OPINION - Is there finally light at the end of the BCS tunnel?

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 29, 2008 1:50 PM

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The train that is the push to bring a playoff system to Division I-A College Football isn't quite ready to pull into the station, but this may very well be the season it picks up a head of steam.

Current front-runners Texas, Alabama and Penn State each have paths to an unbeaten regular season that could be navigated with somewhat relative ease.

Dates with Texas Tech, Baylor, Kansas, Texas A&M and a potential Big 12 title game with Missouri remain on the Longhorns' schedule.

Arkansas State, LSU, Mississippi State, Auburn and a SEC championship game contest with possibly Florida or Georgia remain for the Tide. Big Ten foes Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State are all that stand between Penn State and a 12-0 regular season.

Penn State currently sits third in the BCS standings and its weak strength of schedule would likely leave it on the outside looking in if No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Alabama both run the table.

Conference title game victories by the Longhorns and Tide along with the memory of fellow Big Ten member Ohio State's performances in the last two national championship games would also work against the Nittany Lions.

Auburn faced a similar dilemma in 2004 when it went 12-0, but was forced to settle for beating Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl while USC and Oklahoma battled for the national title. A repeat performance of the 2004 disaster could leave athletics directors and university presidents clamoring for a solution.

Meanwhile, Tulsa, Utah, Ball State and Boise State -- each members of non-BCS conferences -- are all undefeated. The current BCS (Bowl Championship Series) allows a team from a non-BCS conference that finishes in the top 12 in the BCS standings to automatically qualify for a BCS bowl.

If two or more teams from non-BCS conferences meet the requirements to qualify for a BCS Bowl, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS standings will receive the automatic berth. The remaining teams will enter a pool of at-large teams from which both BCS and non-BCS bowls can choose.

Tulsa, Utah, Ball State and Boise State each appear headed to unbeaten seasons with Utah and Ball State each having the biggest hurdles left to clear. If all four manage to remain undefeated and just one receives an invite to the BCS party, the three outsiders -- coupled with Penn State -- could form quite a witch hunt in search of answers.

FOX's current contract to televise four of the five BCS Bowls (Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, BCS championship) expires after the postseason games of January 2010. Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive and ACC commissioner John Swofford have each displayed interest in a four-team playoff that could be put into place following the 2010 regular season. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese and Dan Beebe, head of the Big 12, have expressed their willingness to listen to talks regarding a four-team playoff but are hesitant to commit.

The biggest obstacle proponents of a playoff face is the Rose Bowl and its contract with ABC which doesn't expire until after the January 2014 contest. This leaves a four-year window between the conclusion of FOX's current BCS deal and the end of ABC's partnership with the Rose Bowl.

The Rose Bowl has long-standing connections with the Big Ten and Pac-10 and the conference's respective commissioners have each expressed no interest in changes until the current contract expires.

Although the much-desired destination of a playoff system may seem a long way off to college football fans desperate for change, don't lose hope my friend. The 2008 season may just prove to be light at the end of the tunnel.