It is time for playoffs in NCAA football
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Jan. 2, 2004
Let the yammer begin.
Southern Cal's 28-14 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl Thursday afternoon has left many proclaiming the Trojans as the national champions for 2003. Never mind SC wasn't invited to the main event which has LSU facing Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl for the BCS national title.
There's no question the Trojans looked impressive in doubling up the Wolverines. They may very well be the best team in America.
But we'll never know. For Division I still has no playoff system for football. Basketball, baseball, lacrosse, hockey all do … just not the biggest money maker in the NCAA.
It seems the NCAA doesn't want the big boys to have to endure a playoff burden that would cost them time away from the classroom. Bless their tiny hearts. Remember, these are the same folks that approved adding an extra regular season game for all D-I members a couple of years ago. There didn't seem to be any major problems adding a 12th game then.
And there's the championship games the SEC and Big 12 already have had in place for years. Did it matter then that would give those teams 13 games and would take away from their valuable school time? Nah. Not at all.
So let's cut the pretense. Give everybody 11 regular season games. Pick the top eight teams and have a playoff. Nobody would play over 14 games and only two teams would do that.
We want Steve
You think Florida's inept showing in a 37-17 loss to Iowa in the Outback Bowl Thursday has many Gator fans hoping for a dismal 2004 so Steve Spurrier might possibly come back to Gainesville?
Spurrier hung it up from the NFL's Washington Redskins earlier this week and said he'd just as soon have this year off.
That would give Ron Zook plenty of time to fall short of expectations.
Even if Florida has a decent 2004, Spurrier might still end up at an SEC school. After all, how much longer is Lou Holtz going to last at South Carolina?
Thanks SEC
Many think the SEC is the greatest football conference this side of the NFL, but this year might prove otherwise.
Granted LSU is at the worst playing for a national championship, and Georgia looked pretty good in winning the Capitol One Bowl in overtime over Purdue, especially if you overlook the Bulldogs blowing a 24-0 lead.
But the SEC was granted eight bowl berths. The only problem was that just seven teams from the league were bowl eligible … i.e. won six games and were at least 6-6.
Navy took the SEC's slot in the Houston Bowl where the Midshipmen took a whipping from Texas Tech.
What are They Thinking
Can anyone explain why the Humanitarian Bowl folks thought they needed to play their game (Georgia Tech vs. Tulsa) on Jan. 3. Granted, it will be the only college football game on Saturday, but how many will care?
Wide Range in Bowls
While many of this years bowl games have turned into blowouts, some have been quite good.
There's also been a big disparity in the scoring in this season's bowl contests as well. They range anywhere from the offensive slugfest California and Virginia Tech put together in a 52-49 victory by the Bears in the Insight Bowl to the 17-0 defensive slobbernocker in the Axa Liberty Bowl in which Utah blanked Southern Mississippi.
Wrapping Them Up
Entering today, only five more bowls remained. Ole Miss takes on Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl, Tennessee plays Clemson in the Peach Bowl (which really could be the Orange Bowl), and Kansas State takes on Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in today's games.
Tomorrow's matchup is the previously-mentioned Humanitarian Bowl with Sunday's main event pairing LSU against Oklahoma for the BCS national championship.
