Last football season was full of controversies, but of these controversies, one reigned supreme.
Greater than the Penn State child abuse scandals, the shifting tectonic plates of conferences or the lack of a clutch place kicker, the debate over a playoff system was king.
The Pac-12, the Big-12 and multitudes of fans across the nation cried foul over the all-SEC Championship game. In their eyes, having a plus-one playoff system (which would have added Oklahoma State and Stanford) would have been fair. However, those fans do not have to look too far to find that karma is a cruel mistress.
In 2004, three teams remained undefeated at the end of the season. No. one USC, no. 2 Oklahoma and no. 3 Auburn; all were poised to have a shot at the national championship game. In the final BCS standings, Auburn was left out. Many believe because of an unimpressive 21-13 showing against an unranked Alabama squad.
The same cries heard now from Big-12 and Pac-12 fans were heard from the SEC in 2004, with the exception of most Alabama fans. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive heard the cries and wrote a proposition for a plus-one playoff system, which would use the titles of the already in place BCS bowl games.
In 2008, Slive pitched his proposition to the other conference commissioners. He scheduled a meeting where they would go over the proposition and discuss its feasibility. Out of all of the conferences, only the ACC would attend.
From a December 2011 Yahoo! Sports article by Dan Wetzel, Slive is quoted as saying, “I remember it being a lonely meeting. That’s all I want to say about it.”
Later in the article, Slive was asked if the SEC should be blamed for their sixth consecutive title. With a smile, Slive responded, “That’s for you to conclude. That’s not me saying it.”
Other conference commissioners were afraid of the ramifications of a plus-one format at the time. More teams included in the championship hunt could mean less success for their respective conferences to win the championship.
Instead, they were dealt a far worse hand. After 2009, the fourth consecutive national championship win from the SEC, the computers and the voters had a realization.
The national perspective changed because of back-to-back years of an SEC Championship game between Alabama and Florida, which led to a play-in for the national championship. That fact, paired with recruiting classes and a heightened perspective of SEC football compared to other conferences, has brought about all other conferences worst nightmare – two teams from the same conference and the same division playing for the national championship.
With the dominance of the SEC, other conferences not only have to compete with the SEC’s top team but also its next best one-loss team for a spot in the national championship game.
While the conference commissioners were afraid of a loss of power in 2008, they have attained their fears by declining to even discuss the plus-one system. Those in power do not want to lose power.
However, Mike Slive is an exception. He is openly continuing the push for a plus-one playoff system. He believes that it will benefit the SEC in many ways.
His philosophy is that more SEC teams will be given the chance to compete for the title. He is right. Since the reign of the SEC, there would have been three years (2006, 2008, 2011) where multiple SEC teams would have competed for the title.
The SEC is not to blame for the dictatorship they now hold over the NCAA and the BCS. The respective conference commissioners elected the SEC into power, and if the plus-one system becomes active or not, the SEC still has the most to gain.
Tyler Rigdon is a junior majoring in marketing. His column runs bi-weekly on Wednesday.
