Dec. 2
In college basketball, it isn't a disaster when you lose a game early. A school like Boston College was blown out at home by Saint Joseph's, but the Eagles have plenty of time to make a run and earn an NCAA berth.

One little slip shouldn't cost you a shot at the gold trophy.

But a loss early in college football can hurt. A setback at any time can be devastating on the collegiate gridiron with the BCS system in place. That's right, one bad day can be costly.

Hey, I'm not an expert on college football like Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit or Chris Fowler. I'm just a fan who wants to see things done fairly, in an honest, positive way.

Wouldn't it be interesting if there were a 16-team playoff? This season, what if Penn State were the 16th seed? Would No. 1 really want to face Joe Paterno's red-hot Nittany Lions and RB Larry Johnson? A playoff format would create lots of interest and excitement.

What about Iowa not having a shot at the national title after finishing the season with nine straight wins? Yes, the Hawkeyes lost to Iowa State in their third game, and just one bad day was the difference. It seems to me that one little slip shouldn't cost you a shot at the gold trophy.

Other divisions of college football use a 16-team playoff. The BCS is better than the way a national champion used to be decided -- by the whims of the final polls. But the bottom line is that a playoff would be the best way to determine a true champion, like we do in college basketball.

What bothers me even more is when a school wins its conference but doesn't deserve to be in one of the top bowls. Florida State has four losses, but because the Seminoles won the ACC title, they'll go to a top-tier bowl. Does coach Bobby Bowden's team deserve to be in a BCS bowl over teams that had great years but didn't win a conference crown?

It's ludicrous. There should be a rule that if you win your conference and you fail to finish in the top 12 in the BCS, your spot is vacated and a better at-large team moves into a more important bowl game. If you lose four games, you don't deserve a major invitation. The rankings for the at-large teams should hold true for the conference champions too.

If that's too tough a standard, then say a team must be in the top 15 in the country. You want to reward a team's performance over a full season, in and out of conference. I'm all about fairness, giving kids who earn it the right to enjoy the jubilation. If the Seminoles were on the other side of the situation, they would feel the same way. The BCS should reward greatness, baby!