Five undefeated teams and only two can play in the championship game; yep- the BCS is deeeeeeeeeefinitely working. All five undefeateds get fat cash glory for their conferences and that’s all that really matters in modern college football.

We’re guaranteed to have at least two undefeated teams at the end of the season, with the possibility of three. I hope the AP voters have a sense of humor come final ballot time.

If I were in charge of the selection panel for the college football playoffs, these would be the first round matchups, which would be played in two weeks at the home stadium of the higher ranked team:

#8 Ohio State @ #1 Alabama
#7 Oregon @ #2 Texas
#6 Cincinnati @ #3 TCU
#5 Boise State @ #4 Florida

You’re welcome.

Just when I get hopeful there may be meaningful change to college football, namely a playoff, I hear interviews like the one that follows. New BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock was on Dan Patrick last week spouting off the usual BCS party lines- integrity of the bowls, protecting academics, blither, blather, etc.

For the record, only an idiot fails to see how a playoff can be established while still maintaining the bowls. Apparently Bill Hancock is such an idiot.

I’m stunned Mr. Hancock and his associates continue to use the shield of academics to hide under as well. Every level of football except for D-I has a playoff as does nearly every other collegiate sport. D-I basketball players miss three times as much class as football players too. It’s an insult to all college football fans’ intelligence to even raise the issue of academics.

Here’s a link to the audio from the interview (about 6 minutes).

On to the Ocho…

Only one change and that’s swapping Florida and Alabama. I think Florida’s the better team solely because of who’s behind center; we’ll find out for sure in two weeks.

If the season were to end today and I were Commissioner, these would be the first round matchups (played at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team):

#8 Ohio State @ #1 Texas
#7 Oregon @ #2 Florida
#6 Cincinnati @ #3 Alabama
#5 Boise State @ #4 TCU

You’re welcome.

No changes from last week so the matchups still hold serve. Wouldn’t it be great if we could actually see these? If I was the Commissioner, these would be the first round pairings:

# 8 Ohio State @ # 1 Texas
# 7 Oregon @ # 2 Alabama
# 6 Cincinnati @ # 3 Florida
# 5 Boise State @ # 4 TCU

You’re welcome.

Outside of the top three, I have a hard time distinguishing one team from another aside from a loss or two and the logos on their helmets (and perhaps the color of their astroturf). When it comes down to it, it’s difficult to distinguish any of the top 8 from one another, just like the Heisman candidates.

If the season were to end today and I was the Commissioner in charge of seeding, this would be the first round playoff matchups:

# 8 Ohio State @ # 1 Texas
# 7 Oregon @ # 2 Alabama
# 6 Cincinnati @ # 3 Florida
# 5 Boise State @ # 4 TCU

You’re welcome.

USC out, Oregon in. Not much else besides that. An 8-team playoff sure would be nice this year. If the season were to end today and I was the commissioner in charge of seeding, these would be the first round matchups:

#8 Cincinnati @ #1 Texas
#7 Boise State @ #2 Alabama
#6 Iowa @ #3 Florida
#5 TCU @ #4 Oregon

Imagine the drama of an undefeated Cincinnati team having to travel to Austin to play Texas, or Boise State with a chip on their shoulder taking on Alabama in Alabama. Or how about the tallest Big Ten midget Iowa going into the swamp to take on Lord Tebow? Instead, we’ll get an arranged marriage and a whole bunch of other crap. Here’s my rankings for the week:

You’re welcome.

Just a little shake up in the Ocho this week. With only a few games of interest this week, shouldn’t change much next week either. Were the season to end today, this would be the first round playoff matchups:

#8 Cincinnati @ #1 Texas
#7 Boise State @ #2 Alabama
#6 TCU @ #3 Florida
#5 Iowa @ #4 USC

Multiple teams in the top 8 this week play road games at night so could be some fun, or not, whatever. These would be the first round playoff matchups should the sport be perfected by the old white guys that run it:

#8 Cincinnati @ #1 Alabama
#7 Boise State @ #2 Florida
#6 Iowa @ #3 Texas
#5 USC @ #4 Miami

You’re welcome.

