12.4.07

Tetris...

Check it out.

The MCS (McFly Championship Series)...

Yet again, it seems that the Bowl Championship Series has failed us. This year, they managed to do it twice over---not only did an unbeaten not get into the title game, a TWO LOSS team got in over one-loss teams. There hasn't been a governing organization that makes as little since as the NCAA since...oh...wait...the Democratic Party is still around, isn't it?

So we need a playoff, right?

It is the easy answer...but there are some things that limit it--most notably the gobs of revenue that the universities and the NCAA receives from the Bowl Games.

So the pundits go to a "Plus One" game (top four schools play in two bowls, winners play, voila!) right? No...opening to four teams instead of two does not a playoff make.

There are a few things that aren't going away:
Bowl games. (And more specifically, conference ties to bowl games.)
The need for teams/fans to have time to plan travel.
Big $.

Beyond those three tiny little details we can start working...

Well guess what?!? McFly came up with his own system that appeases all of those things and allows for eternally frustrated college football fans to finally get their way. (It is early to say, but I think my name will be revered along with the great liberators of history...Moses...Richard the Lionhearted...Washington...Brockman...McFly...)

We call it the MCS. The McFly Championship Series.

The Basics:
A ten team tournament. (Why Ten? Because the Man said that eleven would be too many.) Sixteen is too cumbersome, and eight makes it virtually impossible to a) keep the bowls intact and b) keep the regular season completely applicable.



Who:
Virtually the same teams that are in the BCS now. The six major conference winners will have automatic bids. After they're selected, four wild card teams are chosen based on the same parameters as today with small exception. Like today, no conference will have more than two teams in the tournament---but unlike today, the rankings are gospel---bowls will not have the option to dip beyond the top ten unless one conference has more than three teams. (Example---the Rose Bowl wanted a Big Ten-Pac Ten game, so they took Illinois and Arizona State got left-out. My system, ASU gets the nod.)
The only other major difference is the unbeaten rule. If you play a full, 12-game schedule against ONLY Bowl Subdivision teams, you get in, regardless of your BCS-standing. I know that some conferences (and particularly independents) play easier schedules than others. But you can't schedule Eastern Michigan and Buffalo every week--they only have so many spots on their schedule. With all of the Bowl Sub. teams that are playing lower-level teams, if you swap those games out for better games, the quality of scheduling doesn't drop---even if the Notre Dames and Hawaiis of the world know that this rule is in place.


Oh--and with a playoff in place, the AP would come back to the poll and the ridiculous Harris Poll would be eliminated, never to be heard-of again. (Of course 3/4 of you haven't heard of it as is...so it is pretty much a mute point.) (Yes, that would be a point that has the inability to speak, rather than one that isn't applicable to a situation.)

So how does it work??

First off--If you win a major conference, you earn a spot in an MCS Bowl game. This year's teams are:

Ohio State

LSU

Virginia Tech

Oklahoma

USC

West Virginia

Those six teams are seeded, based on the BCS calculation (I've already got them in order.) Because of the conference's desire to stay with their current bowl-alliances, efforts would be made to keep those alliances in place.

Big Ten and Pac Ten to the Rose Bowl


SEC to the Sugar Bowl

Big East to the Fiesta Bowl

Big Twelve and ACC to the Orange Bowl


However...seeding at this point is more important than alliances, so in the case of the Rose and Orange Bowls, the conference with the higher seed would keep the bowl alliance, and the others would fall into seeding.

Secondly...


The four wild-card teams would be ranked based on their BCS number. In this year's case, it would be:

Georgia


Kansas


Hawaii


Arizona State (Again---Illinois would not be included in the MCS system because they're ranked below ASU.)

They would play first round games in mid-December (with the higher-ranked-school receiving home field advantage) for the right to play in one of the MCS Bowl games. The two losing teams would alternate on cycles to be sent to play each other in either the Cotton Bowl, Capital One Bowl or Holiday Bowl. (Again, we run into the conference bowl alliance issue. But REALLY? You're going to give up the chance for the biggest cash bovine the NCAA has ever seen so your second place team can play on December 28??)


The Almighty Buck...

So how do you make up the money that is lost with a slight diminishing of the bowl system? You use the NFL model.

We'd keep all of the non-MCS bowls, because I agree--if you have a solid season, the players should be rewarded with postseason play. So let Florida Atlantic and Memphis play in the New Orleans Bowl!! They deserve it. I mean---the kids are getting degrees from Florida Atlantic and Memphis...this may be as good as their life gets...

But you also add five MORE games to the overall post-season docket. The first-round games will be played at home stadiums---and I can't think that ANY school president is going to complain about selling another 70,000 seats! The semi-final games will be played at rotating regional sites (ala the NCAA Basketball Tournament) where cities and regional corporations can take advantage of what a HUGE potential revenue-booster.

