College football playoff bias

As of now, there are exactly three major college football teams in the country that are undefeated.

They are -- the undisputed #1 Alabama -- everybody knows that.

Wisconsin.

And Central Florida. Yep, the Knights, despite having to cancel and reschedule a couple games due to those pesky hurricanes a while back have nary a loss on their record.

But it appears the powers that be, see pollsters, have conspired against Wisconsin and UCF to keep them out of the championship playoffs.

Let's look at UCF first. True, they don't play in a "power" conference, so many hold their strength of schedule, or lack thereof, against them. To which I say -- horsepuckey.

Though they still can't seem to break into the Top Ten, undefeated is undefeated. Period. And who knows how good they might actually be unless they're given a chance to show it on bigger stages?

One need only look back to last year in the NCAA hoops tourney. Tiny little Gonzaga, student population roughly 7500, and a private school tucked away in the northwest -- no taxpayer money flowing in -- not only got into the hoops tourney, but went all the way to the Finals. There, they barely, BARELY succumbed to the behemoth North Carolina, student pop upwards of 30,000, and on the taxpayers' dime.

The Zags are in the little known West Coast Conference. Along with Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Santa Clara, and that bunch.

The Heels are in the mighty Atlantic Coast Conference. Does Duke ring a bell?

So don't tell me a football team like Central Florida can't play with the "big boys" unless and until they've been given a chance to.

Know why brutes like Alabama, Georgia, Miami, and other "power" schools across the country won't schedule schools like Central Florida? Because they're scared to death to play them. Even if the behemoths win the game, folks will say they should have. But if the underdog keeps it close, much less OMG pulls the upset -- it happens -- the big boys lose major face, let alone watching themselves tumble in the almighty polls. In effect, they have everything to lose and little to gain.

Given the hoops tourney starts off with a field of 66 teams, there was no keeping Gonzaga out.

But the football landscape in quite different. Currently, some mysterious committee, composed of representatives from the "power" (SURPRISE!!) conferences have to whittle the field down to the Final Four before the playoffs even begin. UCF has no shot, because the deck has long been stacked against them.

Consider the Wisconsin Badgers. They're most definitely from a "power" conference, the Big Ten (actually 14 -- evidently not schools a math major would likely be interested in). Yet despite being undefeated, they so far remain outside the Final Four. How can this be?

Hey, Miami was right there until they got smacked down by unranked Pittsburgh. The 'Canes should fall off the radar. Last year's champ Clemson got smoked at Syracuse earlier in the year, also an unranked team. The common perception is an early loss can be overcome, while one late in the season can be fatal to a school's chances.

This is balderdash as well. What difference does it make when a team loses a game it wasn't supposed to -- to a much "lesser" opponent? A loss is a loss. Period.

Georgia was once #1 in some polls. Then they got hammered by Auburn, over three touchdowns worth. See ya Dawgs.

Oklahoma had an early impressive win at Ohio State. But wait, they eventually got smoked at home by Iowa State. Cardinal Rule #1 for any championship wannabe. Thou shalt NOT come up on the short end in thy own house -- to ANYBODY -- let alone a team not even in the Top 25. The Sooners should have become Laters for that colossal miscue.

Of course the only way to make it fair would be to expand the playoff system to at least eight, and maybe even sixteen. What else do these guys have to do during the month of December? Study for finals? Please. Your average big-time football jock likely has the mental acumen (IQ) of a potted plant. Big, fast, strong, but dumber than a red twig dogwood. So let them play a couple extra games leading up to the bowls and playoffs. What could it hurt? Their GPA's? LOL

If Wisconsin runs the table and wins the Big 10-14 whatever conference championship game, remaining undefeated, even the anti-cheeser people will be hard pressed to keep them out of the Final Four.

And if mighty Bama just happens to fall at Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Tide are only a slight favorite over the Tigers, the whole apple cart will get turned upside down. Good luck sorting that out.

But I still think Central Florida is worthy of a shot.

Pity they won't get one.

And that's just wrong.