This past weekend, three BCS-conference championship games were held, as the winners of the Big 12, SEC and ACC titles were determined in a one-game playoff. Meanwhile, the other three BCS conferences -- the Pac 10, Big Ten and Big East -- saw some of their teams idle while others played rivalry games rather than conference title games. The results of these games, for better or worse, decided the fates of many teams in contention for BCS bowl games.
Regardless of how many teams are in these conferences, I strongly believe that all conferences need to have a championship game to determine who really "wins" the conference.
There are counter-arguments to having conference title games in all conferences, but I'm not convinced by any of them. Some will complain that the title games are usually a rematch of a game earlier in the season. That's perfectly fine by me. Virginia Tech beat Boston College to win the ACC title after the Eagles defeated the Hokies earlier in the season, getting both revenge and a trip to the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma won for the second time this season against Missouri to take the Big 12 crown, which proved that the Tigers were not truly deserving of the No. 1 national ranking and opened a hole for LSU to squeak through to the national championship.
As for the current No. 1 team? Talk about backing into the national championship game. Ohio State hasn't played since Nov. 17, yet found itself climbing to the top of the rankings this week after every other team in the country took a step back from the the BCS title game festivities. By the time the Jan. 7 matchup against Louisiana State rolls around, Ohio State will have gone more than seven weeks since playing a game. The team was idle this past weekend while other conferences had their title games. The team that beat them earlier in the year, Illinois, is currently ranked No. 13 in the country; if the Buckeyes could beat them in a proposed Big Ten title game and avenge an earlier loss, that would justify their being in the national title game. But Ohio State didn't beat a team ranked higher than No. 21 all season, and they probably don't deserve to be the No. 1 team. If the Buckeyes were to lose a conference championship game, it would show they do not deserve to be playing for the national title. Ohio State clearly benefited from not having to play the Fighting Illini in a conference title game. On the flipside, playing in the Big 12 title game screwed over Missouri. There is a rule that three teams from one conference cannot play in BCS bowl games, and since the Big 12 saw Oklahoma and Kansas go to the Fiesta and Orange Bowls, respectively, Missouri was relegated to the Cotton Bowl. I believe this rule should be changed, but that's beside the point. Kansas received a berth in the Orange Bowl as an at-large team over Missouri, because Missouri had an extra loss as a result of playing in the conference championship while Kansas was idle. The computers obviously don't like extra losses, so Kansas got the nod even though Missouri beat the Jayhawks just one week before. I'm not crying for Missouri. I think Oklahoma is a better team and deserved to win the college championship; Kansas getting a BCS bowl bid just reveals a flaw in the system. If, however, Missouri can be exposed in this manner, then so should teams from other conferences (see: Ohio State).
Plus, most mid-major conference championship games decide which team from the conference plays in a bowl game, as sometimes only one team from a conference can play in the postseason. With this system already in place, instituting championship games for all conferences would improve college football by putting a policy in place that applies to all teams. At the very least, it becomes a lot clearer when one team is named conference champion as a result of a playoff, rather than just the regular season results.
Ohio State got off easy without having to play a conference title game. Missouri was hurt by having to play in one. With West Virginia's vulnerability exploited by Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl, other Big East teams were wishing they had a shot at the Mountaineers in a conference title game. Simple examples such as these demonstrate my point that there needs to be a standardized system in place in college football, and all conferences should have championship games.
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