Thursday, September 7 Quit playing with us -- it's time for a playoff By Bob Harig Special to ESPN.com

So now the big game is set, and any week now, Florida State and Virginia Tech will play for the national championship. Let the hype begin.

	No matter what the Browns say, don't expect Peter Warrick to end up in Cleveland.

The college football regular season is complete, and what a letdown that is. After a season of exciting games among ranked teams, we awaited Sunday's Bowl Championships Series announcement with little or no anticipation.

The matchups for the four major bowl games were all but set, and those games won't be played for a month.

Perhaps we should be thankful that the two top teams are paired for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl. After all, it didn't have to be that way, what with all the controversy over the BCS standings.

Despite being the only major undefeated teams, Florida State and Virginia Tech didn't have to happen. Nebraska could have slipped in there, and what a mess that would have been.

Yes, the BCS does have some redeeming qualities, but it still can't make up for what the game truly lacks: a playoff.

This, of course, is a naughty word in the language of all the bowl people. They talk about what the bowls have done for college football over the years, all the money that has been pumped into the programs, the pageantry and tradition and all that.

In truth, so many games are of interest to only the local community where they are played, the two teams competing, and a bunch of guys wearing out their remote controls at home. There are 22 bowls to be exact, which means 44 teams are being ""rewarded" for a job well done.

And that's fine, but how much would a playoff capture the fancy of fans, media and players alike? It could be incredible, and we've heard all the arguments about too much time away from school and too many games and the negatives that always seem to be trotted out.

Television, of course, is the big factor. Right now, ABC -- which televises all four BCS games -- pays millions of dollars for one mega-hyped game, then must try and sell three others to a public that knows they mean little. Why not funnel that money into a playoff?

This, of course, is an old argument, one that seems years away from coming to reality.

But we can dream, can't we?

What if we had a 16-team playoff that included the champions of eight major conferences: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC, Conference USA and Mountain West. That would put a huge premium on winning your conference, making those rivalries even better.

Short of that, you could still make the playoff by earning one of eight at-large spots, which would be determined by an NCAA committee much like the one that selects the NCAA basketball tournament teams. Teams would be encouraged to play strong non-conference schedules, because the committee would use that as a factor. And late-season losses would not necessarily be as devastating.

The committee would be charged with seeding the teams and putting together matchups. The top eight-seeded teams would play at home during the first round of the playoffs, and existing bowl sites would be used for the remaining seven games.

Wouldn't the Peach Bowl much rather have a second-round matchup pitting, say, Alabama and Nebraska as opposed to a game involving SEC and ACC also-rans? Wouldn't the Fiesta Bowl rather have a semifinal game with, say, Florida State and Wisconsin, as opposed to this year's Tennessee-Nebraska matchup?

No question, there are big hurdles.

First, when do you play the games? Why not make sure the conference championship games are played Thanksgiving weekend, then begin the playoffs a week later, followed by quarterfinal games the second weekend in December.

Then take a break for Christmas, with the semifinal games played around the traditional New Year's dates and the title game a week later.

And throw in this perk: Every scholarship player on a playoff team receives $1,000, with those who make it to the championship game given accommodations for immediate family members as well.

With all of the money from television, that would be a pittance. And it would help take the sting out of having to spend so much time away from home during the holidays.

As for the other bowls not involved in a playoff? Leave them as they are. Those that aren't part of a playoff plan could still invite teams not among the top-16. They would be no more or less popular than they are today.

At this time, there is no organized movement for a playoff. But as the inequities in the current system are exposed, more and more coaches are in favor of the idea. They know what a boost it would bring to their game, how the public would be wrapped up in NCAA football brackets.

And it would sure beat waiting around another 30 days for the biggest game of the year.

Bob Harig, who covers college football for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a weekly college football column for ESPN.com.