Only one change this week to the rankings, but no team is a unanimous #1 in my opinion. Several opportunities for shakeups this weekend. If the season were to end today this would be the first round playoff matchups:

#8 Iowa @ #1 Florida
#7 Ohio State @ #2 Alabama
#6 USC @ #3 Texas
#5 Miami @ #4 Virginia Tech

You’re welcome.

More changes expected this weekend, at least between Florida and LSU. If the season were to end today, these would be the first round playoff match ups:

# 8 LSU @ # 1 Florida
# 7 Ohio State @ # 2 Alabama
# 6 USC @ # 3 Texas
# 5 Miami @ # 4 Virginia Tech

You’re welcome.

Lots of changes thanks to the collapse of several former darlings. Should the season end today, here are your first round Ocho match ups:

#8 LSU @ #1 Florida
#7 Oklahoma @ #2 Alabama
#6 Iowa @ #3 Texas
#5 Boise State @ #4 Virginia Tech

You’re welcome.

While working on the first edition of the 2009 Ocho, I came across the same dilemma I do during the 1st half of each season- best eight teams now or teams likely to be the best eight at the end of the year? The answer seems obvious and yet if you look at the top ten of the AP or Coaches poll, arguments can easily be made for against each team.

At the beginning of the season it seemed like a lock- don’t even bother playing the season, let’s just have a four-team tournament with USC, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida. Three weeks in, none of the four look invincible (especially two of the four).

For my money, the only team that’s a lock for the Ocho is Florida- they’re the defending champs, they returned much of their two-deep, and they’re undefeated thus far. Not that they’re a unanimous # 1 for me by any stretch. They’re showing the same flaws they did last year before turning it around mid-season. The other seven spots in the Ocho are highly negotiable at this point.

To further illustrate the lack of early season clarity, I present to you the current top ten in the Sagarin rankings which is a component of the BCS calculations (full Ocho to follow late Tuesday):

1. Miami
2. Florida State
3. Cincinnati
4. Boise State
5. LSU
6. USC
7. Iowa
8. Georgia Tech
9. Alabama
10. California

You’re welcome.

The rules are simple for the Ocho:

**8-team playoff
**Top 8 BCS teams are in (no nonsense about conference champions or provisions for Notre Dame or non-BCS teams)
**Lower-ranked team plays at higher-ranked for first round (8 plays at 1)
**Semifinals played between 1st week of December and Christmas
**Championship game played as it is today (except with the certainty of getting the two best teams)
**All other bowls remain as they are today, including the remaining BCS bowl games

The arguments used against a playoff are weak, yet repeated frequently. Here are the three most frequently cited myths:

“A playoff would create too much interruption to the academic calendar”

It’s laughable that university presidents even drop this with a straight face, what with twelve regular season games, conference championships, and games added on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. If they really do care though, my proposal works the total six extra games into the existing scheduling framework.

“A playoff would lessen the importance of the regular season”

First of all, the simple numbers of the college football regular season refute this theory. There are ~30 regular season games in college basketball vs. only 12 in college football. That ratio alone implies you can lose three times as many games in basketball as you can in football. Also, the real reason the regular season doesn’t matter in college basketball is because half of the teams get into the tournament. By keeping a college football playoff at 8 teams, you retain the razor thin margin of error necessary to retain the importance of the regular season.

“The bowls make too much money to change anything”

This is absurd. The money generated by a playoff on top of the existing bowl game structure would be exponentially greater than the total revenue today. It’s simple math.

