Ellington

I am beginning to wonder if there is something to this Mayan calendar thing. The apocalypse might be upon us.

In the past few weeks, so much has been going on with the New Orleans Saints and other sports stories that I have not touched on the potential for a college football playoff. But after years of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), it looks like the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) could finally give fans what they have wanted for years.

That is what makes me think the end is near. Suddenly the powers that be, which have resisted a playoff, now are willing to create one and greet it with open arms. What is going on?

All kidding aside, no changes can go in effect until the 2014 season. So college football should take its time and get it right.

Right now, the only suggestion on the table is a four-team playoff. The powers that be—BCS conference commissioners—want only conference champions in the playoffs.

While I am happy that college football is moving toward a playoff, I don't like the idea of limiting it to just four teams. Looking at last season, for example, the final poll before the bowls placed LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State and Stanford as the top four teams.

Under the proposed four-team system, Alabama and Stanford would be on the outside looking in. Sixth-ranked Oregon would replace Stanford. The next conference champion was Wisconsin this year, coming in at No. 10 overall.

I wouldn't complain about Oregon getting a shot, but I would have to wonder what made Wisconsin better than Alabama, Boise State, Arkansas, Kansas State or South Carolina.

Just winning a conference championship doesn't mean a team deserves a shot at the national championship. There is no question that this year Alabama was the second-best college team at the time of the final poll before the bowl games.

There will be years like last year in the SEC West and years like 2008 in the Big-12 South, when Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech all finished with one loss before the bowls.

One could argue that maybe Texas Tech shouldn't have been in a playoff, but the same argument can't be made about Oklahoma and Texas.

The best way to settle the debate would be an eight-to-10-team playoff series with 12 teams maximum. The complaints would die down after the top 10 to 12 teams.

Because no changes can happen until 2014, take the time. Do it right. End the bickering off the field by crowning a true champion on the field.

Follow Bryan Flynn at http://www.jfpsports.com, Facebook and @jfpsports.