PJ Poll - Final

Oregon is now your National Champion. The only suspense remaining is whether they will be awarded the crown this January with a victory on the field against Auburn or whether the Ducks will be awarded the title by virtue of forfeit in the near future.

Cam Newton may have a "Reggie Bush Moment" lying in wait around the corner like a bandit (Thanks, Lina Wertmuller!). But that travesty could still be several years away.

He'll have to date a Kardashian before his career completely implodes. That has always been the process. We've seen Reggie Bush marginalized by injury this season and Miles Austin now looking more like Jane Austen than Steve Austin. He can't even say, "Hello, Kitna." Both reek of the stench of Kardashian.

I have no idea what is happening to Lamar Odom's NBA career recently since marrying a Kardashian -- mainly because I will never be so bored as to consistently watch NBA regular-season basketball.

Back to my original point. BCS Championship Game. No suspense. No drama. As Sid Vicious would snarl, "NO FUN!!!"

We've gone on this journey through the college football season to illustrate the lunacy of the BCS Championship Game. You've witnessed all of the jockeying for championship positions, yet one undefeated team (TCU) is still locked out. The Horned Frogs are prevented from having an opportunity to win a championship on the field by university eggheads and corporate presidents.

College football is the only major sport that crowns a champion in such a ludicrous way. Maybe we should set up a New England - Atlanta Super Bowl right now. That would just go over great here in Pittsburgh. No one would have to bother with all those exciting playoff games.

As a remedy to the nonsense of the BCS, I would propose both a long-term and a short-term solution.

The long-term solution would consist of the following:

• There would be 96 teams in Division I, divided into eight 12-team superconferences. This would be a long-term solution since Division I football would need to be reduced from its current 120-team membership to accommodate the new format. Even these extra teams could be included, but it would create the need for a play-in round.

• Each team would play an 11-game schedule against every conference member. This would eliminate confusion about conference champions such as in this year's Big Ten. It would also eliminate the ridiculous "scrimmage-type" games against I-AA, MAC and Sun Belt opponents so prevalent in the early weeks of the season. Conference games start Week One and teams have to be ready!

• The playoff would include 16 teams from the eight conferences. It would actually be similar to the European Soccer Champions League. Eight Conference Champions (seeded 1-8) would play eight Conference Runners-Up (seeded 9-16) at the home sites of the top seeds. No second legs or goal differential, though.

This would eliminate all debate about access to the National Championship. If you do not finish first or second in your conference - you do not deserve a chance to win the National Championship. As stated before, this is a long-term solution that would require a reformation of Division I conferences. There are now 120 Division I football programs -- with more schools slated to be added in the future.

If you had 20 playoff squads from ten 12-team superconferences, a format of 12 byes and a play-in round consisting of eight conference runner-up teams would have to be implemented. This would allow the 20-team field to be whittled down to the original sixteen teams in an equitable manner.

The short-term solution can occur now without major conference realignment. This playoff would also have 16 teams. Eleven conference winners and five at-large teams would be seeded #1 to #16 in a bracket with the initial games played at the home field of the higher seed.

I used the BCS Rankings for the majority of my seedings. Hopefully, such rankings will be eliminated in the future. The entire task of seeding and selecting five at-large bids would be handled by a seeding committee similar to the one in college basketball.

Here is an example of how it would work out this season:

• #16 Troy at #1 Auburn
• #15 Miami, Ohio at #2 Oregon
• #14 Central Florida at #3 TCU
• #13 UConn at #4 Stanford
• #12 Virginia Tech at #5 Wisconsin
• #11 LSU at #6 Ohio St.
• #10 Boise St. at #7 Oklahoma
• #9 Michigan St. at #8 Arkansas

Now that's college football! Much better than the Beef O'Brady's Bowl and its mascot, Gravy Greg!

I hope you enjoyed the PJ Poll this season. Pittsburgh Jones has a lot more fun in store for you!

Be sure to check back often. I'm going to be expanding the site to cover many different issues.

And it's going to be a wonderful ride ...

PJ Poll - Week Thirteen

The pure lunacy (and evil) that is the BCS has only one path to legitimacy Saturday. And big money will make that happen.

Although Oregon vs. TCU is not as attractive a matchup as Oregon vs. Auburn -- the Horned Frogs have become the pesky spanner in the works.

Oregon will beat rival Oregon St. and South Carolina will upset Auburn.

The Oregon-TCU Matchup will accomplish the following:

1) Oregon will represent the major BCS conferences and will legitimize the BCS favoritism bestowed on those conferences by handily dispatching minor conference foe Texas Christian.

2) There will not be a third team on the outside looking in. Any team that wins every game on the field and is denied a chance to play for the national championship seriously weakens the claim that the BCS crowns a true nation champion. If Oregon and Auburn win, TCU will find itself in this position.

3) Although Cam Newton has been cleared by the NCAA, there is always the possibility that future allegations could cast a cloud on the BCS and could even lead to a later foreit of a national championship. That's a chance the BCS (and possibly the Heisman) do not want to take.

Oregon vs. TCU. That's the matchup. I'll be back next week for the final PJ Poll where I will discuss the national championship game and a plan for a fairer and more inclusive playoff system.