I don’t know about you, but I’m on bended knee right now giving thanks that there is no playoff system currently in place at the highest level of college football.
Could you imagine what would’ve happened if a tournament were in place, and we were denied the opportunity to see the three scintillating matchups that kicked off Capital One Bowl Week*? The mind shudders and the heart flutters at the mere thought of missing out on... on... this.
With Troy’s 48-21 win over Ohio University in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the trio of games that heralded the start of the 2010 bowl season were decided by margins of 28, 23 and 27 points, an average of nearly four touchdowns per game. Heaven forbid that level of competition were to be supplemented by -- or replaced with -- some type of playoff format to truly decide the sport’s national champion.
Thank you Jim Delany, the BcS, university presidents et al for sparing us the indignity that a playoff would bring. Thank you, instead, for the dignity and sanctity that is the regular season and subsequent bloated bowl bonanza replete with stirring showdowns that give new meaning to “Must-Flee TV”.
To all involved, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Or from an orifice a coupla feet south if you wanted to be physiologically correct.
(*it’s actually two weeks; who did ESPN consult on the name, the Big Ten?)