NCAA Needs 'Holiday Hysteria'

If you ask sports fans around the country to name their favorite annual sporting events, you're likely to hear from people who like the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Masters and even the Daytona 500. But one event that is likely at or near the top of almost every fan's list is the NCAA basketball tournament.

"March Madness" has become a staple of the country's sporting diet. Memories of legendary moments in past tourneys roll off the tongue like your alma mater's fight song -- Magic vs. Bird, Jim Valvano's cinderella N.C. State Wolfpack, Christian Laettner beating Kentucky, Bo Kimble's left-handed free throws, and -- around my hometown at least -- Ganglehoff's Golden Gang making a tainted run to the 1997 Final Four.

But college football -- that's another matter entirely. NCAA football is suffering from an identity crisis. Quick, who won the Orange Bowl last year? Who played in the Sugar Bowl in 1998? Who has EVER played in the Outback Bowl?

And while last year's title race was actually decided by a game between the last two undefeated teams (Florida State defeated Virginia Tech, in case you forgot your ginko biloba today), we only have to go back two years to find a decision process that was a bit more dubious.

The 1998 title was not quite as clear-cut as last season's. Was it decided by the players on the field? No, it was determined by the media in the press box and the coaches in their Barcaloungers, who named Tennessee the champs after the Vols beat Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl. Sure, Tennessee was undefeated, but so was Tulane. The Green Wave finished a nifty 12-0 but never got a chance to see if they could hang with the Vols for 60 minutes.

And we could have a repeat of the controversy this year if Florida State drills Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl (the Seminoles are double-digit picks by many pundits) and Miami gives Florida more than it can handle in the Sugar Bowl. If you throw Washington into the mix following a convincing Rose Bow win over Purdue, you'd have three teams making legitimate claims on the crown.

Despite the shadow cast over nearly every controversial national championship, the brain wizards who run NCAA football have steadfastly refused to consider a postseason tournament that could rival the excitement generated by America's favorite month-long orgy of hoops and gambling each March.

(Come on, admit it -- you get geeked on Selection Sunday when the seedings are announced and spend most of your waking moments the next three days studying the matchups and filling out your brackets. It's OK -- I won't tell your boss.)

Consider this a proposal for a 16-team NCAA football tournament that would set pigskin junkies into full mouth-frothing mode throughout December and January. Call it "Holiday Hysteria" and watch the excitement build.

The same tired arguments keep resurfacing against an NCAA football tournament:

• "It would cause the student-athletes to miss too much class."
  Hmm . . . it seems to be OK for Division I-AA, Division II and Division III football players to miss class to play in post-season tournaments. And it's also OK to make basketball players cris-cross the country for three or four games a week all season in the name of competition and national exposure.
• "But the bowl games are such a grand tradition -- we can't do away with them."
  So don't. Simply incorporate the bowls into the tournament. This year there will be 25 Division I bowl games. A 16-team tourney requires 15 games -- pick the top 15 bowls based on payouts, tradition, whatever, and play the games at those sites. The remaining 10 bowl games could remain exhibitions for the next 20 teams that don't qualify for the championship tournament -- for all intents and purposes, that's what every bowl but one is right now anyway.
• "Uhh . . . well . . . a tournament would make the season too long."
  Wrong. Right now, most of the big programs are already playing 14 games -- a preseason "Kickoff Classic" game in August, 11 regular-season games, a conference championship game and a bowl game. Under the Donnelly Plan, two teams would play 15 games and two teams would play 16 games -- which is the same as a regular season in the NFL, the goal of at least half of the players at a successful Division I program.
• "Well, Mr. Smarty Pants, how would you decide which 16 teams make it into the tournament?"
  You're already using the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings to determine the top two teams for your title game. Just protract the ratings to include the top 16. No matter what system you use, you're going to hear grumbling from the bubble teams. Frankly, I'd rather have the 17th and 18th-ranked teams in the country complaining than the teams ranked third and fourth, who might have a legitimate beef, like Miami this year.
• "Jeez, Donnelly, you're a genius! How would this system work?"
  Well, thank you, but this ain't exactly rocket science (although some of my friends at Mensa would be able to help us if it were).

For starters, the four so-called BCS bowls (Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar) would continue to rotate the title game. Two others would be semifinals and the bowl that hosts the championship would do a one-year stint as a quarterfinal game the next year. The top 15 bowls would host tournament games; the rest (this year it's the Mobile Alabama, Las Vegas, Aloha, Oahu, Motor City, Music City, Humanitarian, Micronpc.com, Galleryfurniture.com and Silicon Valley bowls) would fight over inviting the rest of the field for an exhibition game.

Under the Donnelly Plan, 36 teams would play at least one post-season bowl game -- this year 50 teams participate in the bowls. Maybe new bowls would develop to pick up that slack -- or maybe we'd realize we don't need that many bowl games and could focus on the ones that actually help determine the national champion.

Finding dates that don't conflict with the NFL would be a little tricky, but we'd have to find a way to make it happen, because the TV networks would insist. Ideally, the title game would be played on the weekend between the NFC/AFC championships and Super Bowl, so we'll shoot for that.

