MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS - EIGHT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ENOUGH

BY STEVE DUNN

Saturday evening the Ohio State Buckeyes won the Big Ten Championship by demolishing the no. 2 defense in college football, that of the Wisconsin Badgers.  59-0 was the final score.  That win catapulted them past no. 3 Texas Christian into the National College Football Playoffs.

Already people are second-guessing this move. The Big 12, of the five power conferences, was shut-out of the four team format.  It really was impossible to exclude undefeated Florida State, the ACC Champions; but all other contenders had one loss.  In a four team format, somebody was going to be disappointed.  I really was prepared to the be a fan of the disappointed team.  Now the Buckeyes have the chance to upset No 1 Alabama.

It seems that the new system, which was to replace the highly disliked and more subjective BCS, still is not perfect.  I agree with those who have already said an 8-team format would have been fairer an d less subjective.  If that had been the case this year, the playoffs would have looked like this.

1. Alabama, 12-1
2. Oregon, 12-1
3. Florida State, 13-0
4. Ohio State, 12-1
5. Baylor, 11-1
6. TCU, 11-1
7. Mississippi State, 10-2
8. Michigan State, 10-2
9. Mississippi, 9-3
10. Arizona, 10-3
11. Kansas State, 9-3
12. Georgia Tech, 10-3
13. Georgia, 9-3
14. UCLA, 9-3
15. Arizona State, 9-3
16. Missouri, 10-3
17. Clemson, 9-3
18. Wisconsin, 10-3
19. Auburn, 8-4
20. Boise State, 11-2
21. Louisville, 9-3
22. Utah, 8-4
23. LSU, 8-4
24. USC, 8-4
25. Minnesota, 8-4

Mississippi had been no. 1 for a good part of the season would still have fallen out but instead of Urban Meyer's boys facing Nick Saban's squad, Michigan State would have had the honor.  Oregon would be playing late-blooming Mississippi State. Florida State would have taken its unbeaten record up against jilted TCU.  And my no. 4 Buckeyes would have faced no. 5 Baylor.  We would have faced Alabama in round two.  We can play "what if" but I suspect that eight-team format would have been more satisfying to NCAA fandom, players and coaches.

So now I am rooting for the Buckeyes to upset Bama.  And with the discovery of a third string quarterback that any of the teams would have been glad for, maybe it's not a dream.