Christmas has come and gone. Santa took the cookies and gave me the leftovers. He also DID NOT give me any good bowl games to watch the day after Christmas! The fare included the ST.PETERSBURG BOWL, QUICK LANE BOWL, and the INDEPENDENCE BOWL. Six teams and not a winning record among them. That’s a little like showering with your socks on. You can do it but it just doesn’t feel right!
Tuesday the level stepped up a couple of notches as we had Boise State vs. Baylor and Minnesota vs. Washington State. Of course Wednesday was the day we Kansans were all waiting for as Kansas State tangled with former Big 12 foe, and tormenter, Texas A&M. There are, of course, too many bowls. We’ve grumbled about it before but there won’t be change as long as the television networks want to fill their dead time with a football game.
Except for most alumni, the games that draw the most interest, the most viewership, are the so-called National Playoff games. Alabama vs. Washington and Clemson vs. Ohio State. Think though, how much MORE interest there would be if the NCAA moved to a more logical, 8-team playoff system. Only one more week, one more round of games would be needed and then you would have a REAL playoff, something that would rival the NCAA’s “March Madness” for fan interest. You want money? You’d get some SERIOUS money with that playoff format!
How would an 8-team playoff look this year? You still have to start with the odds-on favorite, Alabama. Ditto for the other three that are in the 4-team setup, Ohio State, Clemson and Washington. Now it gets interesting. Add the winner of the Big 10, Penn State with their 11-2 record. Doesn’t the winner of the Big 10 belong in a playoff for a true national champion?
I know everyone is going to gripe when we add a third Big 10 team but Michigan with their 10-2 record belongs. Sorry Florida and Florida State, the Wolverines are on a different level. There definitely needs to be someone from the Big 12 and, clearly, Oklahoma is the best of this bunch. Once they righted the ship after two early losses, the Sooners looked capable of playing with anyone in the country.
That leaves us with one spot and I can hear the Southeastern Conference hollering, “Hey, we’re the best conference in the country. We deserve two teams in this playoff!” Sorry guys, this just isn’t your year even though we allowed three from the Big 10. It just happens that the Big 10 is the best conference in the country this year!
Our final spot goes to the only other team with an unblemished record, at 13-0, the Western Michigan Broncos from Kalamazoo! The Broncos take the place of the Denver Broncos as the most-favored pony this year! 13-0 with two wins over Big 10 teams, ON THE ROAD! The Broncos deserve their shot at magic. Give them the eighth seed. They earned it!
Here’s how we seed this playoff: #1 Alabama vs. # 8 Western Michigan. #2 Ohio State vs. # 7 Oklahoma.(Don’t like rematches? Can’t be avoided.) # 3 Clemson vs. # 6 Michigan. # 4 Washington vs. # 5 Penn State.
Wouldn’t that be fun? Wouldn’t that make money? Wouldn’t that be better than a bunch of bowl games in which the participants have losing records?

Charles Tabler is a contributing writer from Larned. He can be reached at budtabler@gmail.com.