Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
Decmeber 03, 2009, Washington Post

With perfect records, which team is best?

College football has a math problem.

Right now there are six undefeated teams -- Florida, Alabama, Texas, Texas Christian University (TCU), Cincinnati and Boise State. But only two can play in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) national championship game in Pasadena, California, on January 7. And as any kid who takes math knows: Six doesn't go into two.

Of course, all six of the top-ranked teams won't stay undefeated. Under the BCS system, teams are ranked according to a confusing combination of polls and computer calculations. Number 1-ranked Florida (12 wins, 0 losses) plays Number 2-ranked Alabama (also 12-0) in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Saturday. So one of those teams will fall from the ranks of the unbeaten. If Number 3-ranked Texas (12-0) beats Nebraska (9-3) in the Big 12 title game on Saturday, chances are that the Texas Longhorns will play the winner of the Florida/Alabama game for the national crown.

But wait a minute. What about the other undefeated teams? Don't they deserve a chance to play in the big game? All a team can do is to beat the teams on their schedule.

Number 4-ranked TCU (12-0) won the Mountain West conference and beat six teams with winning records including two teams ranked in the top 25. The high-scoring Horned Frogs -- isn't that a cool nickname for a team -- won their 12 games by an average of more than 28 points a game.

Number 5-ranked Cincinnati (11-0) still has a tough game remaining against Pittsburgh (9-2). But if the Bearcats can beat the Panthers, shouldn't they be in the championship game? Cincinnati is the top team in the Big East conference and beat six teams with winning records.

Finally, there's Boise State (12-0). Many people say the Broncos have an easier schedule than the other top teams, but they beat Number 7-ranked Oregon (9-2). They also have sophomore quarterback, Kellen Moore, who has thrown for 38 touchdowns this season while giving up only three interceptions.

It seems to me that Florida, Alabama and Texas are ranked higher than TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State because the writers and coaches voting in the polls say they are better. But if the teams are undefeated and don't play each other during the season or in a national playoff system, how does anyone know for sure which is the best team?

I think college football needs a playoff system. The champions of the eight biggest football conferences should play each other in an eight team tournament. That way TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State would have a fair chance to prove they are better than the higher-ranked teams.

This Saturday, under the BCS system, the teams for the five big BCS bowl games will be announced. Two teams will play for the national championship on January 7. And the winner of that game will be the national champion.

The only problem is that the BCS champion may not be the best team.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is the author of such kids' books as "Touchdown Trouble" and "Soccer Team Upset."

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