It's Not Life And Death, But BCS National Champ System Stinks

Unless you're a Gator Hater, you are excited that the University of Florida Gators are playing for a national college football title in January against the University of Oklahoma. Like most folks, we can't wait for the game. But also like most people who care a lick about Division I college football, we can't believe that a national playoff system is not in place to make sure that the best teams get a chance to play for the national title.

Few college football fans are questioning Florida's right to play for the title. They knocked off the No. 1 team in the country and won the SEC to earn that right. Oklahoma, on the other hand, is swirling in controversy. A lot of people believe the Texas Longhorns deserve to face Florida, since Texas beat Oklahoma head to head on a neutral field this season. And there are a couple of undefeated teams, but in lesser conferences.

No one denies, though, that Oklahoma is a great team. The question is why is the national title left up to silly Bowl Championship Series computations using polls and computers? Several teams have a legitimate argument for earning a right to play for the title. Unfortunately, university presidents and bowl directors just won't let that happen. It's all about greed.

Even President-elect Barack Obama has said there should be an eight-team playoff for the national championship. We agree. All that's required is for the top eight teams to begin play a week or two after the regular season ends. That would make it a three or four week tournament for the national title. All the major bowls could still be playoff sites, with the national championship rotating between them.

It's seems crazy that bowl directors believe this will lose them money. If anything, it will boost their revenue because the teams playing would still be in the hunt for a national championship.

With all the important issues in our country right now, deciding a national championship sounds trivial at best. But for a lot of people it's important. As it stands, it's a broken system, but it could easily be fixed. Let's hope changes come fast.