Playoffs in D-I

By: Gabe Gilson

The election has come and gone. As far as I’m concerned college football is still here.

Every year about this time, teams are getting close to the end of their seasons and some of these teams may be undefeated. Because of the current BCS situation, not all teams will get a chance to play for the national title. Right now, five teams out of the 119 in D-I college football are undefeated. This coming with three to four games left for most teams.

Every year about this time, sports writers all over the nation are begging for a playoff. Pat Forde in his weekly column, Forde Yard Dash, has proposed a playoff for this year that would send eight teams into a three-round playoff to determine the national champion. Every other level of college football determines a winner by the playoff system, why not D-I?

Every year about this time, fans and sports writers both have to come to the realization that this is not going to happen this year. In 2003, when the University of Auburn was snubbed out of the national championship game because of three undefeated teams at the end of the year, Tiger fans, coaches and players all were in a state of disbelief and anyone that knows anything about college football knows that it was unfair. Unfair yes, but with the current situation at place, it could end up happening to a team this year.

I can see how a playoff would be totally beyond exciting. Forde proposed games and matchups that made my mouth water. However, I do not see this ever happening and I can tell right now that it will just be a repeat of previous years for years to come. The BCS is not always a fair system but with the amount of money that bowl games make, there is no way that they will be leaving us anytime soon. As far as I’m concerned, every sports writer in America needs to focus on something else then the proposition of a playoff because it is a long way from happening.