Playoffs?!?

*coughs*

*wipes away dust*

*coughs*

Oh, there's my blog. I thought it was under here somewhere.

The last time I wrote, the Buccaneers and Chargers were 3-1, and the Broncos were 1-3. Of course, the Broncos are the only ones that made the playoffs. Makes sense.

Playoffs are the exact reason I've ended my unforgivable hiatus from the Home of the Online Jargon. After Alabama defeated LSU 21-0 in the SEC Championship ... I mean, SEC Bowl ... I mean BCS National Championship Game, ESPN boldly declared that Alabama's win left "no doubt about who is the national champion."

Really, ESPN? Don't you think Oklahoma State, which finished 12-1, defeated then-no. 4 Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, and more importantly, won their conference, would have something to say about that?

My solution? You guessed it: playoffs. Not four teams, not eight teams, but a 12-team, single-elimination tournament that would keep the BCS standings in tact, using them for the seeding of the 12-team field.

Let's break down the ground rules. This is probably bound to get a bit confusing.

- Each of the six BCS conference champions would earn an automatic bid into the field.

- The remaining six bids would go to the next six eligible teams in the BCS standings, regardless of conference affiliation.

- The current rule which states only two teams per conference can partake in BCS bowls would be wiped from the books.

- BCS conference winners would get in to the 12-team field, but they are not guaranteed a top-six seed. Call it the Big East Rule, since the Big East winner is often ranked outside of the top 20 ... or worse.

- Any non-BCS conference team to finish in the top 12 of the BCS standings would receive an automatic bid as well. This would ensure these teams would not be booted from the field because of a lower-ranked champion from a BCS conference.

- Any team which did not win its conference cannot be seeded ahead of more than two BCS conference champions.

- First-round games would be played at the home field of the higher-seeded team. Quarterfinal games would take place at a neutral site while the semifinals and national title game would take place at BCS bowl sites.

This is what last year's playoff seeding would have looked like:

1. Auburn (SEC champion; automatic bid)
2. Oregon (Pac-10 champion; automatic bid)
3. TCU (automatic non-AQ bid)
4. Wisconsin (Big 10 champion; automatic bid)
5. Oklahoma (Big 12 champion; automatic bid)
6. Stanford (at-large)
7. Ohio State (at-large)
8. Arkansas (at-large)
9. Michigan State (at-large)
10. Boise State (automatic non-AQ bid)
11. Virginia Tech (ACC champion; automatic bid)
12. UConn (Big East champion; automatic bid)

Last year's first-round games:

(12) UConn at (5) Oklahoma - winner to face (4) Wisconsin
(11) Virginia Tech at (6) Stanford - winner to face (3) TCU
(10) Boise State at (7) Ohio State - winner to face (2) Oregon
(9) Michigan State at (8) Arkansas - winner to face (1) Auburn

While there is sure to be a dud in the first round (UConn/Oklahoma in a repeat of last year's Fiesta Bowl), there will always be some really intriguing match-ups (Boise State/Ohio State in the Horseshoe) for our viewing pleasure.

Now, to the main course. Here is what this year's playoffs would have looked like.

1. LSU (SEC champion; automatic bid)
2. Oklahoma State (Big 12 champion; automatic bid)
3. Oregon (Pac-12 champion; automatic bid)
4. Boise State (automatic non-AQ bid)
5. Wisconsin (Big 10 champion; automatic bid)
6. Alabama (at-large)
7. Stanford (at-large)
8. Arkansas (at-large)
9. Kansas State (at-large)
10. South Carolina (at-large)
11. Clemson (ACC champion; automatic bid)
12. West Virginia (Big East champion; automatic bid)

This year's first round games:

(12) West Virginia at (5) Wisconsin - winner to face (4) Boise State
(11) Clemson at (6) Alabama - winner to face (3) Oregon
(10) South Carolina at (7) Stanford - winner to face (2) Oklahoma State
(9) Kansas State at (8) Arkansas - winner to face (1) LSU

For the second year in a row, we'd have a dud (Clemson/Alabama in Tuscaloosa would probably be over by halftime) and a number of intriguing match-ups (Kansas State/Arkansas in a Cotton Bowl rematch, as well as a contrast of styles in the other two games) in the first round alone.

Then, we go deeper. How about Oregon v. Alabama on a neutral field in the quarterfinals? Or a potential Wisconsin/LSU clash in the semis? Who wouldn't want to see Oregon and Oklahoma State go point-for-point in a semifinal clash?

Student-athletes are students first, after all, and an extended season would run right into finals. To accommodate, first-round games would happen the weekend after Conference Championship Weekend (Dec. 10 for the 2011 season) with the quarterfinals taking place two weeks afterward (Dec. 24 - but, for this season, all four games would happen Dec. 22) to give students adequate time to take final exams. Semifinal games would occur over New Year's weekend, with the BCS National Championship Game remaining in tact on its current date.

Two BCS bowls would host semifinal games each year on a rotating basis. The other two bowls would have a choice from any team not selected for the playoffs or any team eliminated in the first round.

This playoff model would shrink the number of bowl-eligible teams to select from and, in turn, hopefully shrink the amount of bowls we have every year. Bowl games used to be special. Let's make them special again.

College sports fans love March Madness. Why wouldn't they love Winter Madness?