Proposed College Football Plus One Playoff Idea Needs Tweaking

Jan 2, 2012
Larry Darter

College Football Playoff Idea Gaining Traction - morgueFile free photo

Support for a plus one playoff system is growing among top college athletic directors but the concept needs tweaking before tossing the BCS.

As reported by the Idaho Statesmen , in the aftermath of the release of the final 2011 Bowl Championship Series rankings, Boise State coach Chris Petersen echoed publicly what many college football fans have been saying for years, it's time to scrap the BCS.

Irritated by his 7th-ranked team being snubbed by all the major bowls in favor of inviting lower-ranked teams, Petersen expressed his frustration on the record. "The whole thing needs to be changed, there's no question about it." Petersen continued, "Everybody is just very tired of the BCS. I think that's the bottom line. Everybody is frustrated. Everybody doesn't really know what to do anymore. It doesn't make sense to anybody. I don't think anybody is happy anywhere."

In the wake of BCS criticism by Petersen and other coaches and the rising dissatisfaction among fans with the current championship system, a significant change may be in the offing for how future Division 1 FBS college football championships are determined.

According to Sports Illustrated, Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby, speaking at the Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in New York on December 7, 2011, said, "I happen to agree with my conference colleagues about the plus-one game...I think it's inevitable at this point." In the words of Sport's Illustrated writer Andy Staples, given Bowlsby's comments and similar comments made by other influential athletic directors who spoke at the forum, "The plus-one is coming."

Plus one playoff a good start

While the discussion about replacing the BCS with a Division 1 FBS plus-one playoff system has just begun, the basics are known. A plus one system would be a four-team playoff format where the top four teams in the nation at the end of the regular season would play in two semi-final games. The winners of those games would then play each other in a final game to determine the national champion.

As an example, if the system was in effect now, No. 2 Alabama would play No. 3 Oklahoma St. and No. 1 LSU would play No. 4 Stanford in semi-final games. The winners of those games would have then meet in the national championship game.

Those who have criticized the BCS and clamored for an actual playoff would not be entirely satisfied with the modest plus one. Most favor an 8 or 16 team, bracketed tournament-style playoff, something many athletic directors and college presidents have historically opposed. Yet the plus-one would be the first step in the playoff direction and potentially the playoffs could expand in top something more meaningful. In fact, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany believes a plus one playoff would be the first step on a "slippery slope" to an expanded playoff.

Quoted by the Associated Press, Delany said, "That's [playoff expansion] what happened in I-AA. It's what happened in the (NCAA) basketball tournament. It's what would inevitably happen here. I don't necessarily think the slippery slope is theoretical. I think the slippery slope is practical."

Selection committee should replace polls-based system

As noted by Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated, in an article breaking down the final BCS rankings for the season, there is a lot of room for bias in the human polls that are part of the BCS rankings that make the system suspect. It seemed that some coaches with a vote in the USA Today Coaches' Poll (one component of the BCS ranking system) downgraded the competition to boost the ranking of their own team. One example he offers was Alabama coach Nick Saban. Saban ranked his own team No. 2 while ranking Oklahoma State No. 4. Arguably Saban cast his vote to do what he could to make certain Oklahoma State did not pass Alabama in the final rankings and deny the Crimson Tide a rematch with LSU in the title game.

It seems ridiculous that Saban even had a vote with his own team in competition for a berth in the championship game. Who wouldn't look after his own interests first in such a situation? The point is, a system based on biased human polls and secret computer polls should not be the method by which the top four teams are selected for a playoff.

Instead of polls, a selection committee similar to that used in selecting at-large teams for college basketball's NCAA Division I Basketball Championship should be created. With only a four team format, there should not be any automatic qualifiers as there is in basketball. The selection committee would be tasked with choosing the top four teams in the nation from among the eleven conference champions and the best team from among the major independents. The oldest poll, the Associated Press poll, is not now a part of the BCS ranking system. None of the others should be either.

Current bowl system should not be incorporated

Finally, the current college football bowls should not be incorporated into any plus one playoff system. That would actually be an advantage for bowls like the Rose Bowl that prefer to continue historic traditions like PAC 12 versus Big Ten match ups. Teams seeded No.1 and No. 2 should be given home field advantage for the semi-final games and only the championship game should be played on a neutral site to minimize travel requirements for participating teams and fans. Site selection for the championship game should be made on a competitive bid basis to maximize revenues.

In modern times, with only one exception, until 1968 and 1974 respectively, the final AP poll and Coaches' poll that determined college football's "mythical" national champion were released at the end of the regular season in advance of the bowls. Bowls were not a factor in the rankings then and should simply return to their former status as postseason exhibition-type games with no impact on rankings and championships.

Plus one would be a step in the right direction for major college football but a few other changes are needed for it to succeed. Eliminating the Bowl Championship Series is just part of the solution to the flawed, unpopular system now in place.

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