I heard criticism over LSU getting picked for the championship game because of Kansas.
I never heard the same thing about Ohio State.
Anyone who knows crap about college football knows the SEC is by far the toughest conference.
Ohio State should go ahead and forfeit any time they end up playing an SEC team.
And if KS has a problem with the SEC teams being dominant, I say let them schedule a few and see how their win/loss records hold up.
I'd be willing to pick LSU against KS right now and give points, several points. Hell, I'd be crazy not to. So suck on this game score KS and Big 10.

Congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks for their national championship.

Coach Mangino thanks you for your support.

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With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.

No argument here. It's KU's proudest sports achievement since 1988, although I personally witnessed a certain 150-95 drubbing of the Kentucky Wildcats there that ranks pretty high on my list.

(KU BA cum laude, class of 1991)

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With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.

The BCS is a window dressing for the old method of choosing the national champion by AP poll.

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With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.

Still a better record than LSU.

And a schedule which doesn't compare. Florida Int'l, Toledo, Central Michigan, Southeastern Lousiana, Baylor and a few other Big-12 lighterweights. A couple of good wins, but little more.

I don't care if you 'crown' a half dozen national champs as they did in years gone by (look at the source of all those which the Crimson Tide lays claim to). It would just be more kids getting rings and claiming to be the best. Good for them.

And, good for LSU. The SEC is the best. In some places, college games are something to do. In some they are even important. But, in the Southeastern Conference it's a religion. I've been to about every SEC campus. A terrific experience (save those dingbats in Gainesville).

And a schedule which doesn't compare. Florida Int'l, Toledo, Central Michigan, Southeastern Lousiana, Baylor and a few other Big-12 lighterweights. A couple of good wins, but little more.

Failing conveniently to mention the character of those "good wins." All away.

Kansas State - road win. Colorado - road win. Texas A&M - road win. OK State - road win. Leave out the non-conference games and still their average margin of victory was HUGE.

And handed Nebraska the worst ever loss for the Huskers.

Mangino was 25-35 up until this year. Conference wins by season:

2002- 0 wins
2003- 3 wins
2004- 2 wins
2005- 3 wins
2006- 3 wins

Best single season turnaround, combined with a nationally ranked performance, by any Div. I program this year.

But, in the Southeastern Conference it's a religion. I've been to about every SEC campus. A terrific experience (save those dingbats in Gainesville).

I'm admittedly a fair-weather fan when it comes to what we call, for whatever reason, football. Now, come into Allen Field House sometime with that "big orange" swingin' low... we love you loooooooong time.

ETA: I'm not arguing for a national championship, although as a Jayhawks fan, I'm not adverse to the controversy. It's good to see a team at the top of the Big XII who isn't K-State or OU or UT-Austin or Nebraska. And the Orange Bowl money and Coach of the Year honors will go a long way to preserving some of this momentum the team built up. They had an awesome year, whether or not they were an SEC team, and it's especially funny to me to see Vols fans lining up as apologists for LSU - and the godawful BCS "system" of assigning a national champion - when their blood supposedly bleeds orange.

Beating K-State this year would have been enough...

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With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.

Pray tell Andy, have you ever been to a game at Sanford Stadium, Bryant-Denny, Jordan-Hare, Williams-Brice, Tiger Stadium or the Swamp? My comment was as to the conference, not just one field house.

You can brag all you want about beating Nebraska (who got kicked around this past year by a lot of average teams) and Independence Bowl bound Colorado (6-7 record) and K-State (which got killed by 5-7 Nebraska). Texas A&M and OSU were both 7-6 this past year and those represent KU's best regular season wins. Beating the Hokies in the Orange Bowl was a good win.

With all this, KU shouldn't be the national champs. But, hey, debate among fans is one of the great things about college football. I don't want a playoff. I don't care if we have an undisputed champ. More bowls means more players get to go to a bowl and play on TV (which some don't get much of). Hand out a half dozen national championships and fans can argue over who's best. It's been that way for a long, long time. I enjoy the game and atmosphere. I love college football.

With all this, KU shouldn't be the national champs.

Chad: Duh. I agree with you. Read my post again: I'm not arguing for a national championship. I am saying that what they've accomplished this year shouldn't be diminished because Kansas isn't in the SEC. I'll take the Orange Bowl win. I'll take the #2 in the Big XII. I'll take the 12-1 record. And I'll take the one vote for championship that we got in the AP poll.

I love college football.

Lucky for you the Vols are occasionally a national competitor, although they've been middling as of late. KU usually isn't even middling, much less competitive, at least not in this sport.

If you love college football, then I would think you'd be over the moon at what the KU squad has accomplished under Mike Mangino. Or does the team have to pull a Thundering Herd first?

