get near the end of it to discuss and argue who should be so deserving of a one game winner take all contest. This keeps the phone lines humming during weekly or daily sports talk shows on radio. Television sports shows garner incredible viewership to see how a lowly team that would normally not have anything to do with your favorite team performed... as it's all relative. As a fan you want to keep up with the teams that your favorite team beat or lost to, as the strength of schedule component to the BCS makes every game important... even those that your team didn't play! This continues to feed into the big business of college football as a brand. Perform a simple search on Google and you will find a bounty of fan sites and blogs devoted to your favorite team. Quite simply, the BCS is big business to the sports coverage media.
These are just a few points to provide an argument that the BCS is the best system for determining a champion in college football. There are plenty more, and I may delve into them again in the future. As a final statement, I will say that the BCS is better than a playoff system because nothing keeps the tradition of college football better than a winner take all one game system that rewards an entire season of excellence from a pair of deserving teams. A playoff simply cannot encompass enough teams to be fair to those left out, and doesn't reward excellence throughout the season... only at the end of it.
So, what do you think?
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