Look back at the last month of football in the Big 12 and ask yourself, do we really need a playoff? Look back at the dominance of Alabama and Florida in the SEC and ask yourself, do we really need a playoff? Go back and watch the Penn State loss to Iowa, and, between the roughly 87 shots of Joe Paterno coaching from the press box, ask yourself, do we really need a playoff? The answer is no. The season is a playoff within itself. And it's never been more evident. Just add a couple conference championship games here and there and poof, problem solved - the best of both worlds.

Learned:

(1) Big 12 pool play

I'm not shy to admit it, I am an SEC homer. I love watching it. I love covering it. I even, sometimes, love the voice of Verne Lundquist on Saturday afternoons. That being said, the Big 12 is better. From top to bottom, pound to pound, I can't deny this fact. Don't believe me? Look at what this conference has done on a national level this year. Texas over Oklahoma was just a tease of what was to come, and Oklahoma State stunned Missouri on the road to set up the round robin tournament that is currently being played out in the Big 12 South.

Texas beat Oklahoma, dominated Missouri, outlasted Oklahoma State but fell to Texas Tech - which may be the game of the year - in the toughest four-game stretch in the history of college football. Oklahoma State, after beating Mizzou, fell to Texas and Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are now 10-0 yet has not even began to sniff the Big 12 championship game. Why you ask? Because they still have to travel to Norman to face Bob Stoops and his powerful Oklahoma Sooners. Compare scores if you want, but give the Sooners the edge in Norman in this game. Oklahoma's lowest scoring output came against Texas and TCU. In the other eight games: 57, 52, 55, 49, 45, 58, 62 and 66.  And, oh yeah, Mike Leach's Red Raiders points-per-game average is 47.9.

Texas Tech wins, and they can focus on the Big 12 title game against Missouri (no slouch, either). Lose, and the Big 12 South is thrust into a three-way tie between Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech. Who gets the inside track? Whoever is ranked higher in the BCS. Which means Oklahoma would have to beat Tech going away to leap frog the Longhorns in the standings. If the Big 12 South isn't a playoff within itself, what is?

(2) SEC security

Last year, Tennessee clinched the Eastern division by sacking Andre' Woodson on a two-point conversion attempt in overtime in the last game of the season. Now, as of Nov. 8, the SEC championship game is set between Florida and Alabama. The top-heavy conference that America has a love affair with has also provided a playoff within itself.

Alabama has been the run away favorite since they pounded Georgia in the black out game. Since then, they dominated Tennessee in Knoxville, took care of business at home against Kentucky and Ole Miss and went into Baton Rouge last Saturday and survived in overtime against LSU. How are they rewarded? With an SEC championship matchup against Tim Tebow and his fiery Gators. Florida has averaged 51 points a game in its last four and seems to be more than the Crimson Tide can handle. Since an embarrassing loss to Ole Miss at home, Florida has beaten LSU by 30 and Georgia by 39. And America says college football teams need to prove themselves with a playoff format. Yeah, that makes sense.

(3) Thank you Iowa

Penn State traveling to Iowa was their last road game, their last obstacle in a surprising undefeated season. Right? Not so much. Penn State fell in the proverbial "trap" game on the road, and now we are set with only two undefeated teams remaining in the BCS conferences, Texas Tech and Alabama. 

Iowa only proved what everyone was thinking in the back of their minds: Penn State can't hang in the BCS argument. Put simply, they were the odd man out. And I wanted the feel good story for Joe Paterno as much as the next guy, but come on. Putting Penn State as a three-seed in a playoff bracket would only be a waste of time in a sport where the Cinderella teams never last. Now we can focus on the teams that are legit and let Joe Pa play for a Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl birth, put on hold only by a match-up against Michigan State on Nov. 22.

(4) ACC boxing match

The ACC is this year's 2007 SEC. And I mean that in no comparative way. What I mean is that the entire year, the ACC has been a 12-round boxing match. Each team has been beating each other up, and the only teams that are currently TKO'd are North Carolina State and Clemson. Everyone else still has a mathematical chance, no matter how long the odds are.

What's the point of this? No ACC team is worthy of BCS title game talk, and they've proven it each and every week. How does this relate to anything closely relative to this article? The tie in to each of the major conferences with a championship game: the champion is the proven champion - no playoff necessary.

The point is proven by the Big Ten, who needs only for Michigan State to beat Penn State to create a three-way tie with the Spartans, Ohio State and Penn State. How is this resolved? How about adopting Notre Dame into the Big Ten, creating two six-team divisions and playing a conference championship game at Detroit's Ford Field every year? Exciting to think about, but wouldn't happen in a gazillion years.

(5) Mountain West is best ... non-BCS

Watching Mountain West football, especially for Vol fans after the Wyoming homecoming embarrassment, makes one wonder how this can be considered a non-BCS conference. Brigham Young, TCU and Utah are all ranked and all three could win the Big East this year.

If Utah can beat BYU on Nov. 22, they can win the conference and more than likely secure a BCS birth. Lose, and it's another three-way tie situation between the Utes, BYU and TCU. The resolution, you ask? How about adding Boise State, creating two five-team divisions and playing a conference championship game. Again, not going to happen, but fun to think about.

Still, a Utah win against BYU will clarify the situation and give the conference a proven champion. No playoff necessary.

Expected:

(1) Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech

This possible three-way tie will be broken by the highest ranked BCS team going to the conference championship game, if needed. Texas Tech can avoid all that with a win against the Sooners. If not, let the politics and the arguments begin. None the less, if the Red Raiders can win and finish the season undefeated they will be the proven champion of the best conference division, the Big 12 South, in the country. No playoff required.

A win by the Sooners will have to be followed by a win over rival Oklahoma State on the road. Impressive wins in both match-ups, in my opinion, would make the Sooners credible for a jump over Texas in the BCS. If that happens, again, let the arguments and politics begin. But, for the sake of my non-playoff argument, let's hope for a Red Raiders win.

(2) Alabama and Florida

Alright, Alabama and Florida are the proven champions of their respective divisions within the SEC. Both teams should win out on their way to Atlanta with a BCS title game birth on the line. Florida wins and they are in. Lose and they settle for a BCS bowl game, at worst. Alabama wins and the Saban-ator takes his team to the title game in only his second season. Lose, and the Crimson Tide also settles for a BCS bowl berth.

The winner of this game is deserving of a spot in the BCS championship game. Don't believe me? Ask Ohio State what happened when they played the 2006 one-loss SEC champion Gators. That settles that. So back to the Big 12, what if the Big 12 produces a one-loss champion from the South division? Is there a case for an argument? Keep reading.

(3) USC

Don't look now, but USC has crept back into the national picture after an embarrassing loss to Oregon State on Sept. 25. So who does the BCS favor? If Texas wins the Big 12, they would deservingly face the SEC champion in the BCS title game. But if Oklahoma can win out, jump Texas in the standings and win the Big 12, is there another Oklahoma/USC argument for the right to play for a national championship?

This year, the answer is no. Oklahoma would be the champion of the best conference in America and have non-conference wins against ranked teams such as TCU and Cincinnati - the only Sooners' loss coming to Texas. USC, meanwhile, will be the champion of one of the weaker BCS conferences with a loss to three-loss Oregon State.

It may not seem to be much of an argument, but the national media's love affair with USC and Pete Carroll would suffice the argument any way. But no worries, the round robin pool play of the Big 12 and the SEC will produce a national title game with little argument - all because of the regular season. No playoff needed.