I hate the BCS. You do, too, I'm sure. And we've all come up with plans to change or fix the current system. The supercomputer spits out two teams and they play for the national championship. Wow. How 21st Century of us. Why not just let the two teams play the game on the Xbox? Why even bother playing the game on the field when everything else is decided behind the scenes?

For years, I thought the big wigs would eventually come around if we came up with better plans that secured spots for the "elite" conferences and provided a playoff system that would make the power conferences even more money. But now I have a new plan. And no one else can take credit for it, because no one saw it coming.

Say it with me: Louisville plays in the BCS title game. Every conference president not running the Big Ten is crying in his or her beer at the thought that the Louisville Cardinals-from the no longer relevant Big East-have a shot at the title. If Louisville can somehow end the season ranked #2 in the BCS, they will play in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. A playoff system must look pretty appealing right now to folks in places such as Florida, Texas, USC, and Notre Dame. After all, those power schools are in the BCS Top 10. Heck, even the Big Ten-which is almost assured of a spot in the title game, since Ohio State and Michigan are currently #1 and #2 in the BCS and play each other in two weeks-would benefit from a playoff system. But because the system declares that only the top two teams matter, all of these big time schools might be left out in the cold this year.

The fact that the Big East is involved in this master plan is all the more fitting. A few years ago Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Miami bolted the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference. A bigger payday and more notoriety awaited in the brave new world. Today, Virginia Tech and BC are 21st and 22nd in the BCS. Miami isn't even ranked. But tonight, two Big East schools-#3 Louisville and #13 Rutgers-face off in a nationally televised contest to determine who will remain unbeaten.

This is the kind of game in which I would normally root for Rutgers. Theirs is a better underdog story than is Louisville's. But there are larger issues at stake here than who I'll cheer for. For the good of college football, Louisville needs to win.

The arguments against some sort of playoff system are so specious that sometimes I question the sanity of those that make them. "Someone will always be left out-if you include 4 teams in a playoff then team #5 will complain." Well, let them complain. This isn't about making everyone happy; it's about deciding the national championship on the field. "It will take away from the tradition of the bowl system." Really? How about having 479 bowl games and declaring that any team that wins 6 games is eligible for one? Has that taken anything away from the tradition? Anything at all?

Think about this: What if Florida had beaten Auburn and USC had beaten Oregon State, and both teams won out? We could have four undefeated teams-Ohio State/Michigan, Florida, USC, and Louisville-awaiting their fate. But only two of them would get a chance to settle it on the field.

In college basketball, it's easy to say to a bubble team that misses the tournament, "Hey, if you'd just won one more game, you might be in the tournament." That doesn't fly in college football. You can go undefeated and not get to play for the title. There's no way for you to win that "one more game." Because the system doesn't allow it.

The simplest of plans-#1 plays #4, #2 plays #3, and the winners meet for the championship-would be far better than the current system. The most grandiose of schemes-a 16-team tournament beginning in early December at campus sites and continuing into January-could rival March Madness for interest, ratings, and revenue. But, for some reason, the big wigs are against it.

All this could change this year. If Louisville runs the table and Ohio State beats Michigan, Louisville will almost assuredly play for the national championship. If they somehow get shut out, it will be yet another typical BCS screw-up. But if Lousiville plays Ohio State on January 8, that might just be enough to change the system. It all begins tonight. Go Louisville. Let's set the plan in motion.

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