Should college football have playoffs or stick with the BCS? The BCS was formed in 1998 to pick the top two teams in college football to play in the BCS championship. The BCS is made up of The USA TODAY coach's poll, The Harris Intercollegiate Football Poll and the average of six computer rankings. Supporters of the BCS say their rankings are as accurate as possible because the BCS uses human polls and computer ratings to calculate the standings. Critics counter that because the BCS rankings often place teams in the wrong order and discriminate against smaller schools. The BCS has its good side though. It keeps the regular season exciting. Every game has an importance. Bowl games also bring in alot of revenue for universities. The BCS also takes into consideration the strength of a team’s schedule. An undefeated or one-loss record in a BCS conference means more than the same record in a weaker, non-BCS conference because the teams are not facing opponents of the same quality. Still most fans would love to see a play-off system. I am a die-hard college football fan and I believe that play-offs are not such a bad idea. You can’t really prove who the best football team is in computers and polls. In every form of football from pee-wee to the National Football League, except Division 1 football, there is some kind of play-off system. A play-off would also eliminate bias in the national championship. I think that teams should have to play for the right to be called a champion and it seems like the only way to do that is to play against the best in a playoff. I decided to get the opinion of one of our own Handley Tiger football players. Erik Velazquez, starting defensive left tackle for the Tigers, gave me his thoughts on the issue. He says, “There is no question about it, college football should have a play-off system. To me the BCS stands for Bull Crap System.” He went on to say, “Sometimes the BCS becomes a bit of a popularity contest.” Now that is just the opinion of one person, I am sure there are those who support the BCS. Even if there was to be a play-off, the BCS would most likely still be involved in choosing the best 16 teams that play in it. Whether fans like it or not, the BCS is apart of the college football that we all love.
Undefeated LEslie Cook
Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can’t Lose. These six words have inspired many people, these are the words that the Handley Tigers have been holding on to. With a 14-0 season winning streak, the Handley High School Tigers went to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to play for the 3A State Championship against Madison Academy. December 1, 2011 was the date plastered on posters all over the halls of the school. Well, finally the day came. Kickoff was 11:00 A.M. The Handley Family and the rest of Roanoke, Alabama over ran the Madison Academy fans by thousands. The Mustangs were 8-3, Tigers, as earlier stated, 14-0. Coin was flipped and Handley won the toss, with a choice of the second half. Trae Kyles, junior, starting QB, kicked the ball. The ball was a “blooper” and only went 15 yards. Madison gained little yardage on the short kick. At the end of the first the score stood 7-0, Madison. Early in the 2nd Handley put there own points on the board ending the half with a score of 7-7. During the second half, Madison once again scored making the score 14-7. At the end of the 4th Handley scored and went for two, but failed to gain the extra points. Handley was up 20-14. With 20 seconds on the clock Madison had the ball and threw it long. The pass was caught but barely out of bounds and was called incomplete. Handley claimed the 3A State Title. The Handley High Tigers had a perfect 15-0 season.