‘Plus-one’ BCS playoff plan was too ambitious

Wednesday was a dark day for every pencil pusher and/or University of Georgia president who ever concocted a “can’t-miss” playoff plan for college football.

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive put his “plus-one” model on the table at the Bowl Championship Series commissioners’ meetings in South Florida and watched it die a lonely death.

What went wrong?

Slive went for a triple when he needed a bunt single.

His plan involved the word “seeding” and that scared swing-vote commissioners Michael Tranghese (Big East) and Dan Beebe (Big 12), whose conferences might have eventually been swayed by more subtle, incremental change.

There were two “plus-one” models out there, and Slive opted for the more aggressive one.

His plan would have taken the top four schools in the final BCS standings and formed a mini-tournament, with No. 1 playing No. 4 and No. 2 meeting No. 3 and the winners meeting for the national title.

The problem, Tranghese said, was that people wouldn’t be satisfied with four teams. There would soon be a push for eight, and then you’re heading down that slippery slope toward an NFL-style playoff that might have a negative impact on college football’s unparalleled regular season.

Slive’s impassioned and well-intended playoff play may have inadvertently set back the playoff cause years.

The “other” plus-one model might have been a better baby step. It involved returning schools to their traditional anchors. The Rose Bowl would get the Pac-10/Big Ten every year, with the Big 12 champion tied to the Fiesta, the SEC to the Sugar and the Atlantic Coast to the Orange. Note: The Big East champion is a BCS bowl free agent.

The top two teams would be determined by a rankings system after the bowls and play one extra game for the national title.

This plan had major glitch potential too, namely: What if No. 1 and No. 2 had played in the Rose Bowl? Why would the winner have to play again?

The Pac-10 and Rose Bowl opposed this model, anyway, yet it might have been a better steppingstone to something else.

Now, the current BCS system appears entrenched for at least six more years.

As for future playoff discussions, Tranghese said: “My instincts tell me this is the end.”

chris.dufresne@latimes.com