I know there's still a lot of college football left to be played, and things could work out just right so we have the unanimous best two teams in the country in the BCS National Championship. But there's still a pretty good chance that we finish with 3 undefeated teams that all arguably deserve a chance at a championship.

The way I see it, it works out in several ways.

You could have all three teams finish undefeated. Oregon is number 1 in the BCS Standings after beating some tough competition (namely Stanford and Oregon State) in the coming weeks. K-State remains number 2 due to more consistent play and not playing down to opponents. Despite Notre Dame having the strongest schedule of the three, possibly in the country, would stay number three because of their poor performances against inferior opponents (triple OT against Pitt, close win over BYU). Oregon plays K-State in the National Championship, Notre Dame goes to the Rose Bowl.

Alternatively, Oregon loses one of their upcoming games against Stanford/Oregon State but still wins the Pac 12. That loss knocks them down below Georgia, they go to play Nebraska/Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame is thrilled, because that loss just about guarantees them a spot in the National Championship to face undefeated Kansas State.

OR, Kansas State loses to Baylor (lol) or Texas (slightly more realistic). They drop pretty far, possibly as low as 8th behind Texas A&M. Notre Dame celebrates that loss, too, as that would earn them a chance to face Oregon for the crystal football. Kansas State plays Texas A&M in the Fiesta Bowl.

If Notre Dame loses, it's likely that nothing changes from the first situation, where Notre Dame would still play the B1G champion in the Rose Bowl.

If two of the three undefeated teams remaining (bar THE Ohio State University, who is ineligible) were to lose in the coming weeks, it's likely that the SEC Champion (Georgia vs. Alabama) would go on to face the last undefeated left.

So this is a pretty crazy year in College Football, and unfortunately a worthy team might get shunted from the big game. A playoff would really help fix this.

What do y'all think?

The ironic thing about this is that Oregon and K-State lost (and K-State lost to Baylor, lol).  I really can't wait to see how this turns out, especially since Alabama is back in the playoff picture.

warmaker : Not conference. I said schedule. You cannot dispute the fact that they played more consistent competition than the other top teams. Notre Dame played only AQ (other than BYU and Navy) conference foes this year. That means they didn't get to fluff their schedule with Western Carolina, Georgia Southern, or Tennessee Tech. Notre Dame gets a lot of crap for looking unimpressive against BYU and Pittsburgh, not for playing cupcakes.

By the end of the season, Notre Dame could have wins against K-State's best win (Oklahoma), Oregon's best win (USC, although Little Oregon might be Oregon's best win after the Civil War) one of Alabama's premier wins (Michigan), as well as wins over Stanford and Miami(FL). Either way, Notre Dame has played an unarguably tough schedule and, however ugly their wins have been, are still undefeated, a title it shares with only Ohio State.

I don't have the perfect system, because nobody does yet. I think I'd prefer a 6 team playoff, with the 1 and 2 seeds getting byes. That preserves the sanctity of the regular season without shutting out worthy teams. ("Want to be in playoffs at #7 and 9-2? Too bad, play better.")

mlb789 : I agree, this is looking to be quite the finish. I keep thinking scenarios, like Team X can be in the NC if Team X beats Team Y, and Team Z loses to Team W, etc...

I'm definitely enjoying this season more than I enjoyed last year's SEC lovefest. *gag*

warmaker : Looking back, I'd actually think 10 teams would be best. Play-in game for the 7 and 8 seeds

-Conference winners from AQ conferences get automagic bids, (still might be in play-in), highest ranked team from non-BCS conference (excluding Notre Dame) gets bid
-Remaining at-large spots go to highest ranked in BCS, but no more than two teams from a conference can go.
-I just seeded to keep conference opponents from playing each other.

(1)Notre Dame vs (8)Rutgers/Oregon
(4)Kansas State vs (5)Clemson
(3)Florida State vs (6) Stanford
(2)Alabama vs (7) Nebraska/Northern Illinois


That's a pretty good looking playoff. I'm assuming that South Carolina and Florida lose to Clemson and Florida State respectively today, which isn't a stretch because they're underdogs.

I'll apply it to the end of the season last year (which was VERY controversial) to show how it might work.

(1)LSU vs (8)West Virginia/Virginia Tech
(4)Oregon vs (5)Wisconsin
(3)Alabama vs (6)Stanford
(2)Oklahoma State vs (7)Clemson/Boise State

tj4bigred : Here's where the assumption part blows it all up.  Did you see the USC/Clemson and UF/FSU games?

If the point of the play-off is to get the two best teams into the championship game, then I think make the pick.  You're dealing with 120 potential teams, not a 32 team league.  The options for good teams are so far and wide you can't fit it into a play-off.  And play-offs don't always match the two best teams.  They match teams that won a few extra games.

REmember the XL Super Bowl?  The 6th seeded Steelers were not the best team in the AFC.  And they played the Seahawks.  Snooze fest.  Playoffs don't always determine who's best either.