Bcs_vs_Playoff

BCS vs. Playoffs I have been a College football fan for as long as I can remember and I know, just like every other college football fan, that the BCS system is not perfect. The BCS or Bowl Championship Series is a system designed to find the top two Division I-A college football teams in the nation. Using computers they take into account polls from Associated Press writers and the coaches, number of losses, strength of schedule, and if a team has beaten any of the other top ten teams. A computer then adds it all up and ranks the teams accordingly; the two top teams then play each other for the national championship. Many people argue that a playoff system is a better way to find the national champion, while others are perfectly happy with the BCS system currently used. The question that many involved with college football ask is whether or not a playoff system is a better way to determine which teams play in the national championship. The problem many people have with the BCS system is that in any given season there may be more than one undefeated team, but there can only be one champion. There are several instances where undefeated teams were not chosen by the BCS system to play in the championship game. This leaves one wondering how a team, seemingly as talented as the championship team, can take second or even third place without losses. An alternative to the BCS approach in determining the champion is a playoff system. In a playoff system the top 16 or so teams would play each other working their way up to the national championship game, but if a team lost they would be eliminated and no longer eligible to become national champions. The advantage of this is that each team’s ability to perform, whether they win or lose, would lead to their own outcome, as opposed to a computer system deciding who is best. This type of system would allow more teams a chance at becoming a national champion given that, in the end, the title would be available for any of the 16 teams to claim instead of just two. The problem people have with this playoff system is the idea that it would ruin the tradition of the college football bowl games which have been around for years. Also it is said that it would diminish the importance of regular season games since a team could lose a game and maybe even two and still be national champions. With the BCS system in place the regular season becomes much like a playoff system in that no team can afford to lose because they would then relinquish the crown of a national championship. No matter what system is used people will always be argumentative, because despite the number of wins you have or how good a team or their fans believe they are there can only be one champion. Regardless of the system used the teams that are always on the outside of the playoffs or the BCS will always think that there is a better way to find the champion. From any individual perspective, in the instance of college football the best system to use is the one that helps their team the most.