Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has his game face on. He's upset that the undefeated University of Utah football team was denied the chance to play for a national championship. So he's studying his playbook, scribbling on his legal pads and talking trash.

The Bowl Championship Series' selection system is "patently unfair," said Shurtleff, the state's top lawyer, and, more recently, the Utes' head cheerleader.

Shurtleff believes that the BCS may violate the federal Sherman Antitrust Act. He has suggested that the system for choosing a national champion and selecting participants for lucrative BCS bowl games amounts to a monopoly designed to deny non-BCS conferences a shot at the spoils. And he plans to meet with his team of investigators and attorneys next week to determine if he will pursue an antitrust case.

We agree with Shurtleff that the BCS system is bogus; that a true tournament-style playoff system is the only legitimate way to determine a national champion. But Shurtleff and his underlings are wasting their time and your money by pursuing this investigation.

Shurtleff's contention that Utah and other teams from non-BCS conferences have no opportunity to play for a national title is untrue. Any of the 119 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision can earn a berth by finishing the regular season ranked first or second in the BCS standings, which are determined by a compilation of polls and computer rankings. Had Utah reached for the brass ring by playing a stronger non-conference schedule, or won their games by larger margins, it may have played for the title.

And while it's true that the championship teams from the five non-BCS conferences are not guaranteed to play in a BCS bowl, all of the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, including the Mountain West Conference to which the University of Utah belongs, agreed to the format.

Plus, it's hard to argue that Utah has suffered under the current system, playing in a pair of BCS bowls since 2004. And the MWC, if it continues to consistently field Top 25 teams, can earn an automatic BCS bowl bid through the BCS' conference re-evaluation process.

Frankly, there are more pressing concerns for our state leaders than college football.

Our economy is imploding. Utahns are losing their jobs and homes. Budget cuts will be required. And our state's top lawyer is preoccupied with scoring a political touchdown with Utah football fans. Shurtleff needs to rethink his priorities.