My annual BCS rant

[zootroy]

So, does anyone want to chime in on who deserves to be #2?

I'm no fan of Michigan, but I think they would take it to USC any day of the week.

I think that USC had an average game against a Notre Dame team that is only slightly above average. USC had squeakers against WSU, Washington, and ASU.

Michigan ran through the Big 10 with the exception of Ohio State, and had it not been for a personal foul at the end of the game, they could have won. They had a tight game against Ball State.

Cases could be made for both (and for Florida, Wisconsin, Boise State)
Until we get a playoff system we will never know for sure.

I may be back eating crow, but I see the mighty Trojans falling to UCLA.
If that happens, the BCS fun will move into high gear.

[Cheeky]

the BCS is supposed to make the regular season matter, but if OSU and Mich play again that is too contrarian for my taste. It means OSU's victory over the Maize and Blue meant nothing.

Boise beat the heck out of Oregon State, and USC lost to them. I think that warrants a playoff system. I would like to see how far Boise could go.

I love March Madness as a format, and I am gettng increasingly turned off by Roy Kramer's BCS scheme.

[rickd]

I may be back eating crow, but I see the mighty Trojans falling to UCLA.

Do you prefer crow 'broiled' or 'baked'? USC is on a roll right now and is not going to be stopped by a team like UCLA!

As for Michigan and what might have been against Ohio St., and how much which team beat the other by - none of that counts for anything in the long run. It's all 'could'a, should'a, didn't' and it's only the team that wins the game that matters in the end.

Michigan had their chance to beat Ohio St. and failed. Although the BCS isn't perfect by a long ways, their rankings are no different now than the Associated Press Poll, the Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll - all have USC ranked as the #2 team. So, it's kind of hard to blame this on the BSC when the polls are unanimous in their rankings of USC as the #2 team.

For the record, I'm predicting USC beats Ohio St. in the Championship Game.

rick

[PJC]

First off, I don't understand the BCS (does anybody?). As to the question, I do think Michigan got the shaft in this. All the sports shows I have watched have talked about "style" points involving Florida, USC, etc. Granted, Michigan lost to OSU, but it was only 3 points. It wasn't like OSU beat them by a wide margin.

IMHO, Michigan should be #2, however, I would rather see and OSU-USC game. And this is from an Irish fan .

I do think there should be a +1 system where the top four teams play 2 games. Using the current standings as an example:

OSU plays Florida
USC plays Michigan

Winners play for the national championship. The losers play in another BCS game.

[zootroy]

Sounds like Rick and I will both be feasting on crow over the holidays.

As for Michigan and what might have been against Ohio St., and how much which team beat the other by - none of that counts for anything in the long run. It's all 'could'a, should'a, didn't' and it's only the team that wins the game that matters in the end.

Not in the BCS. The could'a, should'as are a component of the style points that are relevant when there is no playoff system.

Michigan had their chance to beat Ohio St. and failed. Although the BCS isn't perfect by a long ways, their rankings are no different now than the Associated Press Poll, the Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll - all have USC ranked as the #2 team. So, it's kind of hard to blame this on the BSC when the polls are unanimous in their rankings of USC as the #2 team.

This gets to the heart of the question. Michigan had their chance. I'm sure that is what many pollsters are thinking. So, are they voting for the second best team in the nation, or are they voting for who they want to see play against OSU? If there were a playoff system with the top 4 or 8, would the AP and coaches poll have UM at #2?

By the way, I am a Michigan State alum, so when I say that I have no love for Michigan, I really mean it.

[Thalermade]

I think the BCS formula should factor in team GPA and graduation percent of the football players. After all, they are STUDENT-ATHLETES right?

Ain't it fun that people are fighting about being No. 2? Avis Rent-A-Car is very proud at this moment and should be the sponsor of the Fiesta Bowl BCS (Buckeye Championship Show?).

Even with football play-off, folks won't be happy. Remember there are 65 teams in the NCAA basketball tourney. Once the NCAA and the networks can come to terms with how much they want to profit off of all this - there will be play-offs, whether good or bad.

But then, will it be fair to teams that attend schools on the quarter or tri-mesters vs. those on semesters?

have fun, enjoy the show, and remember it all could be worse.

