No surprise here but I am a die-hard Florida Gators fan. Have been since 1988, so that’s 21 years (and I’m 30 now). This season, the Gators have been ranked #1 since pre-season. They have been undefeated for the longest in a season since Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerfell, and the 1996 National Championship year. But because of the abject silliness known as the BCS, top flight college football cannot have a clear cut national champion.
So, I’m like all the other (sensible) folks who want a change for the game. We want to have the best possible system in place to declare a champion, and to allow that champion to be decided on the field, without all the politics and greed getting in the way.
Here’s my idea. Give it a go. If you think it’s ridiculous, than you are probably sane. Any radical change is going to be “ridiculous.” But, my concern is “the best possible system in place to declare a champion.”
My Proposal
- Using the last recognized poll standings, set the teams in order.
- Eliminate conference schedules and bowl games.
- Break the teams into tiers of 13 teams each, based on the rankings.
- Eliminate the rankings and polls.
- The top 13 teams will be playing in the top-flight, top-tier. They are the best of the best supposedly. So the groups will be 1-13, 14-26, and so on.
- They will play each other in a twelve game season. Each school will play 6 at home and 6 away. A win gets 2 points, and a loss 0. So a record of 10-2 garners 20 points for the year.
- The top school at the end of the year is the National Champion. No playoff necessary. The table doesn’t lie.
- If there is a draw/tie in points at the top, head to head victory wins out. If there are multiple teams locked in a draw (think last year’s Big 12 tragedy) then point differential gives the edge. Most points scored is not good enough; just ask the record setting offense of Oklahoma last year when they met Florida in the title game. Defense is equally vital.
- The bottom 5 schools (those with the lowest total points) will be demoted (relegated) into the group below (e.g. from 1-13 into 14-26). The top 5 schools from the lower group will be promoted to the top-tier.
