Earlier this week, I took a look back at all of the BCS championship games and whether or not they really pit the top two teams in the country against each other. But more importantly, whether or not it was a slam dunk that these were the top two teams, and you couldn’t make an argument that someone else possibly deserved a shot.

Now, granted, my memory is fuzzy on the really early ones, as I was still in high school for the first two years of the BCS, but I have a pretty good recollection of the rest of these games/years.

It’s a long post, but click through to see if the BCS has really gotten it right, or if we’ve been missing out all these years.

*NOTE: Records are after the bowl games.*

1998: Tennesee (13-0) def. Florida State (11-2)

Other contender: Ohio State (12-1)

The Buckeyes only loss came in a shocker at home against Michigan State. They were a victim of the “lost later than FSU” curse that can kill a team no matter quality of opponent. While it’s tough to argue with Tennessee this year, there’s no way you can argue that we certainly had the top two teams in the country. Verdict: Unclear.

1999: Florida State (12-0) def. Virginia Tech (11-1)

Other contender: Nebraska (12-1)

Nebraska lost its one game against Texas, which it later avenged in the Big 12 title game. The Cornhuskers were pretty damn good, and would have given Va Tech a run for its money. But Va Tech was unbeaten heading into the title game — with a fairly mediocre schedule in the regular season as Butch Davis had yet to get his footing at Miami. Verdict: Pretty clear.

2000: Oklahoma (13-0) def. Florida State (11-2)

Other contenders: Miami (11-1) and Washington (11-1)

Welcome to chaos. Of the three one-loss teams directly behind Oklahoma, Washington beat Miami and Miami beat Florida State. So, of course, the rankings had it Florida State, Miami, Washington. This is the first year I remember thinking that this was ridiculous. To make matters worse, Oklahoma won a sloppy title game that shouldn’t have convinced anyone it would beat Miami or Washington. Verdict: Horribly unclear.

2001: Miami (12-0) def. Nebraska (11-2)

Other contenders: Colorado (10-3) and Oregon (11-1)

Miami was the clear-cut champion this year, so the BCS won. But this system is about getting the top two teams in the title game, not the top team. Nebraska was blown out by Colorado, but still somehow found a way into the title game. Colorado, meanwhile, went to the Fiesta Bowl where it was pounded by an Oregon team people didn’t think had played a tough enough schedule. The Ducks wouldn’t have beaten Miami, but they probably would have beaten Nebraska. Verdict: Very unclear.

2002: Ohio State (14-0) def. Miami (12-1)

Other contenders: Georgia (12-1) and USC (11-2)

Here’s where the playoff argument gets murky. Ohio State was clearly deserving of a spot in the title game, and Miami was unbeaten, too, meaning we all thought this was right. But Georgia’s one loss was to Florida, while USC lost two games early in the year to Kansas State (which was No. 8 in the final BCS standings) and Washington State (No. 7) by a total of 10 points. On the road. That Trojans team killed a lot of good teams, including Iowa in the Orange Bowl. Had they played this out, I really think USC — which was punished for actually playing a tough schedule — would have won. But the two most deserving teams got the shot. Verdict: Pretty clear.

2003: LSU (13-1) def. Oklahoma (12-2)

Other contenders: USC (12-1)

The Trojans were so much of a contender that they split the title. Voters realized how good USC was, but the computers felt Oklahoma was more worthy, even though it was blown out in its conference championship game. This is one of the bell-weather games BCS opponents point to, and with very, very good reason. Verdict: Incredibly murky.

2004: USC (13-0) def. Oklahoma (12-1)

Other contenders: Auburn (13-0)

Again, it’s hard to argue that USC wasn’t the best team that year. But, as bad as they beat Oklahoma, and what we now know about the SEC, it’s hard to not wonder what would have happened if Auburn would have had a shot. Oklahoma benefited from coming into the season at No. 2 (USC did the same by coming in at No. 1), while Auburn entered the season at No. 17. The Tigers never controlled their own destiny this season, and while it wasn’t a split title, Auburn fans have a real good argument that they were robbed. Verdict: Unclear

2005: Texas (13-0) def. USC (12-1)

Other contenders: Nobody

This one was a no-brainer. The BCS won because two teams were so far ahead of everybody else. Verdict: Crystal clear.

