Five anti-playoff excuses that just don't work.

Over the last few years, I've heard several excuses for why a playoff system either can't work, or can't happen in FBS.  I find all of those excuses to be weak, and explain why.

Nick Saban wants the voters to be fair.

So do I, but I think we have different outcomes in mind.  And the reason I don't want to see an LSU-Alabama rematch is because that's already been decided on the field.

Nick Saban: "Pick fair"


Now I realize I could be seen as being hypocritical about not wanting a rematch there when I'm eagerly awaiting the Virginia Tech rematch with Clemson in the ACC title game.  But there are two differences:  a conference title game isn't the same as a national championship, and deals with a smaller scale; and the ACC has specific rules and divisions in place to determine who plays in that game.

LSU vs. Alabama in the national championship would be like the ACC coming back and saying that since Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are the two best teams in the ACC, they will play for the championship, even though they're in the same division and one of them clearly didn't win their division.  For that matter, why isn't the SEC throwing out their rules and bumping Georgia for Alabama, because then that would have the two best SEC teams in the SEC title game?

Week 14: Games to Watch

This week's slate of games is really easy to pick from.  Most of them are outright conference championships.

Week 13 wrap up

Rivalry week has come and gone, and left us with plenty of great games!  The BCS picture might still be a mess, but conference championships are much clearer.  Except, of course, for the Big East.

7-5 Louisville in the BCS?

After 2 key Big East games on Black Friday, the BCS picture got a little clearer. Louisville just finished up 7-5 after beating South Florida, clinching a share of the conference title.

Now, the Cardinals are just one Cincy loss away from making it into the BCS. Only four 2-loss teams remain in the Big East: Louisville, Cincy, West Virginia (after defeating Pitt in the Backyard Brawl), and Rutgers. Louisville beat WV and Rutgers, meaning that if Syracuse or UConn beat Cincy, we're going to see a 7-5 team playing in the BCS.

As a Hokie, I must confess: I'm not a fan of this. For one, a 7-5 team...really? Second, Louisville is gonna have it out for us (assuming we make it to the Orange Bowl, which has last pick in the BCS and will likely get stuck with Louisville), not forgetting the Marcus Vick "I'm an idiot" stomp in the 2006 Gator Bowl. Third, hello all-time ratings low for a BCS Bowl! It's got lose-lose written all over it.

Six points about the BCS

With the tumult of the past week of college football, and still two more weeks to go, I've been thinking about the BCS, and wondering what it all means, and if it really does work.

Week 13: Games to Watch

Thanksgiving means football, and TV is giving us a lot of it.  Plenty on the line for most teams, whether it's BCS hopes, conference championship berths, or just bragging rights.  When your favorite team isn't on, be ready to flip between several channels.  This is the biggest week of the season.

Week 12 wrap up

Last week, I said postseason options were getting clearer?  Forget I said that.  While some conferences championship game berths did finally get decided, the BCS got thrown into absolute chaos. 

BCS is starting to think about change, but maybe not the good kind

Found an article at ESPN that is very interesting on the future of the BCS, National Championship, and bowl games in general.

Week 12: Games to watch

We're at an interesting spot this week.  On the face of things, it doesn't appear that a lot can be clenched.  We already know the Big 12 is coming down to the Oklahoma/OKSt. game next weekend.  The Big East is still chasing each other, and will probably only keep making a mess of their conference standings.  The other conferences don't have any winner-take-all matches, so if any teams clench, it will be as a result of multiple games.

But, there's still a few interesting matchups out there.

Week 11 wrap up

Another week down and the postseason options are getting a lot clearer across the board.

Week 11: Games to watch

As the season heads into its final weeks, here's a list of games that I found to be interesting matchups while looking down the schedule.  Not all have big time implications, and I'm sure there's a game not on this list that will turn out to be huge.  That's the nature of Saturdays in the fall.

heading into week 11...

We're at the point of the season where conference races are starting to tighten up and get a little clearer.

New blog

I'm just a college football fan that has been watching the sport for ten years and want a place to express my opinions and analysis of the game.

As a grad of Virginia Tech, that's the lens through which I usually see the world of college football.