The BCS Mess, part deux

Last post I talked about a solution to the BCS. Far be it from me though to think everything the whole way though. But fear not- I've fleshed out my solutions, and even provided some (projective) examples based on this season!

Scenario #1 (I.e. the fariest scenario that University Presidents would never endorse)

-The top 12 teams at the conclusion of the regular season get to play in a BCS bowl game

-The top 4 teams in the BCS recieve a bye to the second round

-There are NO automatic bids for BCS conferences

-The Cotton Bowl, Outback Bowl, Peach Bowl and Citrus Bowl will host the first round matchups

-The Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl will host the second round games

-Whichever BCS site last hosted the championship game will not host a semi-final game

-The semi-finals sites will host the teams which it DID NOT host in the second round

-The site of the national championship will rotate as normal

-The playoff will begin on the first Thursday after the conclusion of the regular season

-Games will be held each week until the conclusion of the semi-final round, where the two finals teams will recieve an additonal week for rest and preperation

-The national championship will be played the second Saturday of January

So for instance, this year, the Superdome wouldn't host a semi-final or championship game this year. Dolphins Stadium would host the national championship as scheduled.

Here's an example of how that would look...

Scenario #2 (I.e. a scenario that isn't THAT bad, and may actually have a chance...)

-The six champions of the BCS conferences receive automatic bids

-The four highest ranked BCS conference champs receive first round byes

-The remaining two BCS conference champions will be matched with their first round opponent according to their ranking

-The remaining six playoff spots will be filled by the next six highest ranked teams in the BCS poll, HOWEVER

-Undefeated non-BCS teams ranked above the LOWEST RANKED BCS conference champion receive an automatic bid, taking the place of the lowest ranked non-conference championship teams

-Brackets will be set up using a conventional method, with highest seed facing lowest seed, etc. in the first round, despite the actual ranking of teams (I.e. #1 could play #21, should that #21 team be a BCS conference champion.)

-The Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl will host the second round games
-Whichever BCS site last hosted the championship game will not host a semi-final game
-The semi-finals sites will host the teams which it DID NOT host in the second round
-The site of the national championship will rotate as normal
-The playoff will begin on the first Thursday after the conclusion of the regular season
-Games will be held each week until the conclusion of the semi-final round, where the two finals teams will recieve an additonal week for rest and preperation
-The national championship will be played the second Saturday of January

Under that scenario this year, #13 Cincinnati and (presumably) #15 Boston College would get in, knocking out #12 Ball State and #11 TCU. However, #12 Ball State, being undefeated, would displace the highest automatic "at large" team, #10 Ohio State.

Here's an example of how that would look...

So those are my ideas. I for one would love to see EITHER version, so long as we get a playoff. Too bad this won't happen this year- Am I the only one who would be excited by a Utah vs Florida matchup?

Twelve down, two to go

The Florida Gators dismantled Florida State today in Tallahassee. The 45 points scored was the most that the Gators have ever scored in Trashahassee. There are a couple of encouraging things about this rout-
1) The Gatos accomplished this feat in the pouring rain. They gashed the Noles for something like 317 yards on the ground, and Tebow added another 185 through the air.
2) Percy Harvin was out for most of the game, yet the Gators still found a way to score 42+ (and win by 28+) for the eighth game in a row.
3) The defense only gave up 15 points and 242 yards to the Criminoles.
Of course, the fact that Percy was injured doesn't bode too well for next week's match-up with #1 Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Truth be told, I think that even without Harvin, UF will be fine. They still have potent weapons in Demps, Rainey, Moody, Thompson, Murphy, Hernandez, etc.
One thing that bugs me though is Alabama's #1 ranking. Honestly, there are probably four teams (UF, OU, UT, USC) that are more talented and playing as well as (or better than) the Crimson Tide. Still, the game won't be a gimme by any stretch of the imagination. Whether it's because the voters are rewarding them for being undefeated in the always tough SEC, or they actually believe they are the best team in the country, the Gators had better come to play on December 6, or else they can look forward to a trip to New Orleans instead of Miami Gardens.