Out with the BCS, in with some playoffs

BY DARRELL MOODY

Nevada Appeal Sports Writer

No doubt you have heard by now that a lawmaker wants to get rid of the Bowl Championship Series format used for college football because it violates anti-trust laws.

In a way, he's right. Because Utah is from a non-automatic bid conference, the schools and others like it, including Boise State from the Western Athletic Conference, have absolutely no chance to ever be ranked No. 1. And that's wrong.

In conferences like the Mountain West or WAC, one slip-up and you are gone from the Top-25 and gone from any BCS consideration.

Is that fair?

I answer with a resounding no. Every team can have an off day, but if you are from one of the smaller conferences like the MWC or WAC, you can't just laugh off a loss and go back to work the next week with title aspirations still on your mind like a Florida, Texas, USC or Oklahoma.

Championships, and I've said it before, need to be determined on the field. That's what makes the NCAA Basketball Tournament so great: The little guy truly has an opportunity to win it all.

I've been a voter in the Harris Poll, which helps determine the BCS games. Even I don't think it's the best way to do it. The young men and coaches who lay it on the line every week should decide their own fates, not a bunch of computers, sports writers, college administrators and former players. I think the teams should have some say in who plays for a championship, and trust me when I say this, I think that group would get probably all the participants right.

This is one year where a playoff was needed. Utah was the only undefeated team in the country and collected a No. 2 ranking in one poll and a No. 4 in the other.

All the big boys " USC, Oklahoma, Florida and Texas " should have been in the mix to be voted No. 1 entering the bowl season. I'm a West Coast guy and I think that USC's defense was the best in the nation, but the Trojans paid a heavy price for a road loss at Oregon State. Texas beat Oklahoma, yet slipped up against Texas Tech on the road and saw it's national championship hopes vanish despite the fact that it beat Oklahoma in a neutral-site game. Florida had a nice season, but the SEC wasn't nearly as good as it has been in the past.

A playoff system needs to be started, and the sooner the better. Am I the only one that thinks a four-week tournament wouldn't be just as big, if not bigger, than March Madness?

You don't think one of the major networks wouldn't be all over this? If you don't, then you don't know TV sports or college football. I would think that the contract for a football playoff would be huge " huge enough to make sure teams that made it were rewarded.

A playoff format would be better because it would be a continuation of the regular season. Shorten the regular season by one game, or start a week earlier if you want to play a 12-game season. Give the kids a week off after the regular season ends to rest up, and then go right into it. It works at the Division I-AA level. The only thing I would say is try to keep the weather in mind and play indoors or at warm weather sites as you go deeper into December.

You also need to go top 16 because if you go top 10 there are going to be deserving teams left out of the mix. If you go with 16 teams, you know you will have everybody in there that deserves that deserves to be there.

The great thing is you would still have some bowl games to reward teams for good seasons, just not as many of them.

I just hope the college administrators step up and do the right thing one of these days.

- While we're on the topic of college sports, kudos to the Wolf Pack basketball team for pulling out a nice road win against New Mexico State on Thursday night.

Nevada has won two of its last three games in Las Cruces, which can sometimes be a tough place to play. I did notice the place wasn't very full on Thursday, so that makes it a little easier on visiting teams.

The win helps to wipe away the disappointment of a home loss against Idaho.

The win by Idaho was the first by the Vandals over Nevada since it joined the WAC. First-year coach Don Verlin already has won more games this year than Idaho won all of last year. He could be a candidate for Coach of the Year honors if the Vandals can get into the upper echelon of the standings.

- Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 775 881-1281