[bmuir]

BCS "NO!" Playoff "YES!!"

Okay. I'm from Michigan and I think UofM is getting the shaft in all of this. Is USC the second best team in the nation or not? We will never know.

As for the BCS, the best thing that can happen for them is that USC beats UCLA . If they lose, and Florida loses, then they will be hard pressed not to send UofM to the national championship game.

The best idea I've heard for a playoff is this: It involves all the big bowl game venues and six team. Yes, six teams.
One and two get byes the first week. In that first week, three plays six and four plays five. In the second week, number one plays the winner of 4/5 and number two plays the winner of 3/6. In the third week, winners play for the national championship.

This would make the NCAA a boat load of money!

Bill

[backpacker85]

For this year at least, there are only a couple logical choices:

There seems to be no argument that OSU is the #1 team, and that all the quibbling is over the #2, #3 and maybe the #4 teams. Personally, I think Michigan is the second best team in the nation. Some argument could be made for USC (if they beat UCLA), but Michigan still could not drop below #3; so here are the options:

1. If USC beats UCLA , let them play Michigan (did I say playoff?) to see if they deserves to play OSU. Or....

2. Declare OSU the National Champs, award Troy Smith the Heisman and call the season over.

I know I skipped one result, and that is if Michigan were to beat USC in the "playoff" game. If that were to happen, go directly to Option 2. Hardly fair to make OSU beat #2 Michigan twice in one year, isn't it?

Did I mention I was born & raised oin Ohio?

[mkel2000]

USC Is Right Where It Should Be

I believe USC is right where it should be in the BCS Rankings. Let's look at some of this season's stats:

USC had the third most difficult schedule in Division I NCAA behind Stanford (#1) and California (#2). Ohio ranked 36 and Michigan ranked 13.

USC is 2-0 against Top 10 teams, while Ohio is 1-0 and Michigan is 0-1; USC is 6-1 against Top 30 teams, while Ohio is 3-0 and Michigan is 3-1.

(The stats can be found at: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt06.htm)

If you look at the standings against Top 30 teams alone, USC played more games against Top 30 teams than Ohio and Michigan combined. USC chose to schedule games against tough teams outside the Pac10, while Michigan did not (I'm not sure about Ohio, so I won't include them here.) Along the same line, USC played as twice as many games against Top 10 teams as either Michigan or Ohio.

As for Boise State and it's undefeated record, they had the 99th most difficult schedule and only played two Top 30 Teams.

There is very little reason to expect anything other than a win Saturday against UCLA. Pete Carroll does an excellent job of preparing his team for one game at a time, as evidenced by their record over the last four years.

The BCS championship game against Ohio should be another great one.

Mark

[JoeyGee]

The answer is simple...win all your games and leave no doubt. Jim Tressel understands that : )

I think USC is the true #2 team in the country (although I ALWAYS think of Michigan as #2), and it will be a very good game on 1/8. Of course, USC isn't good enough, but the Heisman jinx will at least keep things intersting for the first half : )

All this BCS talk is always very interesting, but except for one year, I think it has pretty muched worked out in the end like it was supposed to. I don't love the BCS, either, but I do not want to see a playoff. I may be in the minority, but the regular season for D1A college football is a playoff EVERY week.

[Deadhead]

Just be glad y'all are from the ACC were we do the BCS equivalent of 'eating our young'.

Here's the problem I've always had with the system - BCS and the polls:
- A team who's only loss of the season is the first game can be the highest ranked of the one-loss teams at the end of the season.
- A team who's only loss of the season is the last game will not be the highest ranked of the one-loss teams at the end of the season.

USC lost to an unranked 8-4 team a month ago.
Michigan lost to the #1 team a week ago.
Florida lost to the #11 team over a month ago.

IMHO, USC should be no higher than #4 now.

Wasn't the BCS supposed to take care of all of this?

[ewingda]

To start with Ill admit that Im an Irish fan....a seething Irish fan! But that is another story.

BCS = Bullshit

If you want to know who the best is you need a playoff. It is that simple. The question of who is the best cannot be answered in the newsroom - only on the field. Winning 1-2 playoff and a champ game is a great test. It makes you prove that you can adjust to diffrent teams and bring your A game each time - proving your superiority.

