I hate the BCS. Abhor. Detest. Loathe. Dislike. Insert synonym for hate here: __________.

Tonight the pairings were announced for college football’s major bowls under the BCS (Bowl Championship Series). The Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, and the BCS Championships.

It’ll be undefeated Ohio State versus one-loss University of Florida. I’ll admit it here. I want Florida. I’m impartial to them. My cousin graduated from Florida and I’ve always liked the Gators. But, this whole disgusting thing needs to go outside with yesterday’s garbage. Michigan was robbed. Plain and simple.

But, exactly how, do you ask? ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski explains. I have to admit, he makes several good points that I agree with. Of course, in my opinion, this whole thing could have been avoided with a playoff system. I cannot fathom why college football does not have a playoff system. College basketball brings us March Madness. We also have the College World Series. Why not college football?

Division II and Division III football have their own playoff system. Again, why can’t Divison I football? Granted, the old system before the BCS wasn’t perfect either. Colleges were chosen by two human elements: win-loss records and the polls. There were occasions under the BCS where several undefeated teams were left out of the major bowls. Let’s start with 2003.

University of Southern California (USC) was ranked #1 in the USAToday and AP polls, but did not play in the championships. It was Louisiana State University versus Oklahoma. LSU won, and so did USC. They ended up being co-championships that year. And: 1997 also saw co-champions Michigan and Nebraska (this was the final straw before creating the BCS system in 1998). The very system created to eliminate this from happening had failed.

In 2004, Auburn ended their season undefeated in what is considered the toughest college football division, the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were not chosen for the title game. Instead it went to Oklahoma and undefeated USC. The BCS committee held their breath throughout that game. They knew if USC lost, there’d be a repeat of 2003, two champions. USC throttled Oklahoma 55-12 in that game. After that debacle, the AP (associated press) announced they would no longer allow their poll to be part of the BCS formula.

Fast-forward to tonight. Florida was ranked number four in the BCS poll last week, and jumped over USC and Michigan to play against Ohio State. Fair? Maybe. Florida won the SEC (remember, I said it’s the toughest division in college football), and had a stronger schedule than Michigan. Michigan lost to Ohio State on November 18 by only three points. Rematch, anyone?

That’s why we need a college football playoff system. Invite the top 16 teams in college football. Follow the poll standings, and number #1 plays against #16, #2 against #15 and so on. What to do with the big bowls? Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, and Rose? Rotate the championship between these sites. This year would be the Fiesta in Arizona. Next year is Orange, the year after that is Sugar, then the granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl.

But, we live in a world where our own lives and the football teams we worship are decided by a motherboard that was created by a human. We know computers can be flawed. The BCS system is flawed. We need a better system.

All I know is that on January 8, I’ll be rooting for the Florida Gators. I’ll also be rooting for a college playoff system.