Just to switch things up...a post on the BCS
>> Monday
Since this discussion is going down in an everyone-write-your-own-post fashion, here is my contribution.
DISCLAIMER: This post does not take the financial aspect of the debate into consideration at all. My argument is that a playoff would ultimately leave the fans just as upset, and ultimately more upset, than they are with the BCS system.
Maybe I glazed over someone mentioning this, but I'm pretty sure that you guys are missing one important point: if you go to a playoff there will still be debate over who really deserves to be there, conference championships would still unfairly screw over certain teams, and no one would really be all that satisfied. In other words, it would solve nothing.
Consider the following, very plausible situation: Missourri loses to Oklahoma and LSU loses to Tennessee in the Big 12 and SEC Championships, respectively. Also, West Virginia holds up against Pittsburgh.
That would mean a championship game between West Virginia and Ohio State (which, by the way, I really really hope doesn't happen). Since the Rose Bowl always wants a Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup, they would invite Illinois and Arizona State (a real thriller). Since Tennessee won the SEC, they would get a BCS bid. Since Hawaii is undefeated and eligible to go to a BCS bowl, they would get an invite. Then you have the ACC champion, either Virginia Tech or Boston College and the Big 12 champion, Oklahoma.
Now, one might say, "Look at those terrible games, this is why there should be a playoff." And yes, a playoff between those eight teams would be more entertaining than four independent, crappy games. But explain that to Georgia and Kansas, who would finish the regular season #3 and #4 in the BCS rankings, respectively. Kansas is a one loss team (and their one loss was to a tough team) and Georgia is almost inarguably the hottest team in the country right now. Explain to them why they don't even get into the eight-team playoff.
Now you can say that Kansas had their shot. "All" they had to do was beat Missourri and Oklahoma to maintain their perfect record. But Georgia has dominated their opponents--including Florida, Kentucky and Auburn--over the last two months. At times, they've looked unstoppable. Except they are stoppable, by a playoff system or the BCS system. Either way, Georgia gets screwed. And either way, people are not satisfied with the declared champion.
Even in a less bizzarre year, with a playoff, people would argue about who should get those two at-large bids and people will bitch and moan when a weak conference sends a weak conference champion in the place of a great non-champion from another conference.
So with those complaints existing either way, I prefer the current system that really does give a playoff feel to every game throughout the year, increasingly as the season progresses. A two or three loss team can pull a conference championship out of their ass and go to a BCS game, but the moment they lose that second game, all national championship hopes essentially evaporate. Games like LSU/Kentucky, LSU/Arkansas, Kentucky/Lousiville, Kentucky/Tennessee, USC/Stanford, Oklahoma/Texas Tech, etc. etc. lose a lot of "magic" (or whatever you want to call it) if you know the losers of those game will probably get into the playoff anyway.
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