Getting back to the Ocho…

My top 8 are unchanged this week after the limited action last Saturday. If we had a playoff, this would be the first round match ups:

# 8 Utah @ # 1 Florida
# 7 Texas Tech @ # 2 Oklahoma
# 6 Penn State @ # 3 Texas
# 5 Alabama @ # 4 USC

Only one change in the Ocho this week- Texas Tech and Penn State swapping places. Penn State was obviously idle but Texas Tech mailed it in on rush defense and rush offense this week and I don’t take kindly to apathy, especially this late in the year. And for all the BCS hacks, this is why an 8-game playoff makes the regular season better- teams like Texas Tech would be jockeying for playoff seeding. And if they mail it in against a 4-7 team, they go from playing @ the # 3 team to playing @ the # 2 team. It’s not rocket science, it’s common sense.

If the season were to end today, this would be the first round Ocho match ups:

#8 Utah @ #1 Florida
#7 Texas Tech @ #2 Oklahoma
#6 Penn State @ #3 Texas
#5 Alabama @ #4 USC

And that would no doubt be better than any four bowl match ups that our current system will produce. And it would be settled on the field…and college football would make bazillions of dollars…and the academic calendar would be just fine…and college football would be even better than it is now.

You’re welcome.

Oklahoma and Texas Tech moving in different directions this week. No controversy here- if the season were to end today, this would be the first round Ocho match ups:

#8 Utah @ #1 Florida
#7 Penn State @ #2 Oklahoma
#6 Texas Tech @ #3 Texas
#5 Alabama @ #4 USC

That’s our idea of a perfect regular season and post-season. The non-BCS participant having to play in the Swamp for the right to move on. Penn State having to go to Norman to defend the Big Ten’s Honor (what’s left of it). A re-match with Tech and UT, this time in Austin. ‘Bama having to play USC at home.

What do you know- no worries about which Big XII team gets in- they’re all there. No silliness with an ACC or Big East participant. And a true champion declared at the end of it all.

You’re welcome.

The Ocho is completely unchanged this week. Texas Tech -v- Oklahoma will make a change for sure next week, and who knows what else.

If the season were to end today, this would be the first round Ocho matchups:

#8 Utah @ #1 Florida
#7 Penn State @ #2 Texas Tech
#6 Oklahoma @ #3 Texas
#5 Alabama @ #4 USC

You’re welcome

I’ll admit it- despite my political opinions, my pulse quickened when Barack Obama mentioned the need for an eight-team playoff in college football. Fortunately for America, he didn’t stop there. According to an AP report Sunday, Obama pressed the issue once more in a 60 minutes interview (to be aired Sunday). Obama said:

“If you’ve got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there’s no clear decisive winner. We should be creating a playoff system.”

He added:

“So, I’m going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it’s the right thing to do.”

To that I say Godspeed Mr. Obama. Finally an effective politician standing up for something I believe in (most of the Republican party has abandoned me after all). Bring it on!

Like the Dow, the Ocho is a bit fluid this time of year. Between teams losing, teams looking good, and teams looking bad, and my occasional mood swings, changes are aplenty.

Florida remains on top but with Texas Tech’s victory over Oklahoma State, the Red Raiders hold down the second position.

I moved Alabama down from 3rd to 5th despite the fact that they remain undefeated. A gift win over LSU and lingering questions in the passing game don’t spell best team in America to me.

Penn State drops five spots to # 7 after the loss to Iowa and Utah takes the place of Oklahoma State.

If the season ended today, this would be the first round match ups:

# 8 Utah @ # 1 Florida
# 7 Penn State @ # 2 Texas Tech
# 6 Oklahoma @ # 3 Texas
# 5 Alabama @ # 4 USC

You’re welcome

The only thing that’s getting me through the next four years politically is that Barack Obama committed to delivering an 8-team playoff in college football. I have a short attention-span so he may not have completely guaranteed it by nobody is going to hold him to any of his other promises so I’m hoping this one sticks.

Today Pat Forde at ESPN seconded the motion with his plan for an 8-team playoff. Too bad Pat includes working conference champions into his plan. I don’t care about conference champions- I want the 8 best teams at the end of the season. (period). And I want the higher seeded team to get home-field advantage- forces southern teams to play in colder climates and elminates the fear that fans won’t travel for multiple games.

