COLUMBUS, Ohio —
The main entrance to Ohio Stadium, the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes and one of the oldest and most venerable in all of college football, is a dome that is designed to resemble that of the Pantheon in Rome.
A visit to the stadium last week showed that the historic entrance had some wear and tear — a bit of exposed rebar here, some dinged-up concrete there. But nothing that can’t be fixed with a little work, and a few bucks from OSU’s generous supporters, who rival Alabama and Auburn in their fanaticism (and occasional obnoxiousness).
The system in which the Tide, Tigers and Buckeyes determined which is the best in the land was not nearly as venerable, and needed to be blown to bits. Despite our own state’s recent success in hoisting its trademark Crystal Football, the BCS has not stood the test of time nearly as well as Ohio Stadium or the Pantheon.
And so it was a few days ago, to the delight of nearly all college football fans. The Bowl Championship Series, the latest of numerous attempts to unify the championship that the NCAA refuses to, was finally given its death warrant.
Somehow, some way, the grand poobahs of the game — which is to say, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and whoever else pretends to exert influence over college football — cobbled together a system that resembles a playoff to determine a true national champion.
Well, it’s a start.
By now you know that this is a four-team scheme, with semifinals to be held at two of the major New Year’s bowl games, and a championship game to be held a week or so afterward. The hardest part will be determining just who those four teams will be.
The new system will use a selection committee, much like the NCAA basketball tournaments, but with a much more difficult task. Picking about three dozen at-large teams for a 68-team bracket will rarely evoke howls from fans, at least not for an extended time. But getting one pick out of four wrong is a much bigger deal. The choice between an unbeaten lesser name like a Boise State, and a major conference champion with one loss, will be scrutinized beyond words.
Speaking of Boise Sate, that’s another change. No more automatic qualifiers. You don’t have to be in with The In Crowd, at least not technically. But if you think that an undefeated Sun Belt team will get picked over an SEC or Pac-12 team with one or two losses, think again. That simply won’t happen, even though it could, at least on paper.
Having said all that, it is indeed a step in the right direction. I hope that it will turn out to be a starter project of sorts, eventually leading to a full playoff of eight, 12 or 16 teams. Once the folks in charge see how much money there is to be made from this — and believe me, the moolah will flow like a tsunami — it will simply be a matter of when, not if. This new plan is supposed to be in place for 12 years, but if it proves to be as successful as I think, they’ll figure out a way to expand it sooner.
Money talks, you know.
Local Sports
Robert Carter: A college football playoff at last
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Hayden wins AHSAA 5A state softball championship
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State softball tournament: Hayden advances to championship game with 2-0 win over Scottsboro
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State softball tournament: Hayden 3, Saraland 2 (10 innings)
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State softball tournament: Hayden 12, Shelby County 0 (6 innings)
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State softball tournament: Corner eliminated by Oak Grove
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Regional softball qualifiers: Corner, Hayden advance to state tournament
Corner took the express lane, while Hayden took the back roads with lots of twists and turns.
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Baseball playoff semifinals: Hartselle 7-10, Pinson Valley 2-0
Pinson Valley’s pitching had no answer for Hartselle’s bats.
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Boys soccer semifinals: St. Paul's Episcopal 2,Pinson Valley 1 (shootout)
Pinson Valley’s boys soccer team has seen this show before, and it wasn’t any better the second time.
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Softball regionals: Tuscaloosa in rain delay
The opening of the AHSAA North Central Regional Softball Tournament will not get started on time, thanks to rain in the Tuscaloosa area.
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Gardendale athletes sign scholarships at annual ceremony
Eleven graduating senior athletes at Gardendale High School were honored Thursday night in the school's annual scholarship signing ceremony.
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