In the 10 seasons since the inception of the BCS, there is exactly one team that has any right to complain about being shut out of the national title game.
This may seem strange due to all the controversy surrounding the Bowl Championship Series, but the same reason that the 2004 Auburn Tigers are still grumbling is the reason that college football has one of the best ways of deciding a champion.
See, the Tigers are the only team in BCS history to not make the No. 1 vs. No. 2 national title game despite winning every game they played.
In college football, every game an undefeated major conference team plays is essentially for the national championship. One loss and a team loses control of their destiny and likely its title chances.
This imbues a sense of meaning and purpose in each game in a way that leagues like the NFL can never have.
When the Badgers went down 0-14 to Marshall at home it was of utmost importance. That loss and Wisconsin's hopes were done.
Several weeks later against Michigan, the Badgers handed away their chance at a title by giving up a 19-point lead. That same day Florida all but lost their title shot with a loss to Ole Miss.
And therein lies the beauty - every game matters.
To win it all in college football, a team needs to bring it every single time they take the field. A slip up, an off day, and that's it.
It sounds almost like the NFL playoffs, except instead of four weeks, we get it for all of fall.
There are problems that arise. Mid-major conferences have a difficult time getting anyone in the title game and some seasons it just works out that a one or two-loss team wins it all.
But is this any worse than the NFL or MLB? Six teams had better records than the New York Giants last year, but in a second season, they went 4-0.
Similarly the 1987 Minnesota Twins made the post season essentially as a result of geography (they won their division despite four teams in the American League with better records), but less than a month of inspired play crowned them champs.
If college football had playoffs, this week's Red-River shootout would lose much of its importance. The rivalry will still be there, but something would be lost if both teams didn't know that their title hopes were definitely on the line.
Looking at the unparalleled level of parity of last season, we see the perfect proof of why the BCS is so effective. Missouri and West Virginia both could have punched tickets to the title game on the season's final weekend, just win and you're in.
Only they couldn't.
Both lost, and that's on them. The Trojans losing to Oregon State, Georgia falling to Tennessee and South Carolina last year - all on them. They were the better teams but on that day they didn't get it done.
Last week, the Packers lost and fell to 2-3. They could just shrug it off, point out that many 2-3 teams have gone on to make the postseason and possible even win the Super Bowl.
That will never happen in college football and this is in no way a bad thing.
Every single week, teams are playing for the national title, so why ruin that with a playoff? USC would probably like that right now, but then again, maybe they should just focus on beating the Beavers.
If you think college football would be more entertaining to watch if there wasn't so much pressure put on each game, e-mail Ben at breiner@wisc.edu.
