Traditional
Bowl Matchups
One major downside of the BCS is that it has taken away the traditional bowl matchups. The Rose Bowl should match the Big Ten champion against the Pac-12 champion every year. The SEC winner should go to New Orleans. In recent years, these New Year's traditions have been pushed aside for the BCS, but there is a better way.
The Playoff Solution restores the traditional matchups within a playoff system, allowing each BCS Bowl game to play its traditional New Year's Day game according to its established conference tie-ins. Each BCS Bowl stadium would also host one additional game, either a play-in game during the week of Christmas, one week before the BCS Bowl, or a national semifinal game in the week after the BCS Bowl. None of the Bowls or Conferences would have to break any of their contractual obligations. Each Bowl would get exactly one more game, so the extra revenue would be distributed evenly, and each TV contract could simply be expanded to one extra game. Each Bowl would also have games in consecutive weeks, which will make it easier to sell ticket packages and encourage fans to spend an entire week in the host cities.
This is the Playoff Solution for each of the BCS Bowls:
Sugar Bowl: SEC vs. At-Large
New Orleans, LA
The Sugar Bowl has been played every year since 1935, and it has long hosted the champion of the SEC against an at-large opponent. The Sugar Bowl has hosted many memorable games, including Alabama's 1979 victory over Penn State, Georgia's 1981 victory over Notre Dame, and when LSU beat Oklahoma in 2004 to create the only split National Championship of the BCS era. The Playoff Solution keeps the Sugar Bowl's traditional matchup of the SEC champion against an at-large opponent. Two at-large teams would face off in a play-in game during Christmas week, and the winner would play the SEC champion in the New Year's Day Sugar Bowl.
- Sugar Bowl Play-In: Two At-Large Teams (preferably from outside the SEC) would play a game around Christmas.
- The Sugar Bowl: The winner of the play-in game would meet the SEC champion on or just after New Year's Day.
Orange Bowl: ACC vs. Big East
Miami, FL
The Orange Bowl has a long and storied tradition that dates back to 1935. The Orange Bowl was once associated with the Big 12, but in the BCS era, it has been tied to the Big East and the ACC. Two of the most famous Orange Bowl games were the 1984 and 1995 matchups between Nebraska and Miami. The Playoff Solution maintains the modern association with the two eastern BCS Conferences and would host the ACC champion against the Big East champion every year. The Orange Bowl winner would then host the Sugar Bowl winner in an Eastern Semifinal.
- The Orange Bowl: The ACC champion would play the Big East champion on or just after New Year's Day..
- Eastern Semifinal: A week after New Year's, the winner of the Orange Bowl would play the winner of the Sugar Bowl
Fiesta Bowl: Big 12 vs. At-Large
Glendale, AZ
The Fiesta Bowl is the newest of the BCS Bowls, originally created in 1971 to host the WAC Champion. Through the 1980's, the Fiesta Bowl was not tied to any conference, hosting many independents, most famously in 1986 when Penn State beat Miami for the national championship, and in 1989, when Notre Dame beat West Virginia. Today, the Fiesta Bowl is tied to the Big 12, but it has retained its independent character, hosting Utah's victory over Pittsburgh in 2005, Boise State's victory over Oklahoma in 2007, and the matchup of undefeated Boise State and TCU in 2010. This history makes the Fiesta Bowl the perfect choice for a BCS play-in game, and the Playoff Solution would invite two at-large teams to Arizona for a Christmas day game, where the winner would play the Big 12 champion in the traditional New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl.
- Fiesta Bowl Play-In: Two At-Large Teams (preferably from outside the Big 12) would play a game around Christmas.
- The Fiesta Bowl: The winner of the play-in game would meet the Big 12 champion on or just after New Year's Day.
Rose Bowl: Pac-12 vs. Big Ten
Pasadena, CA
The Rose Bowl is the granddaddy of them all, first played on New Year's Day in 1902. Since World War II, the Rose Bowl has had agreements with the predecessors to the Pac-12 and Big Ten Conferences, and for the vast majority of those years, the Pac-12 and Big Ten champions met in Pasadena on New Year's Day. With the pageantry of the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Rose Bowl is the college bowl richest in tradition, and any good playoff system should seek to preserve that tradition. The Playoff Solution restores the traditional Big Ten vs. Pac-12 matchup in the Rose Bowl, which could be played every year on New Year's Day. The winner of the Fiesta Bowl would then travel to Pasadena to play the winner of the Rose Bowl in a Western Semifinal.
- The Rose Bowl: On New Year's Day, after the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Pac-12 champion would play the Big Ten champion.
- Western Semifinal: A week after New Year's, the winner of the Rose Bowl would play the winner of the Fiesta Bowl
National Championship
AFCA Trophy
Since the creation of the Bowl Coalition in 1992, college football has sought to hold one game to determine an undisputed national champion. Under the BCS, the championship game rotates among the four BCS bowls each year. The Playoff Solution leaves that schedule in place, giving each bowl a chance to host every four years. The National Championship game would match the winner of the Eastern Semifinal against the winner of the Western Semifinal. The game could be scheduled on a Saturday to make it easier for fans to travel, and that weekend would coincide with the NFL Conference Championships, when there is no football game on that Saturday.
- East vs. West: On a Saturday in mid-January, the winner of the Eastern Semifinal faces the winner of the Western Semifinal for the National Championship
- Rotating Sites: The BCS has already established the sites for future National Championship games: 2011 Glendale, 2012 New Orleans, 2013 Miami, 2014 Pasadena, ...