NCAA blogger Josh Centor posted the following October 30 on the Double-A Zone (http://www.doubleazone.com), the official blog of the NCAA.

There’s a good deal of hoopla in Indianapolis right now, as the Colts faithful are counting down the minutes to Sunday’s showdown with the New England Patriots.

In case you don’t follow professional football, here’s a quick recap: New England is 8-0, Indianapolis is 7-0, and the two franchises have combined to win four of the last six Super Bowls. The Colts have gotten the best of the Patriots recently and came from behind in last year’s AFC Championship game to earn a Super Bowl berth.

With 15 victories and no losses between the two teams this season, Sunday’s game at the RCA Dome has garnered a great deal of media attention — and deservedly so. This is the biggest game of the NFL season and none will be bigger until the playoffs begin in January.

Ah yes, the playoffs. Unlike the highest level of college football, the NFL has a structured, exciting playoff season that determines Super Bowl participants and the eventual world champion. It’s an exciting month of football with important games between good teams, week in and week out.
The NFL regular season is important, as records determine which teams will earn berths to the postseason. While Sunday’s game between Indianapolis and New England is exciting, it actually doesn’t make a bit of difference who wins. Both teams will easily qualify for the playoffs and will likely meet again in the AFC Championship game for the third time in five seasons.

As much as I’d like to see a playoff replace the bowl structure in college football, I have to wonder (out loud) whether that would take much of the excitement out of the regular season. If the top two college teams in the country were undefeated in week nine and went head-to-head, a chance to win a national title would be on the line. There is a good chance for a rematch in the NFL, but regular season games are for all the marbles in college football. That’s pretty exciting.

If you asked any player on the Indianapolis and New England rosters whether they would rather win Sunday or in January, the answers would all be the same — they want to win another Super Bowl. In college, winning in the regular season is your only chance at winning a national title. There are no alternatives.

There’s no reason to quell the excitement for Sunday’s game — I’m as excited as anybody. I’ve lived in Boston and Indianapolis and both teams are undefeated. It’s going to be amazing.

But the truth remains that the game just doesn’t matter that much. It’s fun for the fans but nothing is really at stake. If it were undefeated Ohio State and Michigan teams on the gridiron this weekend, it would have a much more significant meaning.