For anyone watching television this week, it should be obvious &045; the campaigns are about to get underway for real.

Promotional flyers will be sent out to voters. Numerous television spots will be shown on a plethora of network and cable channels. There will be debates, arguments, untold numbers of polls and more discussion from so-called experts than any person could stand.

But I’m not talking about the election in November to decide the next president.

This election won’t take place until December, when a few hundred men from across the country will cast their ballots, choosing two teams that will play for the chance to be college football’s national champions.

Instead of swift boats, there will be swift defensive backs. Instead of political strategy sessions, there will strategy sessions to combat the option. Instead of whistle-stop tours of the country, there will be road trips to exotic locales from Miami to Seattle.

But in so many ways, these campaigns will resemble their counterparts in the political arena.

Have no fear &045; there will be a Bush involved, not George W., but Reggie, a blindingl fast running back/wide receiver for USC who may be the Trojans’ primary offensive weapon this year. There probably won’t be a Cheney involved. Oregon fullback Erik Cheney, a fixture in recent campaigns, graduated last year.

There will be an Edwards &045; not John, but Braylon, the Michigan Wolverines’ top offensive player. And if a certain player from Middle Tennessee State has anything to say about it, there will be a Kerry too: Kerry Wright, a 5-9, 175-pound wide receiver for the Blue Raiders.

Because make no mistake, it will largely be an election. Teams will have to make their case to the voters for the two major polls.

Indeed, with the increased emphasis placed on the AP and coaches’ polls, this year’s national champion will, for the first time since the BCS’ creation, be decided almost entirely by the two major polls. Writers and coaches who vote in those polls will have more control over who plays in the BCS title game than ever before.

Last year USC, ranked No. 1 in both polls, did not participate in the BCS title game, thus creating the first split championship in the BCS era. That was a disturbing reminder of what things were like back when the polls were the only determinant in crowning the national champions.

Let’s remember how well things worked then. In 1997, the last year in which the national title was not decided in the BCS title game, Michigan and Nebraska each finished No. 1 in one of the major polls. But the BCS has done little better, and last year made that more clear than ever before. The problem isn’t the BCS formula, it’s the BCS, a half-hearted attempt to decide the national champion on the field.

The solution is both achingly simple and completely unworkable. Big-time college football needs a playoff system. Take the decision out of the hands of both computers.

Christian Schmidt is a sports writer with the The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at (601) 445-3633 or by e-mail at

christian.schmidt@natchezdemocrat.com

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