Comfortable can be a lot of things.

A favorite pair of jeans.

A good friend to watch a game with.

A reliable piece of sports equipment.

In the case of the Bowl Championship Series, comfortable translates to "we're scared to death of change, and besides, no one wants to tip the cash cow."

So, once again, television dollars sit at the top of the pyramid, above BCS officials, above university presidents, above conference commissioners.

And certainly above fans and college football players and coaches.

What a surprise.

Anyone who got excited when then-BCS coordinator and Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive indicated earlier this year that he was "very, very open-minded" about some sort of format change that could help produce a clearer national champion, raise your hands.

No, you'll have to reach a lot higher than that to be part of the money grab that is keeping major-college football from taking another small step toward a playoff.

Too bad if it's what is wanted from the sport by the majority of fans, those without financial stake beyond, say, buying the tickets and merchandise, watching the games and in general acting like the consumers they are.

Whatever momentum was created or tapped by Slive evaporated before this week's annual BCS meetings among 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White.

They got a trip to Florida.

We get the same old, same old.

The BCS officials rejected a proposed "plus-one" system that at least would have brought in a mini-playoff setup.

There are two years left on Fox's $320 million BCS deal, so even that change wouldn't have been implemented until the 2010 season. Never mind that there likely could be a bigger deal if there is some sort of playoff with less chance for dispute or controversy over a national champion.

However, the Big Ten and Pacific-10 conferences are beholden to their Rose Bowl tradition -- or rather, to the ABC television deal that trumps any nostalgia for the Pasadena pageantry. That TV deal runs until 2014. Any changes to the BCS system need unanimous approval from the television-minded 12 at the meetings.

The plus-one system, which had been discussed as the most realistic next step and was the one Slive seemed optimistic about in January, is a Final Four arrangement involving the top four seeds. No. 1 would play No. 4, No. 2 would play No. 3 and the winners would meet in a national championship game.

Don't expect even that to be implemented anytime soon, though. The optimism Slive had for change has gone the way of the single-wing in a matter of about four months.

Even before the BCS meetings, Notre Dame's White told the New York Times, "I don't know if we're in a place to have a serious conversation."

He apparently didn't mean the Sunshine State, but the state of Change is Evil.

There are too many minus-ones on the ledger for the plus-one system to appeal to those who favor bottom lines over yard lines and fear offending the check writers.

One argument against strengthening the top end of the bowl system is that the lower- and middle-tier postseason games would become irrelevant.

Because as it is now, who can talk about anything else on the days after the PapaJohns.com and Meineke Car Care bowls?

Teams will still strive to make bowls. Coaches' jobs will still depend on it.

In college basketball, the National Invitation Tournament seems to have done all right in the shadow of the enormously popular NCAA tournament and even as the latter monstrosity has ballooned to 65 teams.

There is never any dispute in basketball. Win the NCAA tournament, and you're the national champion.

How great would it be to have a similar acknowledgement in college football?

We've been moving toward a day when that will happen.

Glaciers move faster, but we've been inching in that direction for some time. The current BCS system, with a rotating national championship site, has gotten only close enough to a playoff to have a fifth, supposed national title game after the four main BCS bowls.

That's not close enough.

To put some perspective on how long we've been waiting for university presidents and conference commissioners to get their heads out of the sand, consider one longtime playoff advocate.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno began calling for a college football playoff before most of his current players were born, back when people deeply cared about what he thought.

Perhaps Paterno isn't considered the sage voice he once was, but he was right about this.