Wow, Ohio State versus LSU for the BCS Title Game. Does anyone really believe that these are the two best college football teams in the country? I know I sure don’t.
Now let me see if I understand this whole BCS selection process. If you fail to defeat a top ranked team, you get to go to the National Championship Game. If you fail to win your conference, or even your division, and you fail to defeat any ranked teams, you get to play in a BCS Bowl Game while the team that defeated you, and won the division, gets to go to a mediocre bowl game.
And it gets better. If you lose three games, don’t win your conference, and play in an overrated conference, you, too, get to go to a BCS Bowl Game.
And God forbid that you go undefeated on the season. And that you defeat all-comers. Because they’re not going to let you play for the title.
This system sucks. I just find it hard to understand how every other collegiate sport can have a playoff system but for division one football.
Let’s look at the major bowls. In the Sugar we have the undefeated Hawaii going up against Georgia. A team that not only didn’t win its conference, it didn’t even win its division. Yet it’s a BCS team. And here’s hoping that Hawaii does to Georgia what Boise State did to Oklahoma last season.
Then we have the Orange Bowl. Virginia Tech lost twice, but it did win its conference. And it won the ACC Title game in convincing fashion over the Boston College. Virginia Tech plays Kansas. Kansas lost only once this season. But that defeat came in its last game of the season, and the defeat was to Missouri and allowed Missouri to win the Big 12 North. So one would think that since Kansas couldn’t win its division of the Big 12, and failed to be a ranked team all season, that it wouldn’t be able to go to a BCS bowl game. But you would think wrong.
I’ve got nothing against Kansas, but here’s hoping Virginia Tech kicks its ass.
The Fiesta Bowl offers up Oklahoma versus West Virginia. You know something? I don’t really have a problem with this game. Neither team’s worthy of the national title, yet they’re both better than most of the bowl teams in the country.
Now the Rose Bowl is a different story. This game really pisses me off. Just what is Illinois doing in this game? It lost three games and there are lots of two-loss teams in the country. And people get on Hawaii for its weak schedule, but how is its schedule any worse than that played by Kansas or Illinois? If there’s ever any team that doesn’t deserve to be playing with the big boys, it’s Illinois.
I don’t think the Rose Bowl will be close. USC will blow Illinois out. But hey, at least the Rose Bowl officials have another one of those Big 10/PAC 10 match-ups.
And then there’s LSU versus Ohio State. LSU likes to say how it’s virtually perfect, since its losses were in triple OT. Is this a stupid argument, or what? That’s like me saying I could be Mr. Ashley Judd if she had a thing for fat bald guys. And just how many times does Ohio State have to get blown out in the BCS game before they stop going to the BCS Title Game?
So, let’s hear it again. Once again, the BCS has screwed the pooch. Once again the best team in the country will not be the victor.
But what do I care? As of now, the only game that matters is the Texas Bowl, with the Art Briles-less Cougars going up against TCU on December 28. – John Royal
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2007.