Losses - teams loose. They have bad games - but great teams win in the playoffs. Look at the NFL - Pittsburgh was a great team that made its way thru all the rounds after being a wild card (meaning they lost reg season games). They beat Denver at home, who won the toughest division in the AFC. So USC for example lost to a nobody - they had a bad game. Does that mean that they aare not a really good team? I say no...they had an off game and should never have lost. At least the team was a D1A team - Florida plays a D2A (or D1AA) - that should make them ineligable- they are good team tho. USC's offense is a juggernaut - like Ohio...that will be a good game.

The polls are BS!!! My team (ND) gets alot of votes based on its name. Their offense got it alot of votes this year - making it early #2. I thought that was somewhat fair...but their Defense was still lacking. The defense played well early - until Michigan lit them up! The offense never got it going (real shame - talk about a fireworks show!) . They were overrated at #2.

So back to a playoff...NCAA D2 and D3 have a playoff. Check this link http://www.d3football.com/playoffs/05/bracket.pdf. D3 has a nice bracket here - teams played between 8 and 10 games. The bracket contains 4 groups of 8. If you win the championship you would have played between 12 and 14 games. I dont see that as a problem. And dont say missing school is a problem. The Baseball and Golf teams miss more school! And these guys have tudors. So if you translate that to D1 you would take the top 32 teams - which should include all conf champs. This year we would have 3 Big East teams (Ryt, WV, Louisv) - so we could see them get annihilated by real teams.

I think that this would work - there would be some kinks to work out. But it would be fair - getting the top 32 teams - who could possibly be left out. If they were thay were on the edge anyway...probably a one game and out team. Boo hoo!

And then onto the $$$$ this would mean more televised games. that means more $$$ for the teams and networks. Everyone wins!

Wow..Im all worked up. Ill get off the soapbox now.


Have a good holiday season everyone!!!

[Russianwolf]

As for Boise State and it's undefeated record, they had the 99th most difficult schedule and only played two Top 30 Teams.

Mark

But how can you fault the guys on the field with who their AD and HC booked to play several years ago.

What happens if I (as the AD) book my Tigers to play their ACC schedule + OSU, Michigan, LSU, and USC. Then when the time comes, what 4 years from now, all those teams have fallen to the wayside. It's not the Tigers' fault.

This year, Boise State beat everyone they played. They deserve to take on OSU. Yeah, they would likely get thrashed, but 12-0 is better than 11-1.

Bring on the 16 team playoffs. 11 Conference Champions and 5 at large berths. But we also have to have all 11 conferences have 12 teams and a championship game. and no, Notre Dame doesn't get to be independent anymore.

If you do the math, 16 teams = 15 games. Make 15 of the bowl games actually mean something again.

[430752]

Me Too!

Yeah, I don't understand why Rutgers isn't ranked top 5?

Lets get rid of the BCS bums until they get it right!

my picks:
1) OSU
2) Michigan
3) Ditka
4) USC
5) Rutgers

Curt J.

[mkel2000]

But how can you fault the guys on the field with who their AD and HC booked to play several years ago.

I will partially agree with you, if in fact the schedules are determined four years out. USC has played progressively more difficult schedules over the last four years, while at the same time continuing to recruit the top players in the nation. They have been in the top five teams in the nation for the most part during that time. However, very few programs have ever been consistent winners over time, USC included. A program like Boise State is most likely experiencing a "once in a decade" team right now that they won't be able to maintain. Most ADs are not going to chance a tougher schedule years down the road believing that they won't be competing at the same level at that time. Just look at Michigan's out of conference schedule this year.

I believe that the East Coast-biased media is tired of the domination of the USC team and has done everything they can do to limit USC's nationwide exposure this year. At least four games this year were not carried on national television at a time when USC was a Top 10 team. This is the same team that has lost three games in the last four years by a TOTAL of 7 points. If the pollsters don't see the games, they're less likely to vote for them. The problem for the media is that USC has, with the exeception of their one loss, continued to play the same type of game that has kept them at the top the last four years.

If anyone has an interest, the link is to an editorial by a Sports writer here in San Diego about the whole BCS subject. I found it interesting:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...s29canepa.html

Mark