What Could Have Been

As I sit here watching this pitiful excuse for "The Grandaddy of Them All", The Rose Bowl, this game just gives us fans one more reason why the BCS is becoming completely inadequate for NCAA Division - IA Football.  Today we are presented with a thirty-two point USC blowout of Illinois, 49-17, the biggest blowout of the Rose Bowl since 1984, which ironically was the last time Illinois was in the Rose Bowl, suffering another embarrassing defeat from UCLA, 45-9.  Only hours earlier today, the number six BCS ranked Missouri, whooped Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl 38-7.  The amazing number of upsets of ranked opponents this season just proves that a playoff system is coming closer and closer to reality.

So here it is: 12 team playoff consisting of the 6 BCS Conference Champions and the next 6 highest AP Poll ranked teams; the top 4 teams will receive a bye week.  Make the the top 11 bowls part of this tournament and the rest of the bowls can exist for lower ranked teams.  Re-seeding will occur after each week's results like in the NFL Playoffs.  I will simulate these games in NCAA Football 2008 and post the results in the coming weeks.

#1 Ohio State (Big-10 Bid) -BYE

#2 LSU (SEC Bid) - BYE

#3 Oklahoma (Big-12 Bid) -BYE

#4 Georgia (At-Large 1) -BYE

#5 Virginia Tech (ACC Bid)

#6 USC (Pac-10 Bid)

#7 Missouri (At-Large 2)

#8 Kansas (At-Large 3)

#9 Florida (At-Large 4)

#10 Hawaii (At-Large 5)

#11 West Virginia (Big East Bid)

#12 Arizona State (At-Large 6)

Round 1:

#5 Virginia Tech vs. #12 Arizona State - Holiday Bowl -  Saturday, December 15, 2007

#6 USC vs. #11 West Virginia - Cotton Bowl - Saturday, December 15, 2007

#7 Missouri vs. #10 Hawaii - Outback Bowl - Saturday, December 15, 2007

#8 Kansas vs. #9 Florida - Chick-Fil-A Bowl -Saturday, December 15, 2007

And by the way a prediction for tonight's Sugar Bowl: another "prestigious" bowl blowout Georgia 35 - Hawaii 14