The college football playoff argument should pick up a whole lot of ammunition this off-season thanks to what has transpired this bowl season.

There have been years where undefeated mid-major schools have been left out of the mix—Tulane in 1998, Marshall in 2000, Utah in 2002-- but in each of those seasons, the national champion (Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Ohio State respectively) also finished undefeated.

And let’s not forget the 2003 BCS fiasco, when Auburn--from the “big, tough, rough and tumble SEC”--got passed over for USC and Oklahoma.

(For the record, that SEC quote isn’t direct. I “kind of” made it up. Kind of.)

I would have argued that the mid-majors, or the odd team out, deserved a shot at the national title in each of those years, but because the season ended with an undefeated national champion the ends justified the means.

And from the inception of the BCS in 1998, the end has justified the means in every single season. Until now that is.

On Monday night, SEC champ Florida blew out the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the national title with a 13-1 record while the 13-0 Boise State Broncos remain no better than a WAC wannabe.

Oops.

In case you couldn’t tell by the headline or content of this column, I am a huge proponent of a playoff system for Division I-A college football. I even wrote a research paper in one of my college English classes on the subject.

In brief, here’s my theory on how a college football playoff should be structured:
16 teams – the winner of each I-A conference (11) with five wild cards, or bubble spotsTeams would be ranked for seeding using the BCS formulaEight bowl sites would be selected for the tournament, with the BCS bowls alternating as host for the championship game
The BCS powers-that-be argue that a playoff would extend the season too too long and take away the importance of regular season games. I have two words for them…

Shut. Up.

With 51 days between the end of an extended 12-game regular season and the national championship, the length of season excuse is an insult to the intelligence of everyone calling for a playoff. If the BCS suits were really worried about time away from class, every school would have two weeks between the end of the regular season and their bowl game. The college football season would end right before finals week and there would be a national champ crowned.