The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Jan. 12, 2011

The biggest difference between Monday night's BCS title game and that of the victory by Eastern Washington to win the FCS national title on Friday was simple.

While Auburn and Oregon had six weeks to prepare, the Eagles in that same span had to win four games to earn the right to be called a champion.

WITH MORE than 35 bowl games between mid-December and January, there's a chance that 90 percent of those games are completely meaningless.

Leaving who goes to either the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta or Orange Bowl to a computer is also absurd.

Teams begin the season in August with the goal of going to a bowl game. For those top flight teams, such as those in the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10 and ACC, those goals extend a little further than most.

Automatic bids to conference champions, and in some cases a berth into top bowl games, leave some of the smaller schools out in the cold, despite good records.

Teams like TCU and Boise State have been able to get into the mix in recent years, but have never gotten as close to a berth in the national title game as this year.

After the dust settled on Monday night, the Auburn Tigers earned the right to be called champions - even if the game didn't go quite like most thought.

With a playoff system, who knows if the Tigers could have won the title?

BUT WITH no playoffs in the higher level, situations like the one that Eastern Washington went through will never happen.

Thankfully, it did for Eastern.

The Eagles had to battle the four-game playoff meat grinder that comes with that schedule.

A first-round bye, three straight home games on the red turf of Roos Field and they found themselves with a chance to be crowned national champions.

While most were talking about Montana and Weber State at the start of the season, Eastern found a way to beat Montana at home and got into the tournament.

Even more impressive, leading rusher Taiwan Jones missed the final games in the playoffs with a broken foot.

WHILE THE idea of a playoff is still a long way off for schools in Division I, the idea of a 16- or 32-team playoff might bring some excitement back to the sport of college football, which leaves some burnt out on bowl games by the end of the year.

Adding an extra game likely could settle plenty of the debate about who is the best team in football.

On Monday night, the best team in college football was decided.

Or at least the one on the final day of the season.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via e-mail at jelliott@cdapress.com.