If you thought the debate about bowls v. playoffs in major college football is a new thing, you’re sorely mistaken. The debate’s been going on for some time, and really got kicked off when the sportswriters screwed Alabama out of the 1966 national championship. Back before the 1980 Sugar Bowl, an ABC reporter asked Bear Bryant what he thought about the possibility of a playoff. In his Arkansas drawl, he basically spelled out what is a good compromise position — keep the bowl system, but lay a playoff on top of that. Back then, he said it was bound to happen at some point. Maybe when the BCS contract runs out, we’ll see if that’s possible.

As we sit here, watching the Fiesta Bowl between two undefeated teams, that’s not the national championship game, a gentleman’s thoughts turn to playoffs for major college football. How interesting those playoffs would be is debatable. We lose all interest in the NCAA basketball tournament before the Elite Eight, unless we have a team in the mix. In 2004, when Alabama went to the round of eight and UAB made the Sweet 16 was the last time we cared after the second round. Why? It’s the reason any casual fan watches — upsets and tournament pools.

A 16-team football playoff will not generate the same amount of upset drama. Sure, they could happen, but by this point in the season, you would be less likely to see Troy knock off Alabama. Big upsets are more likely to occur early in the season, when the talent-rich teams are still figuring themselves out. The 1999 Crimson Tide team that won the SEC and went to the Orange Bowl was bested by Louisiana Tech. These things happen.

But, the Playoff PAC is working to get the big boys in a playoff system, and is running commercials now to sway opinion. It features none other than an interview taken from the brilliant “Dan Patrick Show.” Which you can watch on DirecTV channel 101 (inside jokes).

We’re on record defending the Bowl Championship Series, probably because we’ve read too much Slate and went into a David Plotz-ian contrarian frenzy. Or maybe Jack Shafer would be more appropriate. Whatever. Anyway, like Warren Zevon sang, “I appreciate the best, but I’m settling for less, so I’m looking for the next best thing.” The BCS is the next best thing. Remember college football before the BCS? And before the zombie precursor to the BCS? REMEMBER THE UPI POLL? Shit was crazy. But, it seems we’ve found the perfect compromise.

Enter the Stick Jockey at gaming blog Kotaku. Not only did they come up with a brilliant idea for a 16-team playoff, it was done with the bowl system intact. The idea is rather lengthy and involved, but it can be boiled down to a manageable level.

First, you start off with the champions of each of the FBS conferences. Win your conference, get in the playoff. Not bad, when you’re Troy. Instant shot, albeit a long one for some teams, to win the national championship. It’s the ultimate leveling of the playing field. Then, there’s at-large teams, picked in much a way as the NCAA basketball tournament. LSU gets in. As a result, the SEC is the only conference with three teams in the bunch (joining Alabama and Florida). Some jagoff in Los Angeles or New York City gets their panties in a wad about it. Yay, the new drama-free college football postseason! It’s valid, though, because it maintains the importance of the regular season. LSU beats in Penn State because the Tigers played, and beat, tougher teams. Logic prevails.

Super-extra bonus: Some bowls can’t exist because a lack of teams. That means six bowls, including Birmingham’s Papajohns.com Bowl get the can. Being at the bottom sucks, bowl committeemen. There are still 27 bowls, which are way, way more than enough for everybody not in the playoffs. Sure, the big bowls are still there, and they may bitch about not getting better teams (Ole Miss ends up in the Sugar Bowl), but the bowl is still viable as a stand-alone entity (instead of being included in a playoff scenario) and the trip from Oxford to New Orleans isn’t that far.

The games are all simulated in NCAA Football 2010. The playoff games are at the stadium of the higher-seeded team, except for the championship game, which is in San Diego, because it’s warm and none of the larger bowls are run out of Qualcomm Stadium.

Carolina loses. But you knew that already.

at Memphis, Tenn.
Liberty Bowl:
Houston (Conference USA, 10-3) vs. South Carolina (SEC, 7-5)
South Carolina’s defense gets Houston down 17-0 early, but Case Keenum and the high-powered Cougars come storming back for a 45-34 win that isn’t that close. Keenum tosses five touchdowns, two to Tyron Carrier, who also has 175 yards.

Clemson wins.

at Miami
Orange Bowl:
Clemson (ACC, 8-5) vs. No. 20 Nebraska (Big XII, 9-4)
By virtue of its tie-in with the ACC, the Orange has been the de facto Kids’ Table of the BCS for much of this decade, including a Wake Forest-Louisville matchup in 2007 that should have been broadcast by Raycom. But here the Orange returns to its old Big Eight roots to invite Nebraska, pairing the Cornhuskers with Clemson in a matchup recalling 1982, Tom Osborne and Danny Ford, and the Tigers’ only national championship.

Clemson’s C.J. Spiller starts the game with an Orange Bowl record 82-yard run from scrimmage for a touchdown as the Tigers sprint to a 21-7 lead by the half. Nebraska rallies to a 28-28 tie, then goes for it on 4th and 1 from their own 35 with 6 minutes left in the fourth – and fumbles. Spiller’s ensuing 7-yard touchdown grab out of the backfield from Kyle Parker provides the final margin, 35-28.

The playoffs turn out thusly:

First Round
(16) Troy 27, (1) Alabama 52
(15) East Carolina 0, (2) Texas 52
(14) Central Michigan 24, (3) Cincinnati 45
(13) LSU 52, (4) TCU 55
(12) BYU 41, (5) Boise State 39
(11) Iowa 15, (6) Oregon 41
(10) Virginia Tech 27, (7) Ohio State 29
(9) Florida 43, (8) Georgia Tech 3

Second Round
(12) BYU 21, (4) TCU 24
(9) Florida 34, (1) Alabama 35
(7) Ohio State 17, (2) Texas 45
(6) Oregon 27, (3) Cincinnati 24

Semifinals
(4) TCU 17, (1) Alabama 30
(6) Oregon 31, (2) Texas 24

National Championship
(6) Oregon 35, (1) Alabama 23

Wait, did we say this was a great idea? No, no, no. This idea is total bullshit. Bama didn’t go all that way to lose to some garishly-dressed Ducks from Nike U. In all seriousness, though, while half the nation is spitballing ideas on how to improve the system, this one looks the best.

Slagging the Bowl Championship Series these days is like being a fan of Nirvana in 1992. Rarely has trying to be a rebel looked so mainstream. Yeah, kid, you want a playoff. Woo. But, really, the bowl system and the BCS is pretty, pretty, pretty good for major college football.

Hey, we aren’t big fans of basketball or baseball, but it seems like a waste of a season to kick ass, do well and then get knocked out in the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight or whathaveyou. Oh, your team got to the Final Four last year? Did it win? No? Losers. Let’s say you, like us, are a fan of a team in the Top 8 of the BCS standings. If there was an eight-team playoff, or 16-team playoff, and Alabama lost before the championship game, the season would be a major disappointment. It would be on the level of, “The Tide went undefeated in the regular season for this bullshit?”

Sure, with a playoff, you’d have the rest of the bowl structure open to teams who didn’t make the field. But it truly would suck if a good team, seven or 15 of them, ended the season with a loss. College football fans have been brought up on the notion that if your team is good enough to make it to a bowl game, there is the possibility of ending the season with a win. The BCS keeps this in effect, while — though it isn’t perfect — coming up with a good way to have a No. 1 v. No. 2 national championship game.

OK. The BCS has its flaws. So does the goddamn Electoral College, but we’ve yet to scrap that in over 200 years.