Who knows, with Obama behind it and Pete Carroll speaking out today on a playoff (eight teams in fact), maybe the Ocho will happen.

If the season ended today, here would be your round one Ocho matchups:

# 8 Texas Tech @ # 1 Florida
# 7 Oklahoma State @ # 2 Penn State
# 6 Oklahoma @ # 3 Alabama
# 5 Texas @ # 4 USC

The Red Raiders playing in the Swamp? That’s money. Oklahoma State having to deal with a double white-out at Penn State? OU playing in Tuscaloosa against the surprising Crimson Tide? Texas playing USC in the Coliseum for a national championship rematch? It needs to happen now. All you people that Baracked the vote call the president-elect and get it done.

You’re welcome.

A couple of shifts in the poll this week and still no love for Texas Tech. If they beat Texas this weekend, they’ll make a dramatic entrance to the Ocho next week.

If the season ended today, this would be the first round Ocho playoff matchups:

# 8 Utah @ # 1 Texas
# 7 USC @ # 2 Penn State
# 6 Oklahoma State @ # 3 Alabama
# 5 Florida @ # 4 Oklahoma

Tell me you wouldn’t be salivating over those potential matchups. Two SEC -v- Big XII games. USC Penn State (which will probably see anyways). The non-BCS team getting the “play-in game” against # 1 Texas. This is how college football needs to be. You suck Commissioners.

You’re welcome.

Here’s the Ocho for this week. Several games this weekend could shake things up for next weeks’ edition. If the season were to end today, here’s your first round Ocho match ups:

# 8 Florida @ # 1 Texas
# 7 Utah @ # 2 Penn State
# 6 Oklahoma State @ # 3 Alabama
# 5 USC @ # 4 Oklahoma

You’re welcome.

No losses in my top 8 this week but definitely faced with a dilemma: what to do with Alabama and Missouri? I switched ‘em this week on the heels of a near-loss for ‘Bama and another impressive performance from Missouri. Sorry Tide- once you get past # 1, style points do count.

Several high profile games this week so the Ocho next week could look very different.

Lots of movement in the Ocho this week what with all the high profile teams blowing it last week. A new entrant also in Utah. I’m not sold on them but really had a hard time finding 8 quality teams this week.

You’re welcome.

Without further ado, we present to you the first installment of the 2008 Ocho. We wanted to wait a few weeks so that there were actually some games played before we formed opinions on teams, and we have no problem moving teams drastically up or down based on the strength of wins, not just on losses.

We differ from the AP and Coaches in several places. No argument from us on USC being # 1. Even with only two games played for them, they’ve got the best resume and a scary collection of talent. We like Oklahoma at # 2 also. That’s where the similarities end.

We think Georgia is still getting too much credit from the national media and Missouri is getting short-changed, based on results on the field. We like Florida better than Georgia, again based on the body of work, though both teams have visible weaknesses.

Alabama is a little low in our opinion, but certainly will have a short stay in the Ocho if they lose to Georgia this week.

Penn State is probably suffering at the hands of the Big Ten bias, but if you look at how they’ve played and the statistics, they’re definitely getting shortchanged in both the AP and Coaches’. If Penn State beats Illinois decisively this weekend, we’re moving them into the top 5.

You’re welcome.

I’m getting this in early this week so I can beat the BCS show at 8 Eastern.

Why Ocho? Because we need an ocho-team playoff and we need it now. There is no dominant team in college football this year and if you say there is, I accuse you of being a homer of the first order. At 8pm Eastern tonight, the BCS matchups are going to be divulged and the various idiots on TV are going to hype this match up and that match up. It’s all a bunch of crap. I’m sure we’ll still see some good games but the fact that the University Presidents and the TV Executives are preventing a playoff from occurring is a criminal offense. Seriously- isn’t there an antitrust violation or something here. It would be great if one of you could look into this, thanks. I smell class-action.

