NFL vs. College

Austin you magnificently ignorant slut! (Thank you Dan Akroyd) In your recent editorial, you detail an argument on why college football "blows away" the NFL. My initial reaction, beyond the first sentence of this post, was that no sport/league/governing body should be taken seriously unless its champion is decided only on the field. Some may want to brush this aside a try and look past this oh so fundamental flaw to the real positives of the college game.

Austin cites the creativity in CFB as one of the major reasons CFB is superior to the NFL. While there may be more teams dedicated to different offensive philosophies in college, few, if any college teams can give you the variability of offensive or defensive looks that each NFL team does. Teams change looks from series to series in the NFL, while in college, you know before the season starts what each offense will look like.

He also argues that if Tebow is flop in the NFL, the NFL, not Tebow is to blame. Must be good to be Tebow...in some people's eyes he can't possibly be a failure. The truth is, if Tebow fails, its because he is not good enough. While Tebow may be a great athlete and a "natural leader" that does not mean that he has the right to carry Peyton Manning's shoulder pads. Being a decent athlete is only a prereq for being and NFL QB, while it is the only requirement in college. In the NFL, QBs have to be able to read defenses that are constantly changing, accurately throw the ball, and know how to slide because, while Tebow maybe able to take on your average Florida St. linebacker, Ray Lewis is another matter.

But we could argue about the various merits of both leagues, but I continue to return the basic insurmountable problem with college football. The "champion" in college football is not determined solely on the field. Yes the BCS puts 1 against 2, but the choice of 1 and 2 is not determined on the field. Until there is a playoff system, college football just can't be realistically be held anywhere near the NFL, never mind above it.

There are a multitude of potential schemes (I favor relegation) that, once implemented, would take all the polling and politics out of deciding who plays for the championship and have a real playoff system. If the NCAA would do for football what they have done for EVERY OTHER NCAA SPORT then maybe some of the real advantages of college football could possibly outweigh the positives of the NFL. But until then, it is just a fun thing to do on Saturday, waiting for NFL Sunday.