2006: Florida (12-1) def. Ohio State (12-1)

Other contenders: USC (11-2) and LSU (11-2), Michigan (11-2)

Ohio State started the year at No. 1, beat an overrated Texas team that was replacing Vince Young and coasted into its regular-season finale against Michigan by beating a bunch of mediocre to bad Big Ten teams. Michigan had coasted into that game on an inflated ranking after beating an overrated Notre Dame team and then those same mediocre to bad Big Ten teams. But, since their matchup was so close, people wondered if they should play each other again. Only the humans’ instinct to not allow a rematch saved us from this, and it’s a good thing, because both Michigan and Ohio State were spanked in the postseason. Florida was probably the top team that year, but there’s no way Ohio State was No. 2. A playoff would have been pretty damn interesting this year. Verdict: Unclear.

2007: LSU (12-2) def. Ohio State (11-2)

Other contenders: Pick one out of a hat.

There was a ton of chaos this year, and anything short of a playoff was a travesty. The fact that we got to see Ohio State fail to be competitive again just showed that the current system was in need of a change. Verdict: Crazy murky.

2008: Florida (13-1) def. Oklahoma (12-2)

Other contenders: Texas (12-1), Utah (13-0)

This time, the BCS rankings reared their ugly head before the conference championship games, deciding the Big 12 South. There was a three-way tie atop the conference, and there was added significance, because whether it was Texas or Oklahoma (Texas Tech had been slaughtered by Oklahoma and lacked the name brand for this to matter), whoever went would advance to the national title game with a Big 12 title. Oklahoma got the nod despite losing to Texas earlier in the season and having an identical record. And oh yeah, Utah was unbeaten that year, and crushed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Chances are Florida was the best team in the country that year. But there’s far from definitive proof. Verdict: Unclear.

2009: Alabama (14-0) def. Texas (13-1)

Other contenders: Cincinnati (12-1), TCU (12-1), Boise State (13-0)

I’d say it’s tough to argue with Alabama, but the Tide had more trouble than they should have with Texas’ backup quarterback, who proved this year that he’s near incompetent running that offense. The bottom line here is that there were five unbeaten teams when the regular season ended, and while Cinci was proven to be fraudulent in a Sugar Bowl blowout loss to Florida, we don’t know how Boise State or TCU would have stacked up against the big boys, because they were forced to play each other. The Broncos, of course, knocked off the Pac-10 champions Oregon this year. Verdict: Very unclear.

So in 12 years of its existence, the BCS has given us a sure-fire 1 vs. 2 matchup three times, and that includes 2002 when I believe the best team was actually left out. That’s not a very good batting average, even by Brandon Inge’s standards.

Is it better than the old system? Absolutely. But color TV was better than black and white TV. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have invented flat screens or HD.

College football is the greatest sport in the world. It deserves a championship system that fits that moniker, as well.

Thanks to the Longhorns’ 47-14 rout of Baylor on Saturday, Texas signal caller Colt McCoy tied David Greene for most all-time wins by a starting quarterback in NCAA history.

McCoy (23 of 34, 181 yards, 2 TDs) didn’t tear up the stat sheet – not that he had to. The Longhorns gained 224 yards on the ground and held Baylor to only six total rushing yards. The Bears averaged just 0.2 yards per carry and remain one of five Big 12 opponents to have never beaten a Mack Brown-coached Texas team.

Regardless of whether or not you think McCoy is a pro prospect (most don’t), it’s hard to deny how good of a college player he has been in his career. He has been a perfect fit for UT’s offense and continues to be one of the more accurate passers in college football.

McCoy and Texas can now sit back and wait to see if either South Carolina can upset Florida or if Mississippi State can beat Alabama. A win by the Gators and Crimson Tide would more than likely result in the Longhorns staying at No. 3 in the BCS standings.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/14/texas%e2%80%99-mccoy-ties-ncaa-record-in-rout-of-baylor/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/09/tcu-jumps-to-no-4-in-the-bcs-standings/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/09/tcu-jumps-to-no-4-in-the-bcs-standings/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:43 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=28589

The TCU Horned Frogs have leapt into the top 5 in the BCS standings according to ESPN.com.

TCU took over fourth place in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday behind Florida, Alabama and Texas. It’s the highest BCS ranking ever for a team from a conference without an automatic bid to the big-money bowl games. No potential BCS buster had ever done better than sixth in the BCS standings.

Florida is first for the fourth straight week, and Alabama and Texas switched spots for the second week in a row.

The Gators and Crimson Tide have clinched their respective divisions in the Southeastern Conference and will meet Dec. 5 in the league championship game. One of them is all but guaranteed a spot in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., if they can get through the next month without a loss.

The same goes for Texas, which has three regular-season games and possibly the Big 12 championship remaining.

The other undefeated teams — TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State — need the top three to stumble to have any shot of reaching the title game.

