Plus-One system explained

The Plus-One system was a suggested modification to the process used by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to determine a national champion in college football.

During the BCS era, several of the top-ranked teams in Division I-A (later renamed FBS) were matched in several bowl games, including the top two teams competing in a national championship game. From the 1998 football season through 2005, eight high-ranked teams met in four of the premier bowls—the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl Game, and Sugar Bowl—with the championship game (held in January and matching the top two teams) being one of those bowls, selected on a rotating basis. From the 2006 football season through 2013, ten high-ranked teams were placed into five bowl games—the four aforementioned bowls, plus the BCS National Championship Game (held in January and matching the top two teams).

BCS rankings relied on a combination of polls and computer selection methods to determine relative team rankings, and to identify the top two teams to play in the championship game. Alternate proposals arose due to criticism of BCS rankings, as "the computers held too much power."^[1] A "Plus-One system" would have taken a different approach from the polls and computer selection method. There were several variants proposed, each of which involved staging a championship game based on the outcome of other bowls:

• In the first variant, "the [top] two teams would meet in a final game after all the other bowls are played."^[2] This was the earliest usage of "plus-one" in a BCS context, appearing by January 2002.^[3] It was described as "one more game played after the bowls are completed, then the two highest ranked teams in the post-bowl BCS standings would meet for the national title,"^[4] and "you take the two best teams to come out of the bowls."^[5] Some proponents stated that traditional bowl matchups could be maintained (such as the champions of the Big Ten Conference and then-Pacific-10 Conference meeting in the Rose Bowl Game), prior to the championship game.^[2]
• In a second variant, appearing by December 2003, two of the BCS bowl games would be used "as semifinals for a four team playoff", followed by the winners facing off in a championship game.^[6]
• A third variant, which appeared in January 2004, was described as "taking the four major bowl winners and playing two more rounds to determine a champion on the field," also described as "two games plus one."^[7]

A Plus-One system was never adopted during the BCS era, and the suggestion became moot via introduction of the College Football Playoff (CFP) in the 2014 season.

See also

• College football playoff debate

Notes and References

1. News: Weiberg doesn't see a playoff in BCS future . Wendell . Barnhouse . 9C . . December 26, 2004 . October 5, 2024 . newspapers.com.
2. News: BCS may be flawed, but it's better than alternative . Teddy . Greenstein . . . C-8 . December 26, 2004 . October 5, 2024 . newspapers.com.
3. News: Franchione advocates BCS plus one system . . 3-C . . . January 5, 2002 . October 6, 2024 . newspapers.com.
4. News: Weiberg hopes to tweak BCS as new chairman . John . Rohde . . 9C . January 1, 2004 . October 6, 2024 . newspapers.com.
5. News: Busted BCS system has a cloudy future . John . Eisenberg . C4 . . January 1, 2005 . October 5, 2024 . newspapers.com.
6. News: 'Plus one' gaining favor . Chip . Brown . . . B1 . December 11, 2003 . October 5, 2024 . newspapers.com.
7. News: Nothing right with BCS formula . John . Dubow . . . . C5 . January 6, 2004 . October 6, 2024 . newspapers.com.