For the BCS, a Splitting Headache

"Certainly, probably, the impetus for change is not going to come through the collegiate ranks," Thompson said. "It's going to come through intervention and other people outside of college football that are going to pressure those that make the decisions."

In mid-November, Obama told CBS's "60 Minutes" he favored an eight-team playoff in college football. "I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit," Obama said. "I think it's the right thing to do."

Mark Shurtleff, attorney general for the state of Utah, opened an investigation Tuesday into whether the BCS has violated federal antitrust laws by keeping an undefeated Utes squad out of the national championship game for the second time in five seasons.

Many AP voters contacted for this story said they were overly impressed with Utah's Sugar Bowl performance, though several admitted that was largely because their expectations of the Utes were low entering the game. Still, several AP voters said they would consider ranking Utah No. 1 on their final ballot.

"The truth is, I might vote Utah number one anyway because this year I just don't care whether the team is from my state or not," said Mike Strain, sports editor of the Tulsa World and a second-year AP voter. "I have Florida number one right now, and it was much to the consternation of some of our readers. I just thought Florida was better. If I think Utah is better, I'm going to vote Utah ahead of them. I'm just not sure Utah is better. It's hard; I just don't see the right answer."

Should enough AP voters place Utah atop their list, a split national champion would occur for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when Louisiana State claimed the BCS crown, while the AP voted USC No. 1.

No 'Clear, Right Answer'

Utah isn't the only team that thinks it has a claim on being No. 1. USC, which held eight of its final 10 opponents to 10 points or less, and Texas, which beat Oklahoma at a neutral venue, also are clamoring for consideration. But neither received a huge bump from their postseason victories, because they came over opponents from the Big Ten, whose members finished 1-6 in bowl games.

Those games opened the BCS to criticism over not just its championship game but also over the pairing and the timing of all five of its matchups, just two of which were played on New Year's Day, once the highest holy day of the college football calendar. The Rose Bowl, in which USC beat Penn State, is obligated to match the champions of the Pac-10 and the Big Ten unless either qualifies for the championship game. The other BCS bowls have similar conference tie-ins -- the Orange Bowl with the ACC, the Sugar Bowl with the SEC and the Fiesta Bowl with the Big 12 -- inhibiting the flexibility needed to produce the best matchups.

"I think the real shame is the BCS is set up just to find number one versus number two, not to find number three versus number four," said Joe Giglio, an AP voter who works for the Raleigh News & Observer. "The other matchups we got were specifically designed to keep the AP from splitting the national championship."

Despite all the current clamoring, Giglio believes real change will not come until more major programs, such as Texas, feel they've been unfairly denied a chance to play for a national title.

"As long as those power conferences keep getting a piece of the pie, it's impossible to think that a couple of upset Utah fans are going to change the whole system," Giglio said.

Tonight, either Oklahoma or Florida will be celebrating the validation supposedly afforded to the BCS champion. In reality, ownership of the right to claim national supremacy might end up being shared. A split title would serve as another knock against a controversial system that likely won't undergo serious change anytime soon.

"The problem is, at least for a guy like me, is I'd love to have just a right or wrong answer, and the problem this creates is I don't really see the clear, right answer," Strain said. "It's difficult when you don't see a right answer."