On Saturday night, USC's dominating win against Notre Dame was the push the Men of Troy needed to propel themselves ahead of Michigan for second place in the BCS. Thus, the college football world let out a sigh of relief because the possibility of a rematch between Ohio State and Michigan was put on life support.
That is unless UCLA pulls off the upset this weekend.
So, at least for one week, the BCS did its job.
Even though the BCS has a very convoluted way, it is the main cause of hair loss for the average college football fan.
The BCS usually gets at least two of the top three teams in the championship game.
Is it wrong sometimes? Sure.
That is always the case when human error (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll) is involved. Bias will always come out at some point in the voting, and there's always the chance of if-you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours situation.
But for now, the BCS is the best it has ever been. There has never been a time this season when the rankings have surprised me, and that's a first for the BCS.
So for what it does, it works.
That doesn't mean that it's the best way to choose a true champion. The NCAA Div. I college football landscape needs a playoff system like the Philadelphia Eagles' defense needs a heart.
But there is too much money in the Bowl Championship Series in early January to say that a playoff system is even on the horizon.
So if money is the problem, why not have each playoff game sponsored by Tostitos or Nokia or some other corporation that has nothing to do with football?
That would be too simple. The area where the money becomes a factor is within the individual universities.
A BCS bowl game is guaranteed money, while a playoff system gives no guarantees.
Think about how an eight-team playoff would work if the season ended today. No. 1 seed Ohio State would play No. 8 seed Boise State, and would get the winner of the SEC showdown between fifth-seeded LSU and fourth-seeded Florida.
Imagine how much buzz would be created if the Broncos could somehow beat the Buckeyes, and win a few games. And maybe, just maybe make it to the championship game -- for that matter, how about Wisconsin?
Cinderella runs like that are what makes college basketball's March Madness the phenomenon it is today.
Scheduling a playoff series would be easy. You play round one during the first week of January so it doesn't interfere with final exams -- they are "student" athletes after all -- and the title game can be played the week before the Super Bowl.
Talk about having instant advertising.
The NCAA could make up all the money it loses with the elimination of big time bowl games by striking a deal with the NFL to cross advertise during the playoffs.
A playoff system also doesn't mean the end of bowl games. The other bowl-eligible teams can still play in postseason games prior to the beginning of the college football playoffs.
But there are too many purists in the sport for that to occur, so we can only daydream about it while we watch the two chosen teams fight it out for the national title.
With that said, we have to continue to treat the BCS like a used car. Every year it gets us from point A to point B, but no matter how much work we put into the system, it will never be perfect.
Game of the Week
Even with this week's slew of conference championship games (Georgia Tech-Wake Forest, anyone?), I thought I'd go with tradition instead of the flavor of the week.
Of course, I'm talking about the 107th Army-Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia this weekend.
Just the mention of this historical matchup will make any college football fan think of leather helmets and grainy black-and-white footage.
It is the first rivalry, the originator of all the pageantry we see in today's more commercialized rivalries -- like Ohio State and Michigan.
The game is not only a football game; it is an event.
I attended every game held in Philadelphia from the time I was 3-years-old until I arrived at Penn State in 2003. When you step into the stadium, there is a different type of electricity than the one felt in Beaver Stadium.
Most of that can be traced to the way the game is like a high school football or basketball game. Half of the stadium is full of cadets, the other half midshipmen, and the rest of us sit in the middle of this non-stop emotional ride.
So I suggest that once in your life, you must attend this showdown, just don't stand near any railings.
This year's matchup will be the same as every other game during the last decade or so.
One side is decidedly better than the other and will win in a rout. And for the fifth straight year, that team is Navy.
Recently, when one team had a big advantage talent-wise, it was usually talent that was capable of getting only six wins. But this year the Midshipmen are actually a legitimate top-40 team.
Despite its three losses this season, Navy is clearly the favorite to win, and since there are rarely upsets in this series, the Midshipmen should easily walk away victorious and claim their fourth consecutive Armed Forces Trophy.
