I am definitely not a Michigan fan. In fact, every time I hear that damn Michigan fight song (too often unfortunately when they play the Illini), I can’t help but think of the alternate, highly unflattering version one of my roommates taught me back in college. But that doesn’t change the fact that Michigan was one of the best teams in college football this season. In fact, I believe they were the second best team in the country and deserve a rematch with undefeated #1 arch-rival Ohio State. Instead, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) will feature OSU and Florida in the Tostitos BCS Championship Game on January 8th.
Personally, I think Michigan got robbed, but that’s not exactly what this entry is about… What I am ranting about is the BCS itself. Why is Division I-A college football the only organized sport I know of that absolutely refuses to adopt a playoff structure to decide the season championship? The answer, of course, is money.
The existing Bowl games and their inevitable sponsors have lots of dough invested in keeping the games where they are. To get an idea of how out of hand the current bowl system has gotten, take a look at this list of scheduled bowl games. C’mon, the “San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl”? All due respect to the fine folks who work at the San Diego County Credit Union, but that has to be the most ridiculous excuse for a Bowl game that I’ve ever heard.
What I don’t understand is why the NCAA is so resistant to a college football playoff. Think “March Madness” at Christmastime. It would be huge. It would definitively answer the question of who is the best football team in the country every season. It would still be possible to have a number of Bowl games featuring teams that didn’t make it into the playoffs. And at this point, I think it’s just a matter of time before popular demand for a playoff system forces the NCAA to rethink the outdated and overcommercialized Bowl games. Can’t wait!
BTW, I’m rooting for both Ohio State and Michigan to win each of their games by embarrassing margins. 
