Finally, a playoff system for College Football.  Everyone may be cheering, but is it enough?  It is a commonly known fact that the complaining will begin for teams ranked five through eight once the top four are selected for the playoffs.

This past season it was clear who the top four teams were so it would have been an easy selection.  The questions will arise when there are more than four legitimate championship contenders.  Everything comes down to money.  The amount of money for the bowl games compared to the playoff and bowl game combination is a major difference.

What the average fan forgets to realize is the amount of time that the playoff system would take.  Teams that are in the later bowls miss class time as it is.  So an eight or ten team playoff is out of the question because it would take too long and the athletes would miss too much class time.

Personally I think a six team playoff would be the best option.  The one and two seeds would get a first week bye and three would play six and four would play five.  The winner of those will play one and two.  This would create a total of five games which would make it perfect for the big game to be on New Years Day which every college football fan wants.

The National Championship being on a Monday at 8:30pm is a waste of time.  If they moved it to New Years Day at 6:00pm like the Super Bowl then I firmly believe there would be a large increase in viewers.  It is early enough where viewers don’t have to be worried about being up super late and getting to work and school early the next morning.

The five games that would come from the six team playoff would be the Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, and finally the National Championship.  This way those major bowl games hold an even larger importance then they did without the playoff system.

Another positive for the six team playoff is that there is less chance of discrepancy from the number six team compared to the number seven team in relation to the number four team compared to the number five team.

No matter what there will be complaining from the teams that just miss the cut, but if there is a way to minimize the complaints it would be by increasing the number of teams in the playoff without making it too many where it becomes an inconvenience to the student athletes.

Regardless, it is about time a playoff system will take over and it is certainly a step in the right direction.  I can see some changes being made after the first few seasons to improve the system but at least every fan can be relieved that the BCS era is arguably over.

With the news of the overspending and overindulgence of former Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker, the days of being a part of the BCS could be in the past.  Officials from the Fiesta Bowl were forced to plead their case to stay in the BCS coalition, but the BCS is holding final judgement until a later date and until they uncover any more abuse of expenses.

Junker allegedly spent over $350,000 of Fiesta Bowl funds in the last ten years on campaign contributions, automobiles, a $30,000 birthday party at Pebble Beach and trips to various strip clubs, while he ran the show. 

The results of the investigation could result in the Fiesta Bowl losing its place as a BCS, but Junker’s well-documented debauchery has also led to an investigation into the other three BCS bowls–the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Rose Bowl.

So far, it looks like the Rose Bowl is clean, but the rumors are swirling that the Orange and Sugar Bowls aren’t exactly squeaky clean.  The NCAA and BCS will continue to dig into these allegations, but with spring football in full-swing on most college campuses and summer right around the corner, look for a decision very soon as to whether or not there will be a BCS game in Glendale, Arizona next January.

Should the Fiesta lose its standing in the BCS, several cities, including Atlanta and Dallas have the venues and resources to host a BCS game.

On Tuesday night, all eyes will be on the Orange Bowl, as the Iowa Hawkeyes will take on the Yellow Jackets from Georgia Tech.  Iowa, who saw their dreams of a Big Ten Championship and trip to the Rose Bowl end at the hands of Rose Bowl Champs, Ohio State, will try to cap off a great season in Miami.

Standing in their way will be Paul Johnson’s triple option attack that has given college football all it can handle since he took over in 2008.  The Jackets will look to continue their new version of college football’s most traditional offensive attack en route to a twelve win season.

College FootBlog will provide a breakdown of each team’s strengths and areas for concern, we will analyze some of the match ups in the upcoming game, and we will give our prediction of the outcome of this BCS contest.

Strengths:  When head coach Paul Johnson announced that he planned on bringing his triple option offense from Navy to Georgia Tech, many (including College FootBlog) thought he would not last long before being run out of Atlanta. 

Instead, his Yellow Jackets have dominated the ground game, and this year, GT ranks second nationally in rushing yards per game with just over 307 ypg.  Jonathan Dwyer leads the Jackets with just under 1350 yards, and he is averaging just over six yards per carry.  

Quarterback Josh Nesbitt is equally dangerous running the football, rushing for 18 touchdowns this season, and he is only nine yards away from breaking the 1,000-yard mark this season. 

Key Concerns:  As great as GT runs the ball, their defense has been very inept at stopping, or even slowing down, opposing running backs.  The Yellow Jackets have given up over 150 yards rushing per game. 

They will have to do a much better job on Tuesday if they have any aspirations of beating an Iowa team that depends on their ground game as well.  

Iowa 

Strengths:  Make no mistake about it, Iowa has won their games because of a dominant defense.  The Hawkeyes have the nation’s 11th best total defense.  In fact, ‘Hawks’ dominant “D” held their opponents to 17 points or fewer in eight of their twelve games this season. 

