I have to say, I really like Gary Danielson’s BCS idea. I could try to explain it in words, but since Gary explained it this weekend, thanks to the magic of digital recording, you can watch it here. (Apologies that CBS forces you to watch a :15 Lenovo commercial, just gut it out.) I have a few other things to note at the end of the video, so scroll down at the end.
What I’d add to the idea and explanation:
– I’d make the Conference champions the HOSTS of the “Quarterfinal Games” and make Wildcards go on the road.
– In this scenario, the “Quarterfinal” games would be played this weekend. It would probably be something like Oregon, Wisconsin, Alabama and Stanford or Boise St. So for fun, your home games would be something like Alabama at Oregon and Stanford (or BSU) at Wisconsin. Are you watching anything this weekend better than those games?
– Now the two losers would still be in BCS Bowl Games, so it really doesn’t mess up anyone’s New Year’s plans. Oregon fans just wouldn’t know where they were flying until this Sunday. But they’d still have 3 weeks to plan their trip.
– The two semi-final games would be Bowl Games. So you’d have LSU vs Stanford/BSU/Wisconsin in the Sugar Bowl and Oklahoma State vs Oregon/Alabama in the Orange or Fiesta Bowl.
– The final game is played a week later.
This is a pretty genius scenario because it solves most of the issues with a playoff. 1) You only add 2 games TOTAL to the schedule and they are home games for 2 teams so there’s no problem filling the stadium. 2) You don’t mess up anyone’s Bowl trips, so college Presidents still get to take their big donors out to *ahem* dinner in Florida, Phoenix, LA and New Orleans. 3) There’s still the human element and we get to yell and scream about whether Boise St, Stanford, Kansas St. or Virginia Tech should have gotten that 6th seed. 4) You don’t extend the season any further. This years BCS Title game is Jan 9 for Christ’s sake. 5) It moves the New Year’s Day games back to *gasp* New Year’s Day. 6) It keeps the regular season super relevant, AND makes the Conference Championships important.
I think it’s a cool solution. Thoughts?
