High Enough...Long Enough...It's Good!

A field goal. A short one, too.

I saw it go through the uprights when I got home from the local high school's production of "Narnia" (in which my friend Keila played a very believable Lucy and all the kids put on a great show).

With that field goal, Rutgers took control of the Big East Conference with their perfect 9-0 record. Louisville, the former #3 team in the country, watched their national title hopes crash.

Why all this happiness about a game winnning field goal?

Well, first of all, my friends Bob & Sue graduated from Rutgers and have been scrounging for old sweatshirts and such to show their school spirit with the Scarlet Knights' perfect season.

But, more importantly, one word: Chaos.

See, those of us who follow college football as a hobby--a very passionate hobby--have a disdain for something called the B.C.S. The Bowl Championship Series.

The idea is a good one. See, in major college football there is no playoff to determine the champion...it's picked by the polls. And in the old system, each conference champion went to a specific geographical bowl and there was a possibility that the best teams never played each other to determine the National Championship. That was voted on.

So, to correct that little problem, they decided to put a formula together to figure out who are the top two teams and they'll put them in one bowl game each year so that way a truer National Champion could be crowned. It involves a lot of number-crunching from voter polls and computer programs.

The main problem is that it never really works. Seems like somebody always gets screwed in the deal.

Like one year, the computers picked L.S.U. and Oklahoma as the two best teams. They played and L.S.U. won. Well, they each had one loss, as did U.S.C. and a slew of other teams. Somehow, U.S.C. shared the national championship with L.S.U. that year.

Another year, my beloved Auburn Tigers ran the table undefeated. The B.C.S. numbers showed that U.S.C. and Oklahoma should play for the title. Meanwhile, Auburn and Utah won their bowl games and U.S.C. won the "championship game." Auburn later had 5 players taken in the first round of the N.F.L. draft. U.S.C. had one. Hmmmm.

But the system works when...oddly enough...only two teams go unbeaten, like last year when Texas and U.S.C. were it.

Well, this year is now officially CHAOS with that magnificent field goal kicked last night.

See, Michigan and Ohio State are the top two teams...and along with Rutgers, remain the only unbeaten teams. Well, they play each other. Barring upsets, the Ohio State-Michigan winner will be unbeaten...and get one spot in the big game.

What about Rutgers? If they win out, they won't get to play for it. Computers won't bump them up enough. That just doesn't seem right, right?

Who is better: A one-loss Texas team or a one-loss Florida Gator team? What about Arkansas, who will have one loss if they win out but could be ranked behind Auburn--the team they beat? Southern California could climb back in it with one loss? Notre Dame, too? What about West Virginia and/or Louisville?

There could be as many as 9 teams left with one loss, 7 from major conferences.

Hence, the chaos. Nothing will really be settled no matter who the computer spits out for the 2nd spot.

And why am I so happy about all this, you ask?

Because if there was ever a sport that needed a playoff to determine the champion, this is it. And there would be more money to be made than the NCAA basketball tournament. And if you think March Madness is great (like I do), I think that December Madness would be a sports fan's ultimate dream...