Instead of producing only one postseason game that really matters, the BCS selection system is so thoroughly out of kilter that it has doubled the pleasure for ABC television.

With Oklahoma and Louisiana State playing for the BCS version of the national title in the Sugar Bowl and Southern California hoping to claim the Associated Press trophy in the Rose Bowl against Michigan, ABC has been handed two collegiate Super Bowls.

From Atlantic to Pacific, gee, the ratings should be terrific this holiday season.

We should all be so fortunate to screw up so royally. It's like the bank reimbursing you for writing bad checks.

In five seasons of BCS play, the schedule-ending finale between the Nos. 1 and 2 teams has dwarfed the other three big games. The ratings for those bowls slipped, and in some cases, so did attendance. With so much emphasis on the championship, the other three were reduced to glorified consolation games.

That won't be the case this season. When USC and Michigan play Jan. 1, ABC's market share no doubt will be almost as high as for the Jan. 4 game in New Orleans. Even the Fiesta matchup of Kansas State and Ohio State on Jan. 2 will do well. After all, Kansas State is the champion of the Big 12, which will be represented by Oklahoma in the Sugar.

If USC wins the Rose, we'll probably wind up with two national champs -- just like old times. Debates will rage, millions will demand a Division I-A playoff, and ABC will laugh all the way to the deposit window.

The most deserving team is LSU, assuming the Tigers can run their record to 13-1 by defeating Oklahoma. Other than a 17-9 loss to a very good Florida team, LSU hasn't missed a step and has been dominant down the stretch.

Southern California, ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press media and USA Today/ESPN coaches' polls, almost has matched LSU stride for stride. But if you compare the Southeastern Conference to the Pacific-10 this season, the SEC easily gets the nod. Among this week's top 20 in the AP poll, the SEC has four teams in addition to LSU. Other than USC, the Pac-10 has only No. 15 Washington State. Like the ACC and the Big East, the Pac-10 was disappointing for most of the season.

It would be a real bummer if Michigan wins the Rose and Oklahoma defeats LSU. That would open the door for the Sooners to claim both titles even though they were routed by Kansas State in the Big 12 title game.

But regardless of how it turns out, the involved schools and leagues have no reason to complain. The BCS system was created by the six biggest leagues, the top four bowl games and ABC. It's their baby, even if turns out to be a two-headed monster.

From the outset, the BCS' biggest problem has been the confusing formula used to determine the No. 1-vs.-No. 2 game. Most fans still don't understand how it works.

In a perfect world, every Division I-A team would play only 10 regular-season games and belong to a conference with no more than eight members. All of the teams in a league would play each other each season.

At season's end, there would be a 16-team playoff that included all conference champions and a handful of at-large qualifiers.

Will we ever see it?

Not a chance.

The mega-conferences would have to break up; each team would have to sacrifice at least one regular-season game; and those lucrative conference title games would have to go the way of the flying wedge formation.

If anything, this season's developments will make a playoff format even less likely. Without even trying, the BCS insiders are about to double their usual pleasure, which eventually will compute into more money.

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