TJBFC Presents: Road to the Summer Bowl

PLAYOFF! PLAYOFF! PLAYOFF!

It seems to be the hottest topic on the college football scene at the moment. Even President-elect Obama got in on the action last week. Proponents mostly present the merits of an 8-team playoff that retains the BCS formula. That's well and all, but the ideal method, I believe is a 16-team tournament. Realistically, the best we can hope for anytime soon is a "plus-one" system after the bowls - using the current BCS Title Game.

Little do these so-called "experts" know that I've been secretly determining college football's true champion since 2003, with a little thing I like to call the Summer Bowl. And it's about to blow your mind.

So how does the Summer Bowl work?

First off, let's establish the fact that it is no more than a fantasy simulation, played entirely on my six-year-old XBox (I still haven't made the platform jump). And it will never, ever happen in real-life due to it's detail and it's placement (which could be easly altered for real-world demands. It stems from the stalemate that came about between USC and LSU a few years back. The BCS not only didn't prevent, but more or less caused a split championship. So who was the true champion? My cousin and I, in the boredom of a youthful summer, decided one lazy afternoon to play it out with NCAA Football. We picked a relatively neutral site - Kansas City - and played it out. USC pwned 'em, 62-14, and suddenly a tradition was born. It evolved into a playoff the following year, at one point becoming a massive 32-team affair.

As for the current setip, it's based on my idealistic 16-team system. It ensures fairness and helps out the little guy.

• All FBS conference champions earn a spot


• Five at-large teams qualify, limit of two per conference


• Seedings are based on BCS standings

So currently, let's use some logical projections and current BCS rankings to set our field:

AUTOMATIC BERTHS

• ACC: North Carolina


• Big East: Pittsburgh


• Big Ten: Penn State


• Big XII: Texas Tech


• Conference USA: Tulsa


• MAC: Ball State


• Mountain West: Utah


• Pac 10: USC


• SEC: Alabama


• Sun Belt: UL-Lafayette


• WAC: Boise State

AT-LARGE BERTHS

• Texas


• Florida


• Oklahoma


• Georgia


• Ohio State

So take the 16 teams, and apply the BCS rankings (all teams, except for UL-Lafayette are in the BCS Top 25)

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Texas
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. USC
7. Utah
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. Georgia
11. Ohio State
12. Ball State
13. North Carolina
14. Pittsburgh
15. Tulsa
16. UL-Lafayette

And the first-round matchups look something like this:

UL-Lafayette @ Alabama
Boise State @ Penn State
Ball State @ Oklahoma
North Carolina @ Florida
Pitt @ Texas
Ohio State @ USC (groan)
Georgia @ Utah
Tulsa @ Texas Tech

Draw your own conclusions at will, but there are some nifty matchups, including a potential 'Bama-Penn State slugfest in the second round. Stay tuned every week for updated projections, then check in this summer as we play it out.

And just for shits and giggles, let's draw up a more reasonable 8-team playoff using the current (er, pre-fifth game) BCS formula

AUTOMATIC:
North Carolina
Pittsburgh
Penn State
Texas Tech
USC
Alabama
Utah (automatic qualifier)

AT-LARGE:
Texas
(apologies to Florida and Oklahoma fans, blame Utah)

Seeding:
1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Utah
6. Penn State
7. North Carolina
8. Pittsburgh

First Round:
Pitt @ Alabama
Utah @ USC
Penn State @ Texas
North Carolina @ Texas Tech

Less appealing, but only slightly so. The Notre Dame clause and the conference tie-ins neuter it a bit, but hey, gotta let everyone have an equal shot, right?