Fixing the College Football Bowl Situation

Playoff, +1, keep it as is... Something has to give.

Everyone that loves college football knows that the current situation needs to change. Yes, if you take a look at history, we are far better off with the BCS than we were a few years back without it. The crime is that it boils down to money, and not football or the students playing the game.

Personally, I blame the gridlock on the Rose Bowl and the PAC10 and BigTen. They won't release their grip off of the rights to the annual Pasadena trip.

I'll cut to the chase...

My solution isn't original, but also is the fastest to implement and the best middle ground offering compromise.

1. Keep the current BCS ranking system. No, I don't think it is all that fair either, but it is a system that floats the best to the top.
2. (Optional) Institute mandatory conference championships. This would equal out the amount of games and create harder schedules for those without. The 2 strongest conferences do this already.
3. Keep the same BCS bowl rotation. 5 trump games in New Orleans, Miami, Pasadena, and Phoenix. And maybe switch up the sites every few years. By now, you are thinking...Huh. This guy is stupid.
4. Here is where my +1 solution comes in. Make the 2 previous bowl games that hosted the championship the playoff sites with 1 vs. 4, and 2 vs. 3. The 1 vs. 4 would have been held in the Sugar Bowl, and the 2 vs. 3 would have been held in the Fiesta Bowl this year.
   
5. Allowing the Orange Bowl to host the 4th most important matchup, with 7 vs. 8.
6. And the Rose Bowl to have the 3rd most important with 5 vs. 6.
   
7. The winners of the 2 'playoff' bowl games in Phoenix and New Orleans go to the final in Miami. Still allowing for the week after game. The dates would have to be shuffled around a bit every year. But I'm certain the Rose Bowl Parade fanatics would be the only ones to complain.
8. The system will have to eliminate who gets automatic bids in to each bowl by way of conference leader.

And there you have it. A +1 with no season extension and a semi-playoff offering 4 spots. The catch is that we would need to decide on this new layout in advance and maybe even a couple of years so everyone knew what was coming...No big deal.

The Positives are:

• This formula keeps the current quantity of bowls.
• Does not extend the bowl season.
• Allows for 4 teams to make their way into the final after the final BCS rankings.
• Somewhat of a compromise of the current system, a +1, and a playoff.
  

The Negatives are:

• The total amount of bowl teams are reduced by two because the 2 final teams play another game.
• Particular conferences do not get locked into select BCS bowls...boo hoo.
• Additional money for 2 of the 4 final teams. This could possibly be reworked or donated to other deserving causes or programs.
• Fans may not dish out the cash to go to 2 bowl games if their teams are that good. Ohhh my gosh.... ticket prices might have to go down. How crazy would that be?