Some complain about TCU’s schedule, but at least they crush their opponents on a weekly basis. Clemson and Air Force are the only two teams that have given the Frogs a game this season and TCU played both of those contests on the road. And the fact that they’re willing to play non-conference foes like Clemson and Virginia should count for something.

The Frogs have one of the fastest, most aggressive defenses in the nation and I’d love to see what they could do in a BCS bowl. Of course, they have to get by Utah first, whom they play next Saturday.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/09/tcu-jumps-to-no-4-in-the-bcs-standings/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/14/will-boise-state-stay-in-the-top-5-after-edging-out-tulsa/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/14/will-boise-state-stay-in-the-top-5-after-edging-out-tulsa/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:52:18 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=26601

By now, everyone knows that the clowns that compile the BCS rankings are simple-minded folks. They have short-term memory and are easily influenced by big wins.

With that in mind, was Boise State’s 28-21 win over Tulsa on Wednesday night good enough to convince voters to rank them in the top 5 when the BCS standings are released for the first time October 18?

In short: No.

The Broncos are a solid football team and turned in a sound effort against the Golden Hurricane, outside of two first half turnovers that allowed Tulsa to keep the game close. But Boise State had several opportunities in the third quarter to put the game away and couldn’t. That allowed Tulsa to mount a comeback with a G.J. Kinne to Slick Shelley 55-yard touchdown pass with just under 9:30 remaining. The Golden Hurricane also had two chances to tie the game with less than six minutes to play, but failed to do so when their final two drives stalled.

Given the conference it plays in, it’s not enough for a team like Boise to only beat an opponent by seven points. While Tulsa had a 4-1 record entering the game, their only loss was a 45-0 beat down at the hands of Oklahoma in Week 3. Voters will certainly compare Boise and Oklahoma’s victories over Tulsa when it comes time to rank the Broncos next week.

Although Tulsa put up a fight in the first half, this game was hardly ever in doubt for Boise. Up until the fourth quarter, they moved the ball at will and completely dominated the third quarter. But again, while their overall effort was solid in the victory, their performance was unimpressive to say the least. And knowing BCS voters like we do, if teams like USC, Ohio State and Cincinnati roll this week, Boise might find itself ranked outside the top 5 come October 18.

Paul and I used to get into heated debates over which was better – college or pro football. One time we almost came to blows in his living room, although it’s important to note that there may have been some alcoholic beverages involved that contributed to the debate growing into a fight.

His main points were that NFL players only cared about money and essentially weren’t playing for the love of the game. Conversely, since college players weren’t being paid, they played more for the competition and the love of football. He also noted that the game-day atmosphere in college football was way better than in the NFL and that the regular season games had more meaning because if a college team lost, than their season could essentially be over.

His first point about college football players loving the game more because they’re not being paid is a bit flawed. Some NFL players only play for the money. But some college football players are only playing so that they can make it to the NFL…so they can make money. I really don’t see the difference.

But Paul had a point about the atmosphere being better in college – I would rather tailgate with a bunch of rowdy college kids than some stuffy executive types that got their NFL tickets for free at the company picnic.

However, after Oklahoma leapfrogged Texas in the BCS standings this week despite the fact that the Longhorns beat the Sooners earlier in the year, I refuse to agree with anyone who says regular season games in college have more meaning than in the NFL.

True, an NFL team could lose seven games in one season and still make the playoffs. But at least everything in the NFL is decided on the field. If the Cardinals win the NFC West this year with a 9-7 record, it’s because they beat out everyone else in their division. The Seahawks, 49ers and Rams might blow chunks this season, which essentially gave Arizona an easy crown, but at least every team had the same opportunity to win the division at the start of the year.

Not so in college football. You see, not only do you have to win all (or all but one) of your games to play for a championship in college football, but you also have to hope that those teams that you beat have a good season so that it looks like you had a tough schedule. Oh, and you also have to win by a large margin of points so that you appear more dominant than other teams in your division.

There was a three-way tie in the Big 12 South this year between Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. All three teams beat each other, but because Texas and Oklahoma were higher in the BCS standings, it really came down to the Longhorns and Sooners for the rights to play Missouri in the Big 12 Championship.

Texas beat Oklahoma (who was the top ranked team at the time) 45-35 on October 11. Therefore the Longhorns deserve to play in the Big 12 Championship. Case closed, right? In a head to head match (on a neutral field mind you), Texas beat Oklahoma.

And yet the Sooners will play the Tigers in the Big 12 title game on Saturday. Why? Because the college football system is the most flawed concept in sports.

Don’t tell me that a playoff would make the regular season meaningless because clearly it’s already meaningless. The bowl games are a joke and the national title is unfair so really, what does that make the regular season?