If there were a playoff, and I were the commish, this is how it would go down.

* Teams would be seeded like they are in college basketball- by a panel of experts, not solely by current rankings or conference champions or any garbage like that. The best eight teams are in. Then we can argue about # 9 or # 10 instead of # 3 and # 4 like we are this year. I don’t have any sympathy for the 9th best team in the country. The 3rd best team this year has a pretty good argument for why they belong in the NC.

* All other bowls remain. All of the tradition from the Papajohns.com Bowl or the Meineke Car Care Bowl will remain intact. The Ocho will be incorporated into the existing BCS structure. First round games are played at home of the higher seeded teams. The two semifinal games would make use of two existing BCS bowl games and then the Championship game would be used for….the Championship. The only change would be that there would need to be a two-week layoff between the semifinal and finals. The other two BCS games would stay intact and would field conference champions and others left out of the playoff.

* I repeat- first-round games are played at home of the higher-seeded team. This would actually add to the drama by providing home-field advantage for the higher seed and forcing some warm-weather teams to play games in (gasp!) cold-weather cities.

The regular season is over and in my world, this is what the first round matchups would look like. I guarantee you this system would be ten times better than whatever crap is announced at 8pm tonight:

# 8 USC at # 1 Ohio State
# 7 West Virginia at # 2 LSU
# 6 Missouri at # 3 Georgia
# 5 Florida at # 4 Oklahoma

Those four games alone would provide the best bowl season in recent memory, and that’s just the first round. In the name of full disclosure, I did switch Georgia and Oklahoma, because nobody wants to see Missouri OU again and Florida and Georgia already played this year too.

USC at Ohio State- preview of OSU’s trip out west to USC during the regular season. A chance for USC to prove how hot they really are. A chance for USC to play in snow. Who doesn’t want to see that?!!

West Virginia at LSU- All would not be lost for the Mountaineers, but they’d have to get past LSU first. That would be an amazing game and one that probably would be close.

Missouri at Georgia- Good first step in putting that “SEC is superior” theory to the test by sending the # 2 Big XII to Athens to play between the hedges. Come on- how can you not want to see that!!!!

Florida at Oklahoma- This would be amazing too. Two high-powered offenses. Two surly coaches. Two wunderkind Quarterbacks. Do I have to spell it out for you? Writing all this makes me hate the BCS even more. Damn them for withholding these amazing games from us.

And what could the first Semifinal look like? OSU vs. Oklahoma? Perhaps OSU vs. Florida in a re-match of last year’s title white wash? How about USC vs. Oklahoma? If these games don’t get your blood pumping, you’re not a real college football fan.

And in the other Semifinal? LSU vs. Georgia- the SEC game that never happened? How about Missouri vs. LSU? Or maybe Georgia vs. West Virginia. How’s that for an eighties flashback????

You’re welcome.

Another week, more upheaval in the Ocho. We’re on the home stretch with (some) conference championship games awaiting this Saturday.

If the season ended today, and I was chairman of the seeding committee for the Ocho 8-team D-I playoff, this is how the first round match ups would line up (note: first round match ups are at home for the higher-seeded team, second round and Championship games make use of existing BCS bowls):

# 8 Kansas at # 1 West Virginia
# 7 Oklahoma at # 2 Ohio State
# 6 Florida at # 3 Missouri
# 5 LSU at # 4 Georgia

How could you not get excited about the match ups above? Kansas getting a chance at second life, but having to go to Morgantown to play the Mountaineers at home. Oklahoma taking all that talent and speed to Columbus to face off against Ohio State. Florida getting a chance to test the “SEC is better” theory traveling on the road to play Missouri. And the SEC match up that never happened this year, LSU at Georgia.

Left out of the Ocho but likely still getting nice bowl bids would be USC, Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Hawaii among others.

You’re welcome.