Ok, I'm ready to talk about it now...

Two years in a row, my favorite squadron has lost to an SEC team in the Mythical National Championship Game. Makes this look like a reality, doesn't it?

Last year, in the Game of Which We Do Not Speak, they got blown out. No doubt about it, they were outplayed from the get go by a team that was prepared to beat them. It didn't help that they had the Heisman Curse going their way, but Florida simply was the better team.

This year, though, was different. This year, Ohio State stood toe to toe with one of the two teams that played in New Orleans. Problem is, the other one beat them.

Statistically, Ohio State actually excelled in numerous categories, and outgained the great LSU defense on yards per attempt. Any and all "Slow Big 10" legacy from the year before went out the window early on as well.

Not bad against a team that was a pre-season #1, "undefeated in regulation", on their home field (like they ever go anywhere else), with senior leadership.

But, like I said, they could have played with LSU but they couldn't beat themselves as well.

When you look at the 5 personal fouls (75 yards), one blocked kick (returned for 20 yards), missed blocked punt, a fumble recovered for another 20 some yards, it's easy to see how the "hidden yardage" stacked up against the scarlet and gray.

But that was to be expected. This was, after all, a team with only 3 seniors starting, a team whose entire offensive scoring from last year is now in the NFL, and a team that was picked to finish 4th/5th in the Big T1e1n (behind Wisconsin, Penn State and Mich1gAAn). They were young, they were injured, and yet they ended up in New Orleans after the other teams didn't want to close the deal (Stanford? Pitt?).

Obviously, there were some flaws- tOSU's QB is a great game manager, but not someone who will put the game on his shoulders to win it; there's no speed threat at WR, so playing man coverage with lots of pressure is easy to do; etcetera... But again, they were a year early.

And next year's looking pretty freaking good... Only one junior going to the NFL, which means that there will be 9 defensive starters and 10 offensive starters returning. Not to mention one of the better recruiting classes in the country.

In other words, it's still a good time to be a Buckeye fan.

With a schedule that includes a trip to USC, and both Michigan and Penn State coming to Columbus, it's quite possible that Ohio State will be vying for their third trip to the BCS championship in as many years.

Which brings me to the most frustrating aspect of life post- January 7: People who say that Ohio State should never get another opportunity, given that they've fallen short in the last two.

For instance, here's a quote from the LA Times:

Who let Ohio State in?
Why couldn't we keep them out?
What can we do to stop them from coming back?
What would be truly incredible is if voters and computers finally realize that the Big Ten, whose teams have won two national titles in 38 years, is no longer a football conference. What would be absolutely fair is voters and computers treating the Big Ten the way they treat the Western Athletic Conference of Boise State and Hawaii. One loss, and they're done. One loss, and they have no shot of reaching the national championship game. A team from the SEC or Pacific 10 or Big 12 can have two losses and be here, because their competition is so much better.

Seriously? If that was the case, then Notre Dame shouldn't ever be allowed to play in January ever. And Oklahoma should take their three losses and a forfeit and stay in Norman during the bowl season.

Heck, if that logic carried over to the NFL, the Colts would never be allowed to play in January, either.

(Aside- if the NFL ran the BCS, perhaps we'd finally get to see the SEC and Pac-10 not play a home game; perhaps something like this.)

Look, I understand what you're saying, but don't hate the player- hate the game. And there's been plenty of that, as more and more people call for a playoff, (including the folks at ABC/Disney/ESPN- just as I predicted).

But, as I've said before- it's not going to happen. Not without some significant changes.

Which leads me to an announcement: Over the next few weeks, I'll be presenting a four part series on the current state of college football's bowl system. My hope is to cover the following areas:

• Those who don't know the past are doomed to repeat it- How did we get to where we are?
• Follow the money- Financial realities of the current system
• We've burned the couch- now what?- Is there even a value for a "champion"?
• Laying a golden egg- My recommendation for a playoff

A lot of stuff here you may have read before, but I hope to cover some new ground. And, since you're all a lot smarter than me, I hope you'll join the conversation in the comments section.