Besides, that argument doesn’t hold any water because if you had an eight-team playoff system, the regular season would still hold as much value (if not more) because teams would be scrambling to get into the postseason. Two losses could still doom a team if college football had a playoff, just as two losses doom a team now in the current format. We would have the same regular season excitement, but now teams are actually playing for something.

Can we make it any more difficult to crown a champion? No other sport makes it so difficult to figure out what team is the best than in college football. Not the NBA, not the NHL, not college basketball – not the NFL.

Which brings me back to my original opinion – until college football installs a playoff system, it will never be on the same level of the NFL.

I’m not talking about the differences in the two games, because they’re both great. I love football – college, pro, Canadian, Arena, whatever. I’m talking about the two systems. I’m talking about one system that actually crowns a legit champion, compared to the other that crowns a mythical champion who got to play for a title because they looked better on paper than they did on the damn football field.

Boise State, Utah and Ball State are considered BCS schools, but why? They don’t have a legit shot at competing for a national championship, so why even call them BCS schools? Why not stick them in their own division and call them “BCS Schools II”. I’m tired of hearing how these schools don’t play anybody and therefore don’t deserve a shot to win a national championship. Stop assuming that Florida would roll over Boise or that Alabama would demolish Ball State – show me. Prove to me that those teams shouldn’t be on the same field as Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and Alabama.

You know what happens in the NFL when you assume one team can beat another? They actually have to prove it on the field. Many assumed last year that the Patriots would blow out the Giants in the Super Bowl. It didn’t happen and it turned out to be one of the greatest Super Bowls in the history of the NFL. We might get a great national championship game, but in the end it’ll just be another great game. It means nothing. Boise didn’t have a chance to win a title and neither did Utah, Ball State or Texas. Hell, even though they had their shot and blew it, USC deserves a chance to play for a national championship, too. But none of those teams will have that chance.

If college football had a playoff system, it would be the most popular game in America (yes, even more popular than the NFL). Even casual college football fans would pay attention more to the regular season because they would know it meant something in the end. But until a postseason is in place, college football will always bow at the feet of the National Football League.

I loved Tech going into this game and backed them as a team that still wasn’t getting enough credit. I even bought into the small hype that they should be the No. 1 team in the nation instead of Alabama. Apparently was wrong, like, way wrong.

This wasn’t just a bad night for the Raiders – the Sooners were just flat out better in every phase of the game. It was easy to see that OU was going to put up some points. Not only is the Sooner offense one of the best in the nation under Heisman hopeful Sam Bradford (14 of 19 for 304 yards, 4 TDs), but the Tech defense is also nonexistent.

But for the Sooner defense to hold Tech to only 21 points is simply amazing. No team in the nation (besides maybe OU) was running its offense better and more efficiently than the Raiders were. And OU made Tech look like they were in their first spring practice of the year.

This obviously throws a massive kink in the BCS rankings, which is fantastic for fans that want a playoff in college football. What team is the best in the nation? Can you honestly say it’s Alabama? Can you honestly say it’s not Oklahoma? What about Texas, who, oh-by-the-way beat Oklahoma earlier this year but lost to Tech on the final play of the game. What about Florida? The Gators lost Ole’ Miss, but are playing their best football of the season right now and have a date with ‘Bama in the SEC Championship Game coming up.

The BCS is getting what it deserves with OU’s win – complete anarchy. Everything is a mess right now and their little computers don’t have a clear-cut answer (not that they ever do). A playoff would be absolutely great for a season like this.

It’s hard to say unequivocally that neither team deserves to be ranked in the top spot. ‘Bama has disposed of some of the best teams in the SEC including LSU and Georgia, but college football enthusiasts will be quick to note that the conference is down on a whole this year so those victories don’t hold as much water.

Conversely, Tech has run through the best the Big 12 has to offer including Texas and Oklahoma State, and still has to face Oklahoma two weeks from now. And unlike the SEC, nobody is saying the Big 12 is down this year.

Assuming Tech gets past the Sooners (which won’t be a picnic by any means) and ‘Bama holds off Mississippi State and Auburn, than the battle for No. 1 will most likely come down to championship weekend. If the Tide beat Florida, than it’s hard to say ‘Bama should be ranked any lower than the top spot, especially considering Tech’s opponent in the Big 12 championship won’t be as tough. (I think we can essentially say that Oklahoma will be Tech’s Big 12 Championship Game.)

Don’t count out the Gators either. They’re playing about as well as any team in the nation right now and are making a case for being ranked No. 1 themselves. This is going to be a great finish to a wild college football season.