CNN Poll: The BCS got it right, but it has to go
Washington (CNN) - College football fans have a message for the Bowl Championship Series: Good job this year, but it's time to pack it in.
According to a CNN/ORC International Poll released Thursday, 61% of college football fans think the BCS got it right by pitting Florida State against Auburn in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game on January 6.
But nearly the same percentage of fans – 62% – said the BCS, a system that uses human polls, computer rankings, and strength of schedule to match the top two teams in the country to play for the national championship, should be done away with.
Only 31% of college football fans said they still support the BCS – a figure that nearly matches the percentage of those who said the BCS got it wrong this year by picking the Seminoles to face the Tigers.
Lucky for those Americans who want the BCS to be done away with, the 2014 bowl series is the last time the BCS system will be used to determine the national title.
In 2012, a group of 12 college presidents who oversee the BCS decided to approve a plan that would allow a four-team seeded football playoff to be in place for the 2015 college football season. “A four-team playoff doesn't go too far,” Virginia Tech President Charles Steger, chairman of the BCS committee, said. “It goes just the right amount. We are very pleased with this new arrangement.”
The decision ends the 16-year run of the controversial BCS – one that saw multiple inquiries by Congress, including in 2008, when three congressmen introduced what they called the NCAA Football Championship Equity Resolution, which stated that the BCS was unfair and a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Despite the controversy with the BCS, college football remains among one of the most popular sports in the United States. According to the CNN poll, 44% of Americans said they were fans of college football.
According to a 2012 Gallup poll, professional football was the most popular sport in the United States with 63% of Americans stating they were fans. The same poll found 48% of Americans were professional baseball fans, 33% said they were professional basketball fans, 37% said they were college basketball fans and 22% said they were professional ice hockey fans.
The poll was conducted for CNN by ORC International by telephone from December 16 to December 19 with 1,035 people surveyed. The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
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I must disagree, the controversy will continue even with a four team playoff. The 5th ranked team will gripe instead of the 3rd.
Go Auburn!!!!
Controversy will increase. There's usually 1-3 viable options for the #2 ranked spot, whereas sometimes there are 4-5 one-loss teams in the bottom half of the top ten, and all will be expecting that #4 seed.
Give me a playoff system. The computers cannot factor in the intangibles like injuries, the weather, and psychological momentum. That's why the game are played in the first place. Using a computer to pick the top two teams is basically allowing a computer to calculate the winners of all of the playoff games and picking two finalists. That's why the games need to be played.
Go Noles!
@smith,
My exact thoughts. Whoever is left out will feel slighted. It's like the NCAA Basketball tourney. They now have 4 "Play in" games so there are 68 teams instead of 64. Now instead of teams 65-68 crying, team 69 is crying. Since the tourney expanded to 64 teams in 1985 very few double digit seeds have made the Final Four and the only play in team to make it to the Final Four was VCU in 2011. Villanova in 1985 as an 8 seed is the only seed lower than a 4 to win the whole tourney.
Mike in Texas wrote:
@smith,
My exact thoughts. Whoever is left out will feel slighted. It's like the NCAA Basketball tourney. They now have 4 "Play in" games so there are 68 teams instead of 64. Now instead of teams 65-68 crying, team 69 is crying. Since the tourney expanded to 64 teams in 1985 very few double digit seeds have made the Final Four and the only play in team to make it to the Final Four was VCU in 2011. Villanova in 1985 as an 8 seed is the only seed lower than a 4 to win the whole tourney.
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Those team are whining more because of an opportunity at some of the NCAA TV revenue than a chance for a championship. A football playoff system would be hard because of the number of games/weeks that it would require and the fact that most schools have their finals scheduled in December during different weeks.
It is way past time to get back to the Bowl System that used to be. Those "Students" are supposed to be in school for an education. It is time to stop playing freshman and sophomores on the varsity. We don't need tons of Bowl Games. If you have a 6-6 record stay home! Work on your education !