College football season makes case for playoffs

  Well, we've made it. After upsets, heartbreaks, nail-biters and blow-outs we've reached bowl season; and unlike any other bowl season, this one comes with a heaping pile of controversy.

  This season, the BCS National Championship has two SEC West teams squaring off in a rematch for the title. Unbeaten LSU (13-0, 8-0 SEC) will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 SEC) on January 9 in New Orleans. The teams met earlier this season when LSU beat then number-two Alabama in a 9-6 overtime thriller in Tuscaloosa.

  Wait, a rematch? There's no rematch for the title! Urban Meyer and his heavy campaign sealed that in the 2007 season when his Gators faced off against the Ohio State Buckeyes for the title instead of the Michigan Wolverines. Well, Urban and college fans everywhere, history has changed itself in the form of the BCS when Alabama edged out Oklahoma State for the chance to redeem themselves.

  So, did Oklahoma State get robbed of the chance for the title? Well, no, and here's why. Though Oklahoma State has the same amount of losses as Alabama, their loss hurt their chances more. Where Alabama lost to the top team in the nation, Oklahoma State fell in the rankings after a loss to then unranked Baylor. Frankly, the BCS did Oklahoma State a favor, only dropping them two spots in the rankings after the loss.

  Oklahoma State is off the list. Now who's next?

  A case can be made for Stanford with Heisman hopeful Andrew Luck and his 1-loss Pac-12 Cardinal team sitting fourth in the BCS rankings. Stanford flew through the season scoring at will, finishing fifth in points scored. Here's the dilemma with Stanford. Their one loss to then seventh-ranked Oregon had them hoping for a couple Duck losses to keep their Pac-12 championship title hopes alive. Oregon lost the following week to USC, but held the tie-breaker over Stanford and eventually won the Pac-12 to play Wisconsin in The Rose Bowl.

  So, can the BCS put a team who didn't even play in their conference championship in the National Title game? Well, no. The same case can be made for Alabama not playing in the SEC title, but the fact that the SEC is much stronger than the Pac-12 settled that debate.

  Instead, the Cardinal of Stanford will take on the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl, Jan 2 at 8:30 p.m.

  So, who does that leave? If the anti-rematch argument stays, we can scratch Oregon and Arkansas off that list. So, we move on to number seven, Boise State.

  Head coach Chris Peterson ripped the BCS earlier this week after Michigan was chosen as an at-large bid over the Broncos.

  "Everybody is just very tired of the BCS," Petersen said. "I think that's the bottom line. Everybody is frustrated. Everybody doesn't really know what to do anymore. It doesn't make sense to anybody. I don't think anybody is happy anywhere."

  Boise State comes in to the picture, boasting an 11-1 record with a 6-1 record in the Mountain West, finishing them second in the conference. Boise and TCU have always been the pains to the BCS, and that's something the majority of fans can agree on. Boise first got their chance in the Fiesta Bowl against the mighty Oklahoma Sooners a few years ago, where they pulled the old, ‘Statue of Liberty' play to beat the Sooners in overtime, after blowing a huge lead earlier in the game.

  The thing that is killing the Broncos hopes is their conference and the fact that no top ranked team wants to risk losing to them earlier in the season. Boise State knows this so well, that they are set to join the Big East in the 2013 season. So can Boise state make a solid case for the title game? They do have the credentials. Once again, no, they don't fit either.

  The BCS has to figure out the best possible game that will make the most money. LSU vs. Boise State just doesn't have that flair. Yes, Boise State has the seventh highest-scoring offense in the nation, but against Mountain West schools and punishing defenses such as New Mexico, Colorado State, and UNLV. LSU is bringing a defense that is ranked second in the nation in points allowed, while playing in arguably the best conference in college football. Sorry, Boise fans, but this is not the match-up that college football wants. Instead, the Broncos are prepping for Arizona State in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl.

  In the end, the rematch is the best possible game. A rematch of the top two defenses in the nation just has a better feel than the chance of a blow-out with LSU's dominate secondary going against the aerial attack of Andrew Luck of Brandon Weeden. Regardless of the selections, the match-ups seem to be good ones. LSU/Alabama is a defensive showdown, Oklahoma State/Stanford in an all-out pass assault that is more than likely to delight the scoring lovers of the nation, and the underrated Allstate Sugar Bowl matchup between Michigan and Virginia Tech.