The BCS currently rates the top 15 teams in the nation, so we've seeded them 1-15 in that order. Because there was no consensus 16th pick in the various rankings, the wild card this year goes to Purdue for winning the Big Ten. (Let the grumbling begin.)

The seedings follow the 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15 format of the basketball tournament, and the bowl assignments were drawn from an official Penn State coffee mug bearing the likeness of Joe Paterno, the patron saint of post-season college football debates.

To help me fill out my bracket I've turned to my college football insider, Slippery Chris. (Smooth Jimmy, last year's Deep Throat, was too busy picking out china patterns this fall to help me.) I'm more of an NFL junkie, while Slippery Chris has seen more college games up close and personal than Eddie Robinson, Joe Pa and Bobby Bowden combined.

So without further ado, here's how one man's 2000 NCAA football tournament might look:

FIRST ROUND

Outback Bowl -- #1 Oklahoma vs. #16 Purdue
The Sooners get a tough opponent in round one, but in this showcase of Heisman candidates, it is Bob Stoops' defense that is the difference.
Slippery Chris says . . . OKLAHOMA 24-20

Independence Bowl -- #8 Nebraska vs. #9 K-State
Crouch won't let this opportunity go to waste. Huskers win in overtime.
Slippery Chris says . . . NEBRASKA 35-28

Peach Bowl -- #5 Va. Tech vs. #12 Texas
The Hokies didn't beat a top 25 team all year. In the Horns' last game of the season, quarterback Chris Simms had his breakthrough game. Vick can't do it alone.
Slippery Chris says . . . TEXAS 35-27

Insight.com Bowl -- #4 Washington vs. #13 Georgia Tech
Washington may be the best-kept secret in the country. While Georgia Tech has a great passing game, the Huskies are a more balanced team led by coach Rick Neuheisel and QB Marcus Tuiasosopo.
Slippery Chris says . . . HUSKIES 40-30

Liberty Bowl -- #3 Miami vs. #14 TCU
TCU has a great record and a great running back. But they have never played a team like Miami. Without anyone to cover the sensational Santana Moss, the 'Canes run away with this one.
Slippery Chris says . . . MIAMI 42-17

Sun Bowl -- #6 Oregon State vs. #11 Notre Dame
Notre Dame actually belongs in the Sun Bowl. Scratch what I said about the Huskies being the best-kept secret in college football. That title belongs to Oregon State running back Ken Simonton. The Beavers cap a storybook season with a win over the tradition rich Irish.
Slippery Chris says . . . OSU 30-14

Holiday Bowl -- #7 Florida vs. #10 Oregon at
The Gators have a young, but talented team. Steve Spurrier shows the Ducks what SEC football is all about.
Slippery Chris says . . . GATORS 35-21

Alamo Bowl -- #2 Florida State vs. #15 Clemson
Clemson had its shot at FSU earlier this year. Bobby showed Tommy just who his daddy was then, and it won't be any different this time.
Slippery Chris says . . . FSU 42-10

QUARTERFINALS

Fiesta Bowl -- #1 Oklahoma vs. #8 Nebraska
Oklahoma is getting sick of beating up on Big 12 opponents, but runs up one more win in close one against the Cornhuskers.
Slippery Chris says . . . SOONERS 30-27

Cotton Bowl -- #12 Texas vs. # 4 Washington
It seems unfair that the lower seed gets to play closer to home, but it doesn't faze UW as they roll over the Longhorns.
Slippery Chris says . . . HUSKIES 30-20.

Gator Bowl -- #3 Miami vs. #6 Oregon State
Now it is time for Oregon State to wake from their dream. Miami has too much team speed for the Beavers to keep up with. Erickson keeps it close but can't beat his old team.
Slippery Chris says . . . 'CANES 33-30

Citrus Bowl -- #7 Florida vs. #2 Florida State
The Gators already know how this one will turn out. Florida is still one year away from having a fantastic team. FSU has that team now. (But the TV executives love the ratings for this one.)
Slippery Chris says . . . SEMINOLES 35-17

SEMIFINALS

Rose Bowl -- #1 Oklahoma vs. #4 Washington
Heupel gets a hold of some bad Sushi out west and gets food poisoning. Without their quarterback, the Sooners watch Tuiasosopo lead the Huskies to the Orange Bowl.
Slippery Chris says . . . HUSKIES 24-21

Sugar Bowl -- #3 Miami vs. #2 Florida State
Weinke throws two key first half interceptions in the red zone. Miami QB Ken Dorsey plays the game of his life and FSU misses a kick in the waning moments as the Hurricanes win. (Sound familiar?)
Slippery Chris says . . . 'CANES 35-32

CHAMPIONSHIP

Orange Bowl -- #4 Washington vs. #3 Miami
The Hurricanes avenge the only slip of their season and Butch Davis is doused in Gatorade as Miami wins the national championship in its own backyard.
Slippery Chris says . . . 'CANES 31-24

So what do you think? Would the Donnelly Plan work? Did we miss any potential flaws? Would your brackets follow Slippery Chris's predictions? Send me your feedback and we'll post the most intriguing responses. Let the debates begin (or end, if the Donnelly Plan works).