My proposal for a true national champion!

The 2009 football season was unlike anything ever seen.  At the end of the
regular season, there were 5 teams that were undefeated and had a true argument
for the national championship: Alabama, Texas, Cincinnati, Boise State, and
TCU.  It shows the need for a playoff system, but at the same time, the reality
is that the bowl games are part of college football history and they aren't
going away.  So I have a suggestion for how to have both!


1. Begin and end the regular season one week earlier than we currently do.  This
would mean playing the conference championship games on Thanksgiving weekend.
The bye week could be eliminated, or the season could start 1 week earlier.  If
the networks want ratings, I would think that this would be a good way to create
a new holiday tradition. 

 

2. Following those games, 8 teams are chosen to play in 4 national quarterfinal
games the first weekend of December for a national playoff: the 6 BCS
conference champions, and then 2 more teams, which are chosen as follows:

a) Any undefeated non-BCS team - if there are more than 2, the best 2 are 
chosen by the BCS system or an NCAA football committee.

b) If there are no undefeated non-BCS teams, the BCS or a committee picks the
remaining 1 or 2 at-large teams.



3. The BCS system or football committee seeds the 8 teams 1-8 and they play 4
games at campus sites.  In 2009, those games would be:

8) Georgia Tech at 1) Alabama
5) Boise State at 4) TCU
6) Oregon at 3) Cincinnati
7) Ohio State at 2) Texas


4. The winning 4 teams play each other in 2 New Year's Day bowl games, which
rotate every other year (for example: Rose and Sugar on odd years, Fiesta and 
Orange on even years).  The 4 losers go back into the regular bowl pool.


5. The two winners of the New Year's Day games meet in a plus-one national
title game.


The advantages of this system are: 

a) it would not greatly affect the exam schedule for schools as the 4
quarterfinal games would be played the first weekend of December 
 
b) it does not add a great number of games to the schedule

c) we would get an undisputed national champion, which is what we all want.