An Anticlimactic End to the Controversial BCS Era

by Jules Gonsoulin

sports editor

Remember that saying, “The enemy you know is better than the enemy you don’t know”? College football fans don’t.

This college football season capped off years of controversy filled with questionable games and heavily disputed national champions. This Bowl Championship Series system, which various ESPN sportscasters called “archaic,” often failed to deliver hardcore fans a solid, satisfying final set of bowl games.

photo courtesy hectorir
photo courtesy hectorir

In case you’re wondering, I’m referring to games such as Alabama vs. Notre Dame, where the Crimson Tide absolutely crushed the Irish, and many wondered why (other than an undefeated record) they were even permitted to compete with the SEC heavyweights. I’m also referring to LSU vs. Alabama, a rematch that some believed should never have happened, where the Tigers were blanked in the first ever BCS shutout.

Wouldn’t it make perfect sense for this season to end in some sort of controversy, reassuring fans that the future four-team playoff was really going to make a huge difference? It would, but that just didn’t happen this year. Instead, we saw four incredibly exciting games, three of which were undecided until the fourth quarter. Then, fans witnessed one of the greatest national championship games of all time, in which Florida State rose unconquered and undisputed. In short, this was a fantastic postseason for college football and, though it doesn’t overshadow the disappointing seasons, it shows that the BCS is not completely flawed.

What if the College Football Playoff is just as flawed as the BCS? The CFP will simply extend the drama from two to four teams, and fans will be griping about their team not making it into the No. 4 spot, despite a solid year. What if the playoffs feature rematches? It’s bound to happen, and fans will surely have mixed feelings about it. This new system will unquestionably bring about new problems, and it will be interesting to see how viewers, coaches and players react. One thing is for certain: The BCS finished its run on a great note and made many fans rethink their opinions.