And same goes for the National Championship Game--you sell it the way the Super Bowl is sold. Big arenas, in areas with great night life, in either hot-weather spots or in domes. (You know...places like Kent!)

Put a corporate logo on every game and you have a cash MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!

And in regard to the fans-travel issue---all of the games will be two weeks apart. If you're telling me that the NFL can do it in one week and the NCAA can't in two, you're kidding yourselves...that's simply untrue.



So what does it look like on paper???




First Round Presented by Target--December 22

Arizona State at Georgia (Winner to Sugar Bowl, loser to Cotton Bowl)

Hawaii at Kansas (Winner to Rose Bowl, loser to Cotton Bowl)



Second Round--January 1 (Orange Bowl on January 2)

Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Hawaii/Kansas Winner

Sugar Bowl
LSU vs. Georgia/Arizona State Winner

Fiesta Bowl
Oklahoma vs. USC

Orange Bowl
Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia

Cotton Bowl


Kansas/Hawaii loser vs. Georgia/ASU Loser




Semi-Finals Presented by Mastercard


Evenings of January 12-13 (The NFL Playoffs are played during the DAYTIME--no reason to compete...)

Qualcom Stadium--San Diego, CA
Winner of Rose Bowl vs. Winner of Fiesta Bowl

Bank of America Stadium--Charlotte, NC
Winner of Sugar Bowl vs. Winner of Orange Bowl




The Home Depot National Championship Game
RCA Dome--Indianapolis, IN
January 26, 5 PM (The bye-week between conference title games and the Super Bowl...again...no reason to compete. In fact I think the two would compliment each other nicely.)

Winner of Semi #1 vs. Winner of Semi #2



So how would it play out?
Quick and dirty.





First Round
ASU at Georgia.
No way ASU wins between the hedges. Much as I like that team...
Georgia 33-21.
(Georgia to Sugar Bowl, ASU to Cotton Bowl)

Hawaii at Kansas.
The over/under in this game would be 100...and Hawaii in a shootout runs more rampantly than scabies at Sigma Chi.
Hawaii 52-42.
(Hawaii to Rose Bowl, Kansas to Cotton Bowl.



Bowl Week


Cotton Bowl


Kansas vs. ASU.
ASU Shows that they belong...slows down an exciting Kansas offense.
ASU 28-20.
(ASU 9th, Kansas 10th.)

Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Hawaii.
I think Ohio State is the better team, but I like the matchup for Hawaii because their quickness won't allow Ohio State to eat them up with their linebackers. SO...just for kicks, and because everyone hates Ohio State...


Hawaii 39-35.
(Hawaii to Semi-Final #1, Ohio State T-5.)

Fiesta Bowl
Oklahoma vs. USC.
Like the Colts and Patriots playing the conference playoffs, the best game of the year may be played early...USC outlasts a great Oklahoma team...
USC 24-21.
(USC to Semi-Final #1, Oklahoma T-5)

Sugar Bowl
LSU vs. Georgia.

The two best teams in the SEC playing in the Sugar Bowl--a dream scenario. Big offenses are 2-0 vs. LSU this year...both in 3 OTs...so why not??
Georgia 50-48 (3 OT)
(Georgia to Semi-Final #2, LSU T-5)

Orange Bowl


Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia.


I can't stand either of these teams, but would love to see this game because West Virginia's running game would show the football world exactly how over-hyped Virginia Tech has been all season. I don't care if they lost to Pitt---I think that even a team coach by Dave Wannstadt is better than Virginia Tech!
WVU 38-10.
(WVU to Semi-Final #2, V-Tech T-5)

Semi Finals

San Diego
Hawaii vs. USC
People will say "Oh--it's a home-game for USC." But that is the beauty of a tournament. Hawaii will have had two wins and six weeks since the brackets came out to have turned the entire country into a bunch of Rainbows (rather than just San Francisco).
But even in fairy tales, princesses occasionally get trampled by stampeding horses. (Not in American fairy tales--but trust me...)
USC 38-21.


(USC to Final, Hawaii T-3)

Charlotte


Georgia vs. West Virginia
I may be the only one...but I think that Georgia would absolutely stomp WVU in this one...
Georgia 35-13.
(Georgia to Final, West Virginia T-3)

Final
Indianapolis
USC vs. Georgia


In a matchup of what were the two best teams the second-half of the season, on a TRULY neutral site, Georgia shocks the world.
Georgia 27-21.





SO...





The final poll would look like this:

1. Georgia


2. USC


3. West Virginia


4. Hawaii


5. LSU


6. Ohio State


7. Oklahoma


8. Virginia Tech


9. Arizona State


10. Kansas





Call me crazy...but that looks pretty good...








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