THE GOOD NEWS in college athletics is the Atlantic Coast Conference is considering expanding from 9 teams to 12. The better news is that this would give the mid-Atlantic and East a premier conference to match the Big Ten, Southeastern Conference, Big 12, and PAC 10. The best news is that a bigger, stronger ACC that reaches into New York, New England and south Florida would make possible what all America wants: a playoff series to determine the national college football champion. Nobody likes the current system, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Yes, we’ve read about its complicated method of determining the two teams to play in the national championship game. But I couldn’t explain it to anyone. It’s too arcane. Sure, sometimes the two best teams actually are picked. That happened last season when Ohio State played Miami and won with the help of a bad pass-interference call. More often than not, it’s merely a coincidence when the BCS chooses the best two teams to meet.

An 8-team playoff series would be more credible and more fun and would truly test the team that emerges as number one. No one would doubt that team’s claim to the title. There would be no conflict in polls. There would be nothing for Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon to disagree about on “PTI.”