And then there were two.
With LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell's overtime touchdown pass, Alabama fell from the ranks of the unbeatens, setting up a showdown between USC and Texas at the Rose Bowl.
The Trojans still have to face Fresno State and UCLA, but they've handled everything the schedule has thrown at them, while Texas should roll over Texas A & M.
This proves the BCS worked this time. It's going to make the two best teams in the country play each other with a national championship on the line.
The problem is that the college football regular season is nearly complete and we just found out if the BCS would work or not.
In the NFL, it's known that during the preseason, the playoffs will put the best two teams into the Super Bowl. There are no questions like, "Will the playoffs work?" or "How could the Falcons be left out of the Super Bowl?"
College football is faced with such issues.
Yes, the BCS worked this season, but it failed the previous two.
In 2004, Oklahoma was sent to the Orange Bowl in lieu of an excellent Auburn team. The Sooners got schooled by the Trojans, leaving many wondering if Auburn could have at least made the game interesting.
In 2003, LSU won the Sugar Bowl to claim the national title from the coach's poll. However, after an impressive victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl, Carson Palmer and USC won the title from the sportswriters, creating a split national title. This is the very scenario the BCS was designed to avoid.
The NCAA needs to find a different way to determine a national champion. Now, what could they do?
Eureka!
They could have a playoff system, just like they do in Division II and III.
Take the winner of all 11 conferences and five at-large teams, throw them in a bracket and may the best team win.
The NCAA will tell you they don't like the idea of a playoff because it will ruin a long-standing tradition.
However, I will suggest it because the bowl commissioners and the cities that host the games are worried that their profits will fall faster than MC Hammer's career.
The 2006 Fiesta Bowl is projected to generate $150 million in revenue for Tempe and the surrounding areas, according to Fiesta Bowl officials. This figure would diminish significantly if the game didn't have as much meaning.
Regardless of financial figures, the fans deserve a true, undisputed national champion. A playoff would give us that.
Reach the reporter at thomas.j.kelley@asu.edu.
