NCAA Accidentally Makes Case for Playoffs

Many people didn’t see it happen.  Lots of people didn’t watch.  The typical college football fan just sticks to a team, occasionally a conference and doesn’t venture out to enjoy a good competitive football game amongst successful teams in a lesser division.  Today, Villanova was at Appalachian State in the D-I AA/FCS quarterfinal game.  App St. came in ranked #1 in all of AA ball, largely expected to roll through ‘nova, last year’s champ.  Together these teams have one 4 of the last 5 AA championships.

What happened was the unexpected.  It turns out that if a powerhouse has to play a team in a playoff that they can lose.  Villanova whooped the hell out of App St., 42-24.  I don’t think it was that close.  ‘Nova dominated in every facet aside from the opening drive.

Who’s to say that if you had a playoff in D-1/FBS that this couldn’t happen?  What if Auburn had to play Virginia Tech in a quarterfinal game and lost?  What if Oregon played TCU in a semifinal and lost?  The possibilities are endless.  It seems to me that you could retain the existing bowl system by applying the sponsorships to the game.  Every bowl game’s viewership would increase, creating more money, which is what the BCS truly is all about. 

The difference is that the BCS is an independent entity that is overseen by the NCAA, but moreso by the college presidents.  Therefore, they get to keep all the BCS money for the BCS people.