So what's this all say about a playoff?

It has been hilarious listening to all the talking heads backpedaling today over this 'shocking' win of Florida's. What has been the most interesting thing to hear though has been how almost to a man, the guys I've heard today anyway have declared that this is just proof that we need a playoff.

I struggle to find anything about last night's game that says anything about the crying need for a playoff in college football. Or let me put it another way: There is nothing about last night's game that makes any case for (or against) a playoff any stronger or weaker. If something about last night's game were to say that the wrong two teams were in the game, then maybe it would make a stronger case for a playoff.

The one thing that last night's game proved is, the self proclaimed experts are not experts. Just because it comes from ESPN pundits (or ABC or FOX or Sports Illustrated or any others) does not mean that the hype over any particular team is deserved. USC and Texas proved that already last year.

I had already been making the case that there's nothing about Ohio State's schedule and the kinds of wins they've had that makes them look like the overwhelming world power that everyone else is making them out to be. The reality is that a lot of these talking heads are more about hype and selling themselves than about giving you good information. And then to top it all off these same experts still vote Boise State as only #5 even after their bowl performance.

So, back to the premise of my question: What does this say about a playoff? To me, it still says that a full blown playoff is no more needed than it was to begin with. It says that college football works as it is. It says that the regular season IS the playoff, and all the pretenders and contenders got weeded out during the regular season, and the best rose to the top. The best will always do that.

I think the Boise State game definitely made a stronger case for a playoff than last night's game. However, I also believe that any of the press and media who howl the same thing are disingenuous at best for howling so if they dare to still rate Boise State as merely 5th.

Do I think that Boise State should have been in a playoff? I was incredibly impressed by their performance, but no, they don't. It's not that I don't think they would be unable to compete, but my opinion goes back to the whole feeling that the regular season means something, and the regular season is in and of itself a playoff. College Football to me is superior over others for this very reason. For all the guys who cry that a team shouldn't be kept out of a playoff because of some regular season stumble, please tell me why it's any worse for USC to be eliminated because of a bad game against UCLA than it is for them to be eliminated for a bad first round game. It's the same thing when you get down to it. A loss in the regular season means something. And wins in the regular season mean something. And as it stands, teams are required to play some real competition if they want a shot at the title.

Michigan learned that this year. The fact that their schedule was pretty bad compared to Florida's kept them out of the title game. Boise State is a huge example of the same thing.

Had Boise State gone out and scheduled some real competition, for example like Louisville had done this year, or like Fresno State had done a few years back by scheduling Colorado and Oregon when they were powers, then they could have had an argument.

I have nothing against Boise State. But I've said all along that I think a playoff with 8 or more teams would hurt the regular season, and Boise State's season proves that. What I mean by that is that if you use the BCS standings as seeding, Boise State would have qualified as the 8th seed. It's not so much that they don't deserve to be in the top 8, but the problem with that is that it proves my point exactly that a team can skate into the playoffs with a weak schedule. An 8 team playoff would signal the end of good out of conference games. The better mid-major teams and the mid-tier of BCS conference teams will be avoiding out of conference matchups with the USC's , Florida's and Ohio State's of the world because they have a shot at the playoffs. A mid-major team with a weak conference can't afford a loss even to a good team out of conference because the weak conference schedule keeps them out of the top 8. A mid-tier BCS school can't afford an out of conference loss because they're likley to lose at least one conference game.

The other reason for regular season games losing some of their luster is a money thing. The fact of the matter is that advertising dollars are not unlimited. Advertisers are going to flock to the playoff games, and they will have to pay more to advertise in those games, and that leaves less available for regular season games. And if there's less money, there's less incentive to play great teams out of conference, especially if such a matchup could keep you from the playoffs. In the end, college football's regular season becomes about like college basketball's.

I believe that this year just proved the point. College Football works. There's no question this year who the best team is. It's as simple as that.