The rules of the BCS were clearly designed by someone with a degree in astrophysics and molecular chemistry, they’re so complicated.

It seems that everyone has an opinion about the Bowl Championship Series and how it is run: Either you hate it, or you really hate it.

It’s not that the concept of a series of four bowl games and a National Championship is a bad idea; it’s just that the rules are complex and the way they (or a computer) pick who goes to what bowl game is insane and, dare I say, erroneous.

The rules of the BCS were clearly designed by someone with a degree in astrophysics and molecular chemistry they’re so complicated. Here they are, as explained by

Wikipedia:

• The top two teams are given automatic berths in the BCS National Championship Game.
• The champion of a BCS conference (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC) is guaranteed an automatic BCS bowl bid unless two other teams from their own conference finish #1 and #2 in the final BCS rankings.
• The highest-ranked champion of a non-BCS conference will receive an automatic berth if it is ranked either in the top twelve or ranked in the top 16 and higher than another BCS Conference champion.
• A special case is made for independent Notre Dame, which receives an automatic berth if it finishes in the top eight.
• No more than two teams from any one conference may receive berths in BCS games.
• The third-ranked team will receive an automatic berth if it has not already received one, and if it is a member of a BCS Conference.
• If the third-ranked team did not require an at-large berth, then the fourth-ranked team will receive an automatic berth if it has not already received one, and if it is a member of a BCS Conference.

As you can see, the rules themselves are sort of weird. But that doesn’t even cover how they pick the top 25 teams. Basically, a computer comes up with all of the information on every college football team and coughs up a percentage. The team with the highest percentage is the No. 1 team in the BCS ranking.

This year, LSU was ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll and the Coaches Poll, but in the BCS poll, it was ranked No. 2. This was right behind Ohio State, which ranked No. 5 and No. 4 in the two other polls, respectively.

Now, Ohio State is a great football team, don’t get me wrong, but let’s look at the facts here. LSU has the most dominating offense in college football right now, led by quarterback Matt Flynn and running back Jacob Hester. Their only two losses were overtime heartbreakers to Arkansas and Kentucky. The team, led by head coach Les Miles, ended up running all over the “bulletproof” OSU defense in a 38-24 spanking — and that was just the championship game. In the Rose Bowl, Illinois was completely embarrassed by the USC, 17-49, while the Sugar Bowl saw Hawaii and Colt Brennaen getting tossed around by Georgia and, well, everyone in Georgia.

Finally, the Fiesta Bowl saw underdog West Virginia beating Oklahoma in a laugher, 48-28. What’s the deal with these completely one-sided games?

Hawaii, which went undefeated in the regular season, was only ranked 10th. What other team went undefeated? Not one. Yeah, Hawaii doesn’t play in the SEC or the ACC or the Pac 10, but who cares?

Why does it matter so much to the BCS’s POS computer what division these teams play in? Hawaii threw up 63 points in their first game, and their closest game all year was the 2-point difference in Nevada.

Is LSU a better team than Hawaii? Of course. Hawaii never would have scored more than 15 points against LSU’s defense, but does that mean Hawaii should have gotten ranked under Illinois? Hawaii could have played that badly against USC.

A lot of talk has been tossed around about a playoff-type idea by the leaders of the SEC and the ACC because they feel that the current system is unfair. It is, but the idea of a playoff is just as bad.

Take the top eight teams and just have them duke it out? That system is flawed, too. If a No. 1-ranked LSU lost to Auburn in the SEC title game, would LSU still outrank Auburn and get a first-round bye, as in the NFL?

What if Auburn won the SEC, but wasn’t ranked in the top 10? Which top-10 team wouldn’t go? What about Notre Dame?

There are just too many unanswered questions and way too many difficulties. In my humble opinion, which isn’t so much humble as it is right, the playoffs should be run as in the NFL, word for word: The top two teams get the first-round bye, the division leaders play, and the wild card selects more.

It makes perfect sense, everyone is happy, and it still makes the season enjoyable. Those donkeys at the BCS need to listen to the people on this one.

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