The Bowl Games and Beyond

This was a weird year. It also showed exactly why the current system for doing playoffs is unworkable. 

A fair system, which is based on conference records and championships would have been better, especially this year.

Texas A&M would probably have done better than Notre Dame in the final four. Of course, that would have been two SEC Teams rather than two ACC teams.  Hardly an improvement over a COVID close-down biased season. 

None of these athletes faced great risk due to this disease - although the latest strain seems to finally be making 20-somethings sick. Older coaches and staffs should have been benched, not the kids.

A system that does not put Iowa State in the final four needs to be changed - likely expanded. Of course, the Big 12 needs divisions and a championship game to prove that you don't have to be a Sooner to be a national champion from the heartland.

The big five conferences should each have two divisions, with the division champions being automatic seeds into a sweet sixteen playoff with six more wild cards (like the Aggies or standout teams in the lesser conferences - like BYU). Set up the brackets and let the games begin. 

Without a pure playoff, brackets should still determine final rankings rather than some poll. For the BCS Bowls, no loser should be in the top tier. This would have given us rankings like this:

Texas A&M #3, Oklahoma #4, Georgia #5, Iowa State #6,  Northwestern #7, Clemson #8, Notre Dame #9, Florida #10 Cincinnati #11 and UNC #12

In the long run, I would end the four-year degree. Middle school would stop at grade 7. High school would be 8 through 10. After that, there would be academic and practical tracks - with both having public and private schools. Catholic high schools need to go beyond college prep. 

If youth full contact football survives at all, it should not start until grade 11 and it should end after grade 14 - with both academic and practical high schools fielding teams. Also, all students, including student athletes, should be paid to attend class and do extra-curricular activities. Not paying opportunity costs keeps students from poorer families out of much needed advancement.

Grades 11-14 should compete only to the state - or maybe to a regional - level. After age 20, students can drink and be drafted for pro sports. Some will get jobs. 

A lot of "college level" jobs are doable with an Associates Degree. Having everyone check that box on the way to a four-year degree increases the value of having less education. General education academics and practical academics would have some overlapping course work, especially if getting such an education is a step toward supervision in the retail, computer and manufacturing sectors. 

Anything after age 20 should be paid by employers, with classes related to the career rather than general education. Many fields require a graduate degree anyway, so the B.A. is losing its significance and, given the cost, its value. At some point, schools with hard science and humanities focuses would also diverge, although everyone will have to learn statistics at some point at the graduate level.