College Football Playoffs: Much Still Up In The Air

BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock provided the college football-loving public with some good news on Wednesday, declaring that progress has been made in discussions regarding the reform of the college football postseason. Things are going to change, but he was a bit inconclusive on the details.

“I think that’s what everyone wants to do. Get down to two maybe three,” Hancock said. “I think we’re making good progress on that. I think we’re going to make it.”

One thing is clear: “The status quo is off the table,” Hancock said. Though he cautiously added they have not ruled out making over the current system that guarantees only a No. 1 vs. No. 2 championship game.

The status quo is off the table. Excellent. Everyone, rejoice! But ... what exactly does “making over the current system” mean? Changing the way the No. 1 and No. 2 teams are determined? Well, that’s not necessarily a straightforward process.

“I’m trying to stay open-minded about how a committee could work, because I know people feel good about it in basketball,” Scott said. “It’s established. But, on first blush, it seems a little counterintuitive to me given the way the world has gone in terms of what our fans want -- which is more objective, more transparent.” Scott, by far the most outspoken commissioner on this particular topic, does not want selection carried out behind a veil of secrecy. “The difference between two and three could be a decimal point in some set of formulas that I can’t explain to you because they won’t disclose how it works,” Scott said. “That’s not satisfactory.”

Unfortunately, what Scott says here is the equivalent of a weatherman saying that a hurricane is on its way to the Eastern United States, and it’s going to come ashore somewhere between Miami and New England. Even though Hancock wants to narrow the college football postseason debate to two or three options by Thursday, they seem to be a long way from figuring out the details of each option.