Obama Roots for College Football Playoff
Barack Obama isn't in charge of college football, but he's for a playoff to decide who's No. 1.
(By Frank Polich -- Bloomberg News)
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President-elect Barack Obama will have lots of important issues, such as the economy, two wars and global warming, facing him when he becomes the 44th president of the United States next month.
But Obama has made up his mind on one important sports issue: He wants a college football playoff. The president-elect said during a recent interview, "I think any sensible person would say that . . . we should be creating a playoff system. Eight teams, that would be three rounds to determine a national champion. . . . You could trim back on the regular season. I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. . . . I think it's the right thing to do."
I agree with our future president. I think a college football playoff would be great.
Under the current system, the national college football champion is decided by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Teams are evaluated by a complicated computer formula, and the two top-ranked teams play in the national championship game.
The latest BCS ratings have Alabama (12 wins, 0 losses) and Oklahoma (11-1) in the top two spots. But wait a minute: Texas (11-1) beat Oklahoma 45-35 when the teams played in October. Why aren't the Longhorns ranked ahead of the Sooners? And how about Utah (12-0), Florida (11-1) or Penn State (11-1)? They have had terrific seasons, too.
The only fair way to find out which team is the best, as our president-elect has said, is to have a playoff among the top eight teams. After all, almost every college sport decides its national champion on the field of play.
But I also hope that college football fans noticed everything our next president said. Obama said college teams could "trim back on the regular season." In other words, if college football teams and fans want a playoff system, they should give up at least one or two games during the regular season.
That makes sense. Most big-time college football teams play 12 games during the season plus a league championship. If they added three games for an eight-team playoff, some teams would play 16 games. That's a pro schedule! College players are supposed to be student-athletes.
President-elect Obama's suggestion to shorten the regular season also makes sense because that is how people work out problems, whether the problems are big or small. You may have to give up something you already have in order to get something you want even more.
Kids know this. For example, sometimes kids have to prove they can do household chores before they get a pet.
If President--elect Obama can solve the BCS mess, maybe he is ready to tackle the country's biggest problems.
Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.
