I originally posted this back in the preseason, but now that the first BCS poll is out, and seeing all the controversy it's created and the obvious shortcomings in the system, I thought I'd float it again.

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I've seen several posts in the last few days concerning preseason polls for the upcoming college FB season. We've argued about who should be #1, which conference is the toughest and strength of schedule. Several people have weighed in on delaying the start of the polls used in the BCS to eliminate preseason bias. This is fun stuff. Arguing about which conference or team is the toughest is a football tradition. What bothers me is that we are letting the NCAA use sleight of hand to distract us from the real problem.

While we gripe and moan about where our team is ranked or which school is overrated, what we should be doing is demanding a true national championship game. Not a game between the top ranked teams, but a playoff among the best 16 teams. Decide it on the field. I'm not sure how the average fan can make his voice heard in all this, but I'm fairly certain a large majority of us want to see it happen. They used to use the excuse that the season was too long, but with the expansion to 12 games, post-season conference championships and then bowls, some teams are going to be playing 14 games this season. A 14 game season allows room for a playoff. Here's my proposal:

1. Pare down Division I to the top 96 schools. Teams from the MAC, Sunbelt and Mountain West would have to make their case for being included. Attendance, facilities and financial commitment would be the deciding factors. We're talking about shedding 23 schools, so this wouldn't be easy. But it would have to be done.

2. Realign the schools into eight conferences of 12 teams each. The existing conferences could be utilized as much as possible. No independents (sorry ND), no Big 10 with 11 teams. Notre Dame is a natural fit in the Big 11 and should have joined long ago.

3.  Return to an 11 game season with one off-week.  The  regular season would  end on Thanksgiving weekend. 

4. Each conference would have a post-season championship game, with the winners automatically advancing to the playoffs. This preserves games already in place, like the SEC and Big 12 championship games. It also would allow the conferences to keep the revenue as they do now.

5. Select the next best 8 teams to advance to the playoffs. This is the sticky part I know, but this is where the polls, the politicking and the personal opinions would come in. Much like the NCAA BB tourney, not the best way, but probably the only way.

6. Play it off, duh. The existing bowls would have to bid for games, again much like the BB tourney does now. Use the month of December for the conference championships and the first two rounds. Have the semifinals on New Years day, and the championship two weeks later.

The excitement of a true championship and the money generated should be enough to make everyone happy. This would require common sense and putting the good of the game ahead of keeping the sponsors and bowls happy.  The perrenial powers would lose some of their built in advantage too, so I'm sure it will never happen.