DE Adrian Clayborn leads Iowa's dominant front four (google images)

Like all great defenses, it has to start with the front four.  Led by junior DE Adrian Clayborn, Iowa’s defensive front as equally good at defending the run and pass.  Just as disruptive is the linebacker corps, which is anchored by junior Jeremiha Hunter. Key Concerns:  The play of quarterback Ricky Stanzi has been great at times, but downright dismal at others.  This inconsistency could really hurt, and can, and has, at times this season, made Iowa offense very one-dimensional. 

After suffering a severe high ankle sprain against Northwestern, Stanzi had a minor surgery, and it appears that he will be 100%.  He will have to limit the turnovers if he wants to keep his team in the game–Stanzi has 15 TD’s, but 14 picks this season. 

Georgia Tech Offense vs. Iowa Defense 

As talented as Iowa’s defense is against the run, they have not seen an offense like Georgia Tech’s–not for several years.  The only team to slow down GT’s running game in the last two seasons was the Miami Hurricanes early in the season, when they held the Jackets to 95 yards on the ground. 

Paul Johnson added a few new wrinkles to his option attack and got his team right back on track.  Iowa’s hard-nosed defense should contain the Jackets better than most, but it is usually only a matter of time before Dwyer, Nesbitt or one of the many other dangerous weapons in the GT backfield breaks loose for a couple huge gains.  EDGE:  Georgia Tech 

Iowa Offense vs. Georgia Tech Defense 

Although Ricky Stanzi has been rather erratic this season, the Iowa running game has been very solid.  After losing Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Shonn Green to the NFL Draft last season, many wondered who would fill the void.  The tandem of Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher has amassed over 1,300 yards this season. 

As we mentioned, the Yellow Jackets have had their issues with the running game this season.  Look for the Hawkeyes to get in a lot of third down and manageable situations, which should take some pressure off Stanzi and the passing game.  EDGE:  Iowa 

Special Teams 

Iowa kicker Daniel Murray and punter Ryan Donahue were both honorable mention All-Big Ten by the media.  Georgia Tech’s kicker, Scott Blair has put up solid numbers as well, but his five missed field goals this year show a little less consistency than Iowa’s Murray. 

Each team has utilized multiple players in the return game, but for both teams, the offenses are built for grinding it out and establishing field position by grinding it out and punting when necessary. 

Prediction 

As solid as Iowa’s defense is and has been all season, look for Tuesday’s game against Georgia Tech to be the fifth game this season that the Hawkeyes surrender more than 17 points.  The Yellow Jackets have scored 30 or more points in nine of their thirteen games this season.  Iowa will contain Dwyer and Nesbitt for a while, but look for one of those two great runners to open up a few big runs, at least by the end of the first half. 

Iowa’s ground game will keep them in this football game, as it should have some significant success against Tech’s struggling rush defense.  However, even though the Hawkeyes are more than capable of playing from behind, if Georgia Tech can get to 28 points, Iowa will have to turn to its erratic passing game, and that could prove to be the difference.  Score Prediction:  Georgia Tech wins 31-27 

The math on this just doesn’t add up. The Big 10, which actually consists of 11 schools,  is looking at expanding to 12 schools. So the Big 10 (10+2=12) would be Big 12, right? Putting the math aside, this conference move could really change the landscape of college football. The proposal on the table is for the Big 10 to add a new school, making it a 12 team conference. This change would make it so that the Big 10 would separate into two divisions, sending one team to compete in a conference championship.

The first issue with this proposal the Big 10 has never risen above, is their complete lack of winning bowl games. Year after year, the Big 10 has fallen flat on their face in the Rose Bowl, and just about every bowl they’ve attended. Some analysts and even coaches feel, the short fall in the post season comes from having a small conference with a short schedule. This short schedule leaves the Big 10 teams with almost two whole months between their last season game and a major bowl game. This gap makes it extremely challenging for coaches and players to be not only mentally, but physically on top of their game to compete at a bowl level.

The Big 10 is making a strategic move with this option of a 12 team conference because any school who has a conference championship will have an advantage at the bowl level, and for their overall rankings. This move would also allow a strong team in a non BCS school to join the Big 10 and be eligible for a BCS bowl. Regardless of how you spin it, adding the 12th school would be a win-win move! If the Big 10 becomes the Big 12, they might start competing at a higher level with the other conferences and lite a fire to an already struggling conference!

All I have to say is that this has been a really interesting year in the Pac-10. Who would have thought that the Oregon ducks would be going to the roses as the Pac-10 champions. With all the controversy surrounding this teams season, especially after the Boise game, it is amazing that Chip Kelley has been able to hold things together. Great game and a great way to wrap up Pac-10 championship play.

Now we get to turn our focus to the roses. Who is going to come on top of this game? Let me know who you think is going to come out victorious in the grand daddy of them all?