Skip playoffs--true neutral sites should be sought in college football

Yesterday's Rose Bowl should tell us something.

I'm not talking about either team 's performance or where they would finish in a playoff.
Nor am I talking about preparation or coaching.
And unlike last year, I'm not even going to complain about officiating (the ACC has better refs than the Sun Belt--that's for sure).

I am going to suggest a greater opportunity for balance and true performance.

The Bowl system has a history of one team inviting another to its home to play a postseason game: Gator Bowl, Aloha Bowl, and yes, the Rose Bowl. With the BCS, we have something else in place--the opportunity to appropriately evaluate teams and see how they match up with one another.

I'm not a playoff person because it doesn't actually produce what we claim it does: the truly best team. The World Cup is closer, with its bracket system that has each team play every other team before advancing. Michigan would likely match up differently with Florida than it did with USC, so playing one and not the other doesn't determine "the best team". How do you account for a weaker or less favorable bracket? We have lots of examples of the best game taking place in the semifinals, not the finals. And what about freak accidents and injuries? By allowing a vote, we get the opportunity to correct for mistakes.

But there is actually a more pressing issue that needs immediate attention: true neutral fields, conditions, and officials. When selecting match-ups, homefield advantage must be eliminated. I love the tradition of the Rose Bowl, but I am now sick of watching the Pac-10 play in their home conference/time zone, while the Big Ten has to fly out to sunny CA for conditions that they haven't seen since September, if then. How would USC have faired at the Big House or Ford Field? Would we be talking today about USC's speed and penetration? NO! We would be talking about how the Michigan defense confused and swarmed USC for 60 minutes. And a true neutral site? Who knows because it doesn't happen.

Here is the truth: Bowls disproportionately favor the SEC and Pac-10 conferences first, and Big 12 next. The ACC, Big East next, and lastly Big Ten.

Here is one solution: make every conference move. Pac-10 can't play in a bowl on the west coast, and the SEC can't play on the East.

Second solution: Move more bowl games to the midwest and/or northeast.

Until something is done, the Big Ten will continue to be handicapped by the conditions.