I was on the edge of my seat Monday night.

The LSU Tigers were getting their stripes ripped off before my eyes by Alabama, and I was on the edge of my seat because I was about to turn it off, get up and do something worth my time.

Sitting in Northern New Mexico, with no real connection to either university because they rarely travel farther west than Dallas, I wondered why I should be watching the game other than the fact that I love football and this was my last chance to see college ball for another seven months.

I wondered why the BCS thought people should care.

People didn't.

According to The Associated Press, Monday night's ESPN game earned a 14 rating.

It was the third-lowest rating of the 14 BCS title games, beating only a 13.9 for Miami-Nebraska Rose Bowl in 2002, and a 13.7 for USC-Oklahoma in 2005.

By contrast, the 16.1 overnight rating in 2011 for the Auburn-Oregon matchup was ESPN's highest-rated telecast ever, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

In its own, self-righteous theory, people should care about the BCS because it creates the best regular season of any sport.

Every game matters and if you lose one, another team will be there to take your spot in the big game.

Unless you are then-second-ranked Crimson Tide, who not only lost at home to the then-top-ranked Tigers in the regular season, but failed to win their own division in the Southeastern Conference.

The 21-0 shellacking marked the first time a team won a national title without winning its own conference since 1936.

Yes, the win was convincing. The Alabama defense made LSU look like the Conference USA champion rather than the SEC champ.

Yes, they probably were the two best teams in the country, but the problem is Alabama didn't earn the right to be there.

A committee in a book-lined conference room decided to give the Crimson Tide a shot at a rematch instead of head coach Nick Saban and his players proving themselves in what the BCS needs to implement next year — a playoff.

A full-on, eight-team playoff is probably out of question for the BCS, but a Plus-One system needs to be implemented before the 2012 season starts.

Not even the highest executives of the BCS can argue with Monday night's results.

If Alabama had beaten, say, Oklahoma State to earn the chance to play LSU after the Tigers defeated Stanford in their bowl game, this year's championship would've had a lot more intrigue.

If the SEC continues the roll it is on, having won the last six BCS titles, this scenario might play out again next year.

A playoff is the only way to keep viewers on the edge of their seats — in the good sense of the term.

Contact Nico Roesler at 9860-3089 or nroesler@sfnewmexican.com.