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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Utah Legislature wants Obama to push for football playoff

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s state Legislature is calling for a playoff system to determine college football’s national champion after an undefeated University of Utah was shut out of the national title game for the second time in four years.

The state senate adopted a resolution Monday it wants sent to President Barack Obama urging the NCAA to abandon the Bowl Championship Series in favor of a playoff system.

Utah went 13-0 and was the only unbeaten team in the country, but finished No. 2 behind Florida in the Associated Press Top 25. In the final USA Today Coaches’ poll, the Utes were fourth.

Under the BCS, champions from the six major conferences – the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC – are guaranteed a spot in a BCS game. Notre Dame and schools from the other five conferences can only earn a spot in a BCS game if they finish the regular season rated high enough under a formula that relies on two human polls and six computer rankings.

The Mountain West Conference, which also had TCU (No. 7) and BYU (No. 25), is pushing to get an automatic bid to the BCS. The AP asked the BCS to stop using its poll in December 2004, after undefeated Auburn and Utah were left out of the BCS title game.

Utah lawmakers contend the BCS formula is flawed and gives schools from the major conferences an unfair advantage that would make it impossible for a school like BYU to win the national title, as it did in 1984.