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With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.

Andy, sorry if I misread your post. Maybe my comments should have been directed elsewhere. KU had a good season.

There will always be disputes, whether you 'play it on the field' or not. For lots of reasons I'm not in favor of a playoff. It diminishes the regular season, fans can't travel to bowl and first-second-more? games, and hurts the bowl system.

All I know is yesterday on the front page of a couple of newspapers, there was a color picture of Les Miles and some Tigers holding up a big glass football.

Go Vols, then Tigers, then SEC.

There is no dispute as to who is the national champion in Div 1-a, 11, or Div III football. None.

Under the BCS system which all D-1 plays under there's no 'dispute' that LSU is the BCS national champion. They are No. 1, period. Media, fans and others can disagree about the system, who the better team is, who should have been selected, etc. But, LSU is No. 1.

Comparing these other divisions to D-1 college football is apples and oranges. D-1 has tens of thousands of fans who want to attend the games, millions in sponsor money, more physical and time demands on players, thousands of media request credentials, the accomodations required for teams/fans/support staff/media and millions watch on TV.

In the largest division below D-1, 1-AA, the Appy State Mountaineers played the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (I like that mascot) for the 1-AA national championship in a less than modern stadium in Chattanooga. I think it was on TV, but I'm not sure. About 20,000 fans showed up or so. Compare that to the demands of any D-1 playoff game, much less the actual championship game. Compare the season demands for these teams and players to major D-1 schools.

It's great that these other divisions have a playoff. Fine for them. But, that mold doesn't fit D-1. Could it? Maybe. But, at the expense of a whole lot of other good things in D-1 college football.

So, Toby, you teach at Rutgers. How many college football games did you attend this year? Any away games? Any playoff games? Bowl games? I just want to know if the critic is on the sideline or in the game.

In the end, we can disagree. Doesn't matter much to me. It's part of the fun of sports (somewhat like politics, I guess).

Thanks for not answering the question Toby. Well, maybe you did answer the question. I take it you went to no football games this past year and are now campaigning for elimination of college sports. Geez.

"former student-athlete."

I'm glad you brought this up, and I did remember. I also remember your reluctance to mention where you played. Care to let us in on the apparent secret? Where did you play and when?

You probably do have some perspective I don't. But, I likewise have perspective you lack. So, we disagree. A hundred or so college presidents still side with me and the BCS and bowl system. That may change someday.

By the way, I went to the UT basketball game tonight. Heck of a game. But, I guess you're against basketball too.

unlike the papajohns.com bowl.

Dear stick, I'm sure the papajohns bowl meant a lot to the players who had the opportunity to go, their coaches and fans. Those players might not have that chance if D-1 went to a playoff.

What are these great demands on D1 players? They can't play one or two more games?

Uhh, try practice and film for 4-6 hours a day plus class time and study time. The physical beating of adding more games with little or no break. LSU wouldn't have been near as healthy if they had to go 3-4 more weeks on top of the 13 games they played (with only one open date). Same for most every other school. Would teams play at neutral sites? Would fans be able to fly to Dallas for Round One and then the next week to Miami if their team won? What four teams deserve to go? How do you shoose them? What about those left out? The players, coaches, etc. would be leaving on Thursdays and coming back late Sat. or Sun. Do you keep the bowls? Put playoff games in Dec.? Move into January and another class semester? Play around NFL and basketball schedules? A playoff sounds easy in theory, but in reality it's not.

CBT, I'm sure you can find a couple dozen good scenarios for a playoff system online. The crappy papajohns.com bowls can stay, you know, in addition to the playoffs.

To answer your questions though, which have been answered endlessly by the majority of folks who realize the stupidity of the current system:

Sites? No "neutral" sites until semi finals. Home field advantage is fine--just like the NFL, 1AA, DII, DIII, JuCo and high school in every other sport known to humanity.

Travel? Real fans (like in the NCAA basketball tournament) have no problem traveling with four days notice.

Four teams? FOUR? WTF?...How about at least 16? All 11 conference champs, plus five at large would be about right.

Whiners left out? Too bad. Win your conference or go undefeated as an indy and you really can't complain.

Bowls can stay exactly the same because only four teams advance into bowl territory. They're already meaningless.

Schedule? Two playoffs rounds in December. Semi's on Jan 1 in major bowls. Championship the second week in January. This has been figured out time and time again how it would work.

What does the NFL and NCAA basketball have to do with this?

It's really not that hard. As far as the perceived physical beating? It's part of the game. Skip one crap matchup during the regular season if the players are that fragile.

Thanks again for not answering. Some good points. We disagree. I'm somehow manage to carry on.