The College Football Playoff You Always Wanted

 

 

By Glenn Guzzo

 

            For those frustrated yet again by the limitations of the NCAA Bowl Championship Series, Strat-O-Matic has the answer. And Version 4, the latest edition of SOM’s computer college football game, is the best version yet for doing it, especially for re-creating the dynamic spread offenses run by so many of the most successful teams.

 

            The match-up of two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks (Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, this year’s winner, and Florida’s Tim Tebow, last year’s winner) and the nation’s most explosive offenses could be a TV-ratings buster.

 

            However, it won’t solve the question about whether any of the other five one-loss teams, or the three undefeated teams from secondary conferences, should also be given a shot to win the national championship on the field.

 

            Strat-O-Matic can do that any number of ways, including its Tournament Play function, which lets you choose the number of teams, the seedings and the elimination process.

 

            Version 4 adds two game-changing developments:

n      All the player names

n      A true spread offense for the teams that ran it

 

            Unlike the wishbone-offense built into the game for certain teams, the spread is not a separate formation. It can be run from various formations.

 

            When running the spread, there are no limits on how often a quarterback can run wide. Equally important, running backs in the spread may run Off Tackle and End Run from the shotgun, not just draw plays.

 

            So if your custom tournament matches Florida and Oklahoma, you can duplicate all the excitement of their quick-strike offenses.