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Once again, we are seeing the new college football polls surface, and once again the bandwagons are rolling for all of the sports medias' favorite teams. Of course Ohio State has "surprised" exactly no one by being declared the National Champion by those "in the know". Well, I suppose maybe it could be true, and maybe OSU could be stunningly mediocre. (OK... it's a machine, and I doubt that it would be... but it could happen.)
The fact remains though, that every season; every college football team is fundamentally a new team, with many new players of little or no experience. What's being rated is the Coaching Staff and the "System" implemented by those coaches. Urban Meyer has proven that his "System" - the Spread Option is a winner since his stint at Bowling Green. It maximizes the "system", athleticism, and speed of a young offense. It minimizes complexity and provides for the ability to have a non-quarterback play quarterback. (For doubters of what I say, please check with the Meyer era Gators and Tim T for a prime example.) In fact, it's the best offense for most college programs, and frankly speaking ahem... ahem... there is a certain old coach who needs to be following his good friend and implementing the same offense for the Hokies. I won't name the coach...
So, these polls, at this point of the season, are votes for Systems and Machines, not actual records on the field. What I want is an actual championship that reflects the totality of the season and the teams' ability to win on any given Game Day. It used to be Saturday, but lots of things have changed in College Football since cable TV.
It's time for the NCAA to sit down with the Bowl People and the Athletic Directors and Coaches... to form a real Championship Tournament series for the two levels of Division 1 FBS College football. It's time for an 8 conference Division 1 and an 8 conference Division 2 (The mid-majors deserve their own division and a real championship to play for, their trip through Bowl Limbo needs to cease.)
What shakes out is a 16 game playoff system where the Conference Championships are the first round played, followed by an 8 team record based High/Low Grid 2nd round, and a 4 team point based Semi -leading up to the National Championship happening closer to New Year's Day. The fairness advantage is that the mid-majors get the same deal, and get some serious national exposure as well.
Ultimately, though a real FBS playoff system of Conference Champions will do two very critical things; crown a real on the field no doubts about it National Championship (a Real College Super Bowl), and it will minimize the annoying subjectivity of the polls. It won't eliminate the desire and need for the media to rank things; it'll just provide an absolute on the field Champion.
That is something that we Hokies should really desire; it's going to be our best chance at winning a National Title. Because as you can see by the latest AP and Coaches polls, we aren't getting much love from the voters, and ultimately the current system is still highly dependent on the voter bandwagon.