University Star

Now that college football is coming down to the wire (like it does every year), some teams should be recognized.

There is Florida, Alabama and Texas, which are all undefeated (not a big surprise there). However, this year Texas Christian, Cincinnati and Boise State remain undefeated as well.

What is sad is everyone knows what is going to happen. Either Florida or Alabama will win the SEC Championship game. Texas will cruise along and be in the national championship game. The three smaller schools will be shunned from having a chance at the championship because undefeated is not good enough for college football. The only way for a small school to be eligible is for Texas to lose. Even if that happens, two of the three small schools are still left out in the cold.

The solution: Playoffs. No, I am not kidding, Herm Edwards. Playoffs.

It has been said the season would be longer with a college football playoff. However, the bowl season runs for almost a month and a half. Playoffs wouldn’t take longer than that.

What I propose is dividing the FBS into two divisions. Division I-A would consist of the large sporting conferences (like the SEC or the Big 12). Division I-AA would consist of the small sporting conferences (like the WAC or C-USA that Texas State will most likely transition into). Once the 119 schools are separated into two divisions (60 in one and 59 in the other), every conference within the division should be broken down into 12 teams. This will give each conference an equal chance.

It is not fair the Big East has eight schools that participate in football and automatically get a spot in the BCS. They have a one-in-eight chance, whereas Boise State has a one-in-60 chance competing against all other smaller schools for a spot.

Each conference (five in each division) would automatically go to the playoffs, sending 11 other schools to a 16-team playoff based on records — not on computer polls or coaches’ opinions but on the teams’ records. Each team would play 11 games within its conference and one out-of-conference game (saved for a preseason or rivalry game). There would be no Florida versus Coastal Carolina matchups anymore because although those games rarely present an upset, they are boring and unnecessary.

This solution is the best way to go. Florida and Florida State would be in the same conference. Iowa and Iowa State would be in the same conference. Kentucky and Louisville would be in the same conference, and so forth.

This makes sense because the system now does not. Get rid of the BCS and let players decide who gets a chance to compete in the championship — not money, not polls, not coaches — but players.