Even a three-game playoff was too much for the BCS. Bowl Championship Series officials rejected a plan Wednesday to turn the much-criticized system for deciding a national champ into a playoff involving four teams, starting in the 2010 season. The BCS format will remain the same until at least the 2014 season.
"After a very thorough, very good discussion among the group, we have decided that because we feel at this time the BCS is in an unprecedented state of health, we feel it's never been healthier during its first decade, we have made a decision to move forward in the next cycle with the current format," Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said. (More football stories.)