#FreeGeorgiaSouthern

There are a lot of people who have a lot of problems with the way the NCAA operates.
I'm not that guy, usually.
Big things like eligibility rules, paying athletes, disciplinary measures -- every once in a while I'll disagree, but I'm not anti-NCAA, in general.
The rules that exist for little or no reason, though, those bother me, and Georgia Southern is taking the brunt of one right now.
Please understand: I grew up hating Georgia Southern. My dad went to Furman, and Georgia Southern took on full "evil empire" status after Marshall left the Southern Conference. There is no bias here.
Yet I can't help but defend the Eagles this time.
I fully understand why the Eagles would be ineligible for the FCS playoffs in their final year at that level. That makes complete sense because, otherwise, they'd be hauling in FBS-level players and likely walk to a title that year.
But once they get to the FBS level, why prevent them from playing in a bowl?
I get that when Marshall transitioned, they rolled through their first year at the FBS level. But it's not like we're talking about a national championship bid here. We're talking about a spot in an exhibition game.
No first-year team at that level will be able to do enough to get into the national title picture. And even if they do, as long as they're following the same rules everyone else is pretending to follow, why leave them out?
For the rest of the bowls, those should be about rewarding teams for a good year. Georgia Southern finished the year 9-3 with an 8-0 mark in the Sun Belt in their first year at that level. That is worthy of reward. The Eagles lost by less than a touchdown to two bowl-participating ACC teams, one of which, Georgia Tech, is playing in the Orange Bowl. That is worthy of reward.
Meanwhile, South Alabama went 6-6 out of the same conference and will play in a bowl. Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette also finished behind the Eagles in conference play and will also play in a bowl.
But the champion of that same conference? Nope, they're staying at home.
I also counted 11 major conference teams that finished the year 6-6, whose fan bases might not even be that excited about bowl destinations, who all got bowls. The Eagle fanbase would've been thrilled to play in the Independence Bowl, but no, that bid goes to South Carolina and Miami.
South Carolina had sold 700 of its allotment of 8,000 tickets, at last check.
But in the end, my main point is this: Why does the NCAA care who plays in these games?

Playoff Problems

OK, first of all, I love the idea of the college football playoff.

Ideally, I want to see an eight-team bracket with five guaranteed spots for conference champions, but I'll take what I can get.

I even liked the concept of a committee made of people with various connections to the sport. It seems like a refreshing change from the Frankenstein-like effort the BCS made to slam together human polls and computer formulas.

Yet, just five days before the final ranking comes out that will set the first four-team field for a college football playoff, I don't like the direction they're headed.

For reference, the committee's most recent top four are Alabama, Oregon, TCU and Florida State, in that order.

To outline my complaints, I'll use my own ranking. I vote every week at www.cfbfanpoll.com, which I would recommend to anyone who is as big of a sports nerd as I am.

Here we go: 

1. Florida State 

Do I really think the Seminoles are definitely the best team in college football? No. Am I largely a lazy person who likes easy decisions? Abso-frickin'-lutely. 

But it's more than just that. I start the year with last year's champion as No. 1 with an end goal in mind. If last year's champion goes undefeated, I want to make sure they get a shot at the title. The only way to guarantee that is by leaving them No. 1 until they lose. 

We're already seeing the slide that can happen when you rank them below that, and I'm not convinced that slide will stop. If Baylor beats the absolute tar out of Kansas State this week, why wouldn't they claim a spot near TCU, a team the Bears already beat (I'll get to that later)? And you certainly can't drop any of the top three teams if they all win.

Not to mention, the Seminoles are the only undefeated major-college football team. Also, as one Ric Flair once said, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man."

Also, "WOOOOOO."

2. Alabama

Essentially since the Tide lost to Ole Miss, they've looked like the best team in the country. I don't deny that.

But to further drive home the FSU point, they're the only team that doesn't have a "since," "other than" or "besides" on their resume. And Alabama's comes at the hands of a Rebel team that has since lost to a mediocre LSU team, Auburn and 6-6 Arkansas. By a 30-0 margin. 

That is not a good loss for Bama, no matter how you paint it, when compared to an undefeated defending champion.

3. Oregon

The Ducks' loss to Arizona was not a bad one, but it still came at home. 

Oregon's quarterback, Marcus Mariota, also happens to be the best player whose ACL is still operational - looking at you, Todd Gurley - and that matters. Especially considering the Ducks have a shot to avenge that loss this week, they might have the most ironclad resume with a win.

4. Baylor

I can't comprehend how TCU could still be considered the choice out of the Big 12ish. I get that comparing Ohio State, Baylor and Oregon might be complicated. The three don't play each other, and usually don't have solid common opponents. 

But Oregon and TCU played each other in a conference matchup, and Baylor won. Yes, it was by three points at home, but it's still a W.

It's almost like college football has relied so long on formulas, voting and guesswork that it forgot the basic unit of sports measurement: head-to-head results.

What I'm hoping is that the committee is giving us a "right now" look at their process. I'm hoping that they'll make sure FSU stays in if it wins the ACC with an unbeaten record. I'm hoping that they'll take Baylor, the team that won on the field.

But I'm concerned it won't be that simple.

Time to Recover

Brief introduction: I used to be a sportswriter, but now I cover education.
Basically, I needed to find a career that would allow me more time with my family during normal hours. As much as I loved covering sports - and I did love it - that path was never going to afford me the chance to be the type of father I want to be.
There are plenty of guys who find a way to strike that balance, and more power to them. I just didn't see it happening for me, especially once Ray reaches school age.
So here I am, a sports nut covering school board meetings and learning about enrollment figures and graduation rates. It's a different type of challenge that I'm enjoying so far, but it also leaves me with nowhere to write about sports.
So that's where this blog comes in.
And it's a good thing, too, because this was a big week for my Atlanta Braves.
The Jason Heyward trade gave me mixed feelings. I love watching JHey play the game, and I really respected the way he kept fighting at the end of the abysmal 2014 year.
I'm not going to say outright that anyone quit on that team, but I will say I saw a difference in Heyward's fire and attack on offense compared to the others.
That said, I would've been more concerned if the Braves had tossed him the type of contract his representatives would want. Put his actual production with any name on the Braves roster except maybe Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons, and fans likely don't care that he's gone.
I guess that's the part of me that has the most to recover: being a fan.
Even though I didn't actively cover the Braves or any other team of national interest, I've slowly begun to approach some situations like an unbiased member of the media instead of a fan.
I kind of want to be upset when a player I like gets traded. I have a Jason Heyward shirsey (T-shirt jersey), for crying out loud! Instead, I'm all "look at the production, value and blah blah blah."
Now, I am a proud member of the "Fire Fredi Gonzalez Club," but even that took more time than a lot of Braves fans. I was too busy looking at all the angles.
Not now. Now I'm just a fan.