Here’s what’s wrong with the system: the number one ranked team in the nation got that way by sitting on the couch. I’m as thrilled as anyone that the Buckeyes are playing for a national championship, but it’s clear that in order to get to the top, all a team has to do is not lose. So Ohio State beats up on Kent, Akron, and Youngstown. It doesn’t matter who they beat, just so they end up with a W.

I’d favor a system that gets rid of the polls and just uses the computer points. The high school system in use in Ohio is a good example. Teams get points for winning, but also for strength of schedule, based on their opponents’ wins and their opponents’ wins. So the teams with the best records against the best teams rise to the top.

A playoff system would help, too. Move the championship to the third week in January. Start the bowls right after Christmas. Make every Division I team eligible for a championship, and use four rounds of playoffs. Each playoff game is a bowl. Stretched over more time, they’ll get bigger audiences for each game. And they’ll still have 16 major games. The smaller bowls can still continue after the first couple rounds of the playoffs, to have some of the traditional conference matchups.

It can be fixed. They just don’t want to fix it.