New name for college football playoff is: College Football Playoff

The new name for college football’s new playoff was so inspirational and earth-shattering it could not be contained to its originally planned release date of Tuesday afternoon.

Um, not exactly.

It leaked out through ESPN, which owns the contract rights to the new four-team playoff system that begins in 2014, that the new name to replace Bowl Championship Series will be College Football Playoff.

We will pause here to let those goose pimples settle.

Not that exciting? Well, that’s the whole idea.

Commissioners were looking for something simple that could not be savagely targeted the way the letters “BCS” had been through the years.

Notice, for example, how the new name avoids the letters “BS.”

I had guessed College Football Series for the new name -- missed it by that much.

The College Football Playoff will replace the BCS after this season. The new format will feature the top four teams as picked by a selection committee.

Commissioners are meeting in Pasadena this week to formalize plans for the new system. The BCS era ends with the Rose Bowl hosting the final championship game on Jan. 6.

ALSO:

Chad Billingsley’s comeback finally leads to Tommy John surgery

Were Duncan Keith’s comments to female reporter sexist?

Dodgers’ Manny Mota enters a new mode