Perhaps all the critics of the Bowl Championship Series can take a deep breath and a few months off in their criticism of the system. Texas and USC will very likely wind up undefeated, earning the right to meet for the ugly crystal trophy emblematic of the national championship. That's going to bother a lot of people who believe no system is complete without a playoff, people who, too often, miss the point of what makes college football unique from any other competitive sport.

The college game doesn't need a playoff, it already has one built into the regular season. Miami and Virginia Tech a few weeks ago? Playoff game. Miami and Florida State way back on Labor Day? Playoff game. Texas and Ohio St in September, and SC and Notre Dame in October? Same thing.

The problem with so many sports is that the regular season is nothing but false drama. It's okay to lose, just lose too many games that you miss out on the post-season. The Monday Nighter between the Colts and Patriots had no sense of urgency. The only issue was whether Indianapolis could finally break through against New England. Both teams will be in the playoffs so the result from this game is meaningless.

College football has managed to survive for 135 years without a playoff. For years, college football and its fans were okay with a regular season that led to a handful of bowl games that served as rewards for conference champions and near-champions. The national championship sometimes led to controversy. So what? That only served to keep the game on the front burner even after the season.

Of course, that wasnt good enough for the people who want to settle the issue on the field. The critics refuse to see that is already the case. So, we have the Bowl Championship Series, whose main accomplishment has been to fix a problem that didnt exist. While the system does match up the two top-ranked teams, it has also diluted interest in every other bowls. A playoff system would erode that even further.

If there were a playoff, just how many teams should be involved? Four? Eight? Sixteen? The Rose Bowl or Sugar Bowl would lose whats left of their luster if they became nothing more than quarter- or semi-final games. Such a system would also shut out the core fans who can go to a single bowl game but not multiple road trips. The only winners would be the corporate suits, television moguls, and conference chieftains, an unholy trinity that has inflicted enough damage on the game as it is.

I say this even though the current system gave me a personal reason to dislike it. I am an Auburn graduate and firmly believe that the Tigers got shafted last year. Sometimes life is like that. You take the bad calls and drive on. Sometimes the movie that wins the Oscar is simply dull. It happens.

The most vocal proponents of a playoff are the writers and broadcasters who see the college game as a junior version of the NFL. They want all sports to adopt the boring sameness that has given rise to the notion that second place equals first loser and that only one team can call its year successful.

They dont understand the meaning of between the hedges, the 3rd Saturday in October, or the worlds largest cocktail party. They dont get the lure of games like the Red River shootout, the Iron Bowl, or the Civil War. They dont understand the 12th man in College Station, the Vol navy in Knoxville, or touchdown Jesus in South Bend. And, they dont see the appeal of places like the Big House, the Horseshoe, and the Swamp. Frankly, I miss the days when the point of the regular season was to win your conference and, with that, a berth in a particular bowl game. The national championship was mythical, players stayed in school 4 years and actually earned degrees, and the only performance enhancer was Gatorade.