There was a lot that happened yesterday in college football that made me wonder, “Why do I love this stuff?” For all of the angst and frustration that I feel, there almost isn’t enough enjoyment to balance it out. Especially on days like yesterday. First, the enjoyment:

The Cincinnati/Pittsburgh game was not a well played football game. Neither team was capable of making a real defensive stand, with the exception of Cincinnati’s final stand. But what it lacked in defensive execution, it entirely made up for in “I can’t believe this is happening” joy. I called the game over in the second quarter when Cincinnati looked dead, down 3 TD’s, just before Mardy Gilyard returned a kickoff for touchdown to breathe some life into the team. The turning point was when Tony Pike decided to wake up and be the quarterback he’s capable of. Cincy won the game because of a missed extra point (each team missed a PAT) and won the Big East and a trip to a BCS game.

And then Alabama dismantled Florida. There’s not much else to say. Alabama outplayed Florida on both sides of the football. Greg McElroy looked like a real quarterback and Mark Ingram won the Heisman Trophy with his performance (apologies to Toby Gehrhart who didn’t have a game yesterday). Tim Tebow, on the other hand, looked like a mediocre college quarterback. And it was sad. I’d go into detail about how much respect I have for him, but there is a time for that in the future. For now, kudos to a deserving Alabama team. They looked unbeatable yesterday.

Texas on the other hand, should have lost and even though they won, and read me clearly here, DO NOT DESERVE TO PLAY ALABAMA IN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. Texas should have lost a game to a Nebraska team that cannot score points. The clock ran out on Texas and they got another chance from the referees. How often do we see a field goal go through and an extra second runs off the clock? 80% of the time? 90%? How can we tell when the ball hits the ground on the sideline? The clock ran out on Texas’ season and the refs let them off the hook. They gave Texas a chance to win a game they did not deserve. And they were able to sneak a field goal around an upright and backdoor their sorry behinds into a game against Alabama where if all goes well, they’ll get the tar beaten out of them by Rolando McClain and Terrence Cody.

Make no mistake about it, Texas Christian University deserves to play Alabama in the title game and this is only about money. The University of Texas is a bigger ratings draw. And money and ratings means far more to the NCAA than fairness does or ever will. There is nothing fairer than a playoff. There are three undefeated teams (TCU, Cincinnati, and Boise State) who will not have a chance to play for a National Championship. As of 8:30 tonight, when the BCS games are announced, TCU, Boise, and Cincinnati’s seasons will essentially be over as they’ll be forced to play a meaningless game that solely exists for the NCAA to make more money off of 20 year olds. The NCAA is the real criminal here. The university presidents and conference commissioners who keep us from having an 8 or 16 team FBS playoff are nothing, if not money hungry, greedy, and selfish.

I’m not the first person to say this and I won’t be the last, but the BCS was designed to keep from having a questionable outcome to the college football season. Last year, Oklahoma and Texas had one loss each. Texas beat Oklahoma head-to-head. But Texas didn’t get to play in the National Championship game. Does that seem fair? In 2004, Auburn and Utah finished their seasons undefeated. Neither had a chance to play for a National Championship. The year before, Louisiana State and Southern California split a National Championship with each other. Did they play to determine a sole winner? Nope. We just say that they both won the National Championship that year. Fair? Nope. Logical? Not at all. Stupid? Absolutely.

And that, above all else, is what the BCS is. It is a stupid and unfair system to make more money for the NCAA through sponsorships and television contracts. In the old Mid-Atlantic Bias, I outlined a sensible and easy way to have a playoff. Many people have done this. The NCAA doesn’t care. The NCAA won’t care. I also blame the television networks. They are the only ones who can fix this. If Fox and ABC and CBS and NBC refused to bid for the rights to broadcast games, the NCAA would adopt a playoff faster than Elin Nordgren Woods renegotiated her prenuptial agreement. Until that happens though, Horned Frogs, Bearcats, and Broncos won’t be given the opportunity that they deserve. It’s high time that we stop punishing teams for being perfect. What more can you be than perfect? To the NCAA: Money.