And now, for something completely different
In which I blog about college football.
Seems a good portion of college football fans have their panties all bunched up because the BCS championship will involve Alabama v. LSU and not OSU v. LSU. Their complaints seem to be the following:
I’m going to agree with you on the last one. It is a silly system and it’s overly convoluted. But that doesn’t matter. Under the point system, Alabama is number two. That’s the rules. And they are a better team than OSU and they played a tougher field. The SEC is just a tougher league.
No one wants OSU in that game more than LSU because LSU would beat them like they owe them money. Alabama may actually beat LSU.
December 6th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I don’t understand why they can’t just do a playoff type system.
Then again, that would take away bowl games, which are a cash cow for the schools.
December 6th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
The BCS and NCAA are a bunch of crooks. USC beat UCLA 50-0 to win the Pac-12 South – because Reggie Bush’s parents took money while the current players were in Jr. High – UCLA represented the Pac-12 South in the Championship Game.
Meanwhile Miami does far worse but isn’t punished – because the NCAA head of discipline was the Miami AD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Dee
December 6th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Colleges play football, for money? What kind of an #OWS-degree does the kids get, who do that? They should study engineering, not Phys-Ed.
December 6th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
“Their complaints…”
December 6th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
You got that last part right about what would happen if Okie State played LSU. Much as I like to complain about the BCS I have to admit that it seems to get the best two teams in much more often than I thought it would, and the national champs under the system have been pretty much undisputed.
I’d go for a plus-one where you basically seed a final four (1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3). A playoffs like in non-bowl divisions is unworkable unless you scrap the traditional bowl system (which is not gonna happen), shorten the regular season (not gonna happen) and begin the playoffs in mid-December at the latest (not gonna happen).
Bottom line: the BCS is everybody’s favorite whipping boy, but it’s better than what we had before, and it’s probably not going to change in any major way.
December 6th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
I don’t see why you have to scrap the traditional bowl system with a playoff. As it stands now, even the BCS games aside from the NC are nothing but meaningless exhibitions picked for their money making ability.
I would say expand the 6 major conferences so all have championship games. 6 conference champs plus 2 highest ranked non-champs as wild cards get into an 8 team, 3 level playoff. Everybody else can still go to their meaningless exhibition games and make money.
Sucking 8 teams out of 120 into a playoff just won’t make that much difference…
December 6th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
I agree. Like it or not, it works much better than the previous system and gets it right most of the time.
The physical requirements of footbal are unlike baseball and basketball. A game a week is actually pushing the limits of injuries and endurance at the end of the season. Adding more games is not possible. Cutting the season shorter is not possible. If you want to play in the BCS championship, you have to play for a school in a competitive conference. The level of play in some conferences dwarfs the level of play in others. Conference USA (I am a USM alum) plays SEC teams with the hope of an upset. But the even the losing teams in the SEC would put us away.
Boise State has the advantage that Florida State had prior to the BCS. Florida State had 2 maybe 3 strong opponents a year. They would arrive at the end of the season healthy and tuned up. Florida, on the other hand, had to battle 8 rivals in the SEC and then play in-state rival FSU at the end of the season. Then, FSU wanted a big bowl because they had been so successful.
Between conference comparisons bear out the truth of the BCS. Hard teams winning against hard opponents deserve to move up. Okla State lost to Iowa State. A team that ended its season 6-6. Bama’s only loss is to the #1 team in the nation and by a field goal.
There are 119 teams in Div I. This year, the two best performers just happen to be in the same conference. That is all.
December 6th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
“Alabama may actually beat LSU.” uh, no
December 6th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
So many wrong people. I have the solution but the NCAA isn’t going to ask me for it, so they can suck it.
December 6th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
@Sid,
I’m pretty sure that the rest of the college football world from D1-A through DII and DIII play their 11 to 12 game seasons, and then as many as 5 playoff games to crown a champion. They make it work with class time and less money.
Besides, who in their right mind, doesn’t think that the TV money and sponsorship revenue associated with a D1-A (aka FBS) 8 or 16 team playoff, would not approach the amount of cash that they get for playing exhibition games that aren’t even on New Year’s Day (the big BCS games that used to be on NYD).
I say, take the 11 conference champs from all of D1-a, plus the 5 highest “computer ranked” who are not conference champs and give them at large bids. Play the first 2 rounds @ a “host on campus” facilities (the higher seed hosts). Does this with a “regional” bracket (like March Madness, rank them 1-4 with 4 regions). The semi-finals are played at a neutral site (perhaps one of the 4 BCS sites) on New Year’s Day, and the championship game is one week (or two weeks) later at another neutral site.
Keep a total of 5 BCS games. Two are consumed by the semi-final, one by the championship, and the other 2 are exhibitions given to the highest 2 teams that are computer ranked that missed the playoff.
Imagine that, actually settling something on the field. It’s such a big cash cow, no one would ever do it. (Obviously, I’m biased because I’ve seen and been to college football playoff games AND championship games).
December 6th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Oooops, that first “D1-A was supposed to be D1-AA”.
December 6th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Fire Dooley.
December 6th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
The SEC is the super league, always has been and always will be. When the rest of the country plays to our standards then they can complain. Lessee now, Ohio State is 0 for the SEC and none of the wannebes want to play us. The defense rests m’lud.