Trash the leftovers

When the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines faced off last weekend the game turned out to be everything we could have hoped for, and then some. I say we because I'm assuming all of you watched the game since it was the most-watched regular season college football game in 13 years.

The ratings were great when the Buckeyes won an instant classic 42-39 Saturday because everything people love about college football was on display - the tradition, a great rivalry and some of the most talented student athletes in America. And, oh by the way, the game featured the top two teams in the country who both happened to be undefeated.

With all of the stars aligned and the table so perfectly set coming in to the big game, the pessimist in me just knew the game would suck. That's just how it goes in college football - no matter how good everything looks on paper the powers that be find a way to screw it up. We let computers tell us how we should rank teams and have something like seven different polls to sift through each week. With so many cooks stirring the pot, I just knew the game was going to blow.

Thankfully, that was not the case. As far as I'm concerned, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith did everything necessary to wrap up the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 316 yards and four touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the land. How often do you see a team turn the ball over three times and yet still win the game against an undefeated opponent? The answer is almost never.

And yet Smith never rattled against Michigan's defense in front of a crowd of more than 105,000 rabid Buckeyes fans. The play of the day occurred when Smith tucked the ball on his hip on a play-action fake and connected perfectly with wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. for a 39-yard touchdown with 6:11 left in the first half. That play, more than any other, showed his Buckeyes they could put points up on the Wolverines.

With Smith on his game, the Buckeyes rushing attack went ballistic on a Michigan defense that came into the game allowing less than 30 yards per game. Running backs Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells each scored from long distance as Ohio State dialed up 187 yards rushing on the day.

Only three players stood out for the Wolverines, and they were quarterback Chad Henne, defensive lineman Alan Branch and running back Mike Hart. While Henne and Branch had respectable games, Hart was the only true reason this game remained close as he rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns. For the year, he's rushed for 1,515 yards and 14 touchdowns in 301 attempts. But what's the best part of Hart's game? That would be his zero fumbles. Forget about the rap on Michigan running backs (Tim Biakabatuka, anyone?), this kid is the real deal.

For as great as this game is, many experts and fans believe it was essentially the national championship game - and that's a shame. Peyton Manning might have made a name for himself during the regular season, but that's not how the game is supposed to be played. Legends are made in the post season, and that is why college football needs a playoff system.

There is not a legitimate reason out there for keeping the current BCS system in place. I mean, how can you deny a playoff system when college basketball's March Madness is as popular as any sporting event in the country? A Cinderella story like the George Mason basketball team's improbably trip to the Final Four could never happen in football. Instead we see the same five or six recycled programs year in and year out.

Therefore, I propose a simple fix - just take the top eight teams in the BCS polls at the end of the regular season and place them in a bracket. If Ohio State is the top seed, and Wisconsin is the eighth seed then they play in the first round. If Michigan is number two, then they play seventh-seeded West Virginia. Third-seeded Southern Cal would face sixth-seeded Arkansas and finally, Florida and Notre Dame would square off as the fourth and fifth seeds.

Since money is important, have the Gators and Fighting Irish play in the Chic-Fil-A Bowl or the Insight.com Bowl game. The second round games could be the Fiesta Bowl and the Orange Bowl, with the championship game being the Rose Bowl or whatever works for the big wigs. The point is, with a minor adjustment to what's already there, college football could fix all that is wrong with the way they run the game.

Those opposed say that adding a playoff system would take the student athletes out of the classroom for an extra week or two, but that's not true. Look at Ohio State - they beat Michigan and now will have a 51-day layoff until the national championship game. You're telling me if we had a playoff system we couldn't work an eight-team tournament in the next 51 days?

Just compare college football to the other big stories on the sports page. The Pittsburgh Steelers never would have had a chance to play for, let alone win a championship under the college format because they were the sixth seed in their conference last year. I already mentioned George Mason's magical journey. Even the Miami Heat, who were the second best team in their conference heading into the postseason, would have missed out on their first championship. It would have been the Detroit Pistons vs. the San Antonio Spurs yet again. Instead we got to see an enjoyable NBA Finals match-up of the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.

This is why the current system has to change. We're missing out on way too many intriguing and enjoyable possible storylines as we're stuck with leftovers year in and year out.

Brian Murphy is the 2005 Defense Department's sportswriter of the year. And he still doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Contact him at murf@the5holes.com.