In one of the more impressive beat downs of the college season, No. 4 TCU beat Utah like a rented mule on Saturday night. The Horned Frogs jumped out to a 38-14 halftime lead, in route to a 55-28 victory.

TCU dominated every phase of this game, while racking up 342 rushing yards and holding Utah to just 284 yards.

Let me repeat that: TCU GAINED 342 RUSHING YARDS. Three hundred and forty two. Three…forty…two. That’s an ass-kicking of epic proportions.

TCU proved tonight that Utah didn’t belong on the same field as them. I don’t know how the Utes scored 28 points, because the Horned Frogs flustered freshman Jonathan Wynn (16-of-32 219 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) the entire night, even if his final stats would suggest otherwise. Utah had no clue how to stop TCU and the Utes didn’t help themselves by allowing TCU to block a punt and return an interception for a touchdown.

I would love to see what TCU could do against Florida, Alabama or Texas. Some might suggest that they would get blown out, but don’t forget that Utah handled Alabama last year in the Sugar Bowl when nobody thought a Mountain West team could beat a SEC squad. So don’t jump to conclusions and assume the Horned Frogs couldn’t go toe to toe with one of the top three teams in the nation.

If you haven’t seen this TCU team play yet, you’re missing out. The Horned Frogs have one of the fastest, most aggressive defenses in the nation and an explosive offense to match it. Most would disagree, but I think they could match what Florida, Alabama and Texas bring to the table.

“I would not be optimistic,” Thompson said. “As I explained to them (the Mountain West presidents), it’s a series of legal contracts among 11 conferences, four bowls, two TV partners with yet another TV partner coming in. I would not see much of a relaxation.”

Conference champion Utah finished second in the AP Top 25, earning 16 of 65 first-place votes after it finished an undefeated season by beating Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl.

But the Utes had to force their way in to the four big-money games, which also include the Fiesta, Orange and Rose Bowls.

Only champions of the six BCS conferences—the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC automatically qualify.

Two other successful Mountain West teams this season, TCU (11-2) and BYU (10-3), had to settle for lesser bowls. TCU beat then-undefeated Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl and BYU lost to Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Utah was the first team from one of the five non-BCS leagues to qualify for the BCS a second time. The Utes beat Big East champion Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl after an undefeated 2004 season.

The Mountain West doesn’t deserve an automatic BCS bowl bid because quite frankly, no conference deserves an automatic BCS bowl bid. There should be a playoff system in place and that should be the only thing that determines what teams are the best in the country.

But staying on topic, yes, the Mountain West had a great year. Had both Utah and TCU received an automatic BCS bid this year, they would have done very well. But last year, BYU won the Mountain West and barely beat a 6-7 UCLA team in the Las Vegas Bowl. Had the Cougars gotten an automatic bid, they probably would have been stomped by an SEC or Big 12 team. (I said probably. I know everybody said Utah couldn’t beat ‘Bama this year and it happened, but I don’t think the ’07 BYU team was as talented as the Utes were this year.)

The problem with automatic bids is that conferences change from year to year. This season, the Big 12 was arguably the best conference, along with the SEC, of course. But the ACC and Pac 10 were weak as a whole, so why should any team from those conferences receive an automatic bid? Nothing against VA Tech because they finished well this season, but why did they deserve an automatic bid over an undefeated team like Utah?

Automatic bids are just another example of how messed up the BCS is.

8. The BCS is an “unfair” system. Want to talk “unfair”? How about the Patriots — who finished with 11 wins — sitting home in January while the 8-8 Chargers, 9-6-1 Eagles, and 9-7 Arizona Cardinals all play in the postseason. My guy Kevin Hench can talk (er, whine, kick, and scream) about this far more passionately, but in the same year everyone cried about the BCS, the NFL’s postseason system left an 11-5 team out in the cold. The Texas Longhorns weren’t the only ones who got a raw deal this year.

The Texas Longhorns weren’t the only ones who got a raw deal this year.

No sh*t – so were the Utah Utes.

Yeah, the Patriots were jobbed big-time this year and the Browns were screwed last year. But those are just two teams – one team per season – over the past two seasons. The BCS continuously bends multiple teams over on a yearly basis and people still defend it.

Schrager’s comparison is freaking laughable and when you consider the Chargers made it to the divisional round, the Eagles made it to the NFC Championship and the Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl, it weakens his point even more.

Poll Answers

The Gators received 48 first-place votes and 1,606 points in the poll released early Friday, after they beat Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS national title game.

Utah, the only team in major college football to go undefeated this season, got 16 first-place votes and 1,519 points.

“I thought we had an outside chance,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in a telephone interview with the AP. “There was enough national sentiment, I thought we might get the No. 1 slot. It wasn’t to be.”

Florida won its third AP national championship and second in the last three seasons. Steve Spurrier and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel led the Gators to the 1996 title.

No. 3 USC received one first-place vote. Texas was No. 4, and will have to settle with finishing ahead of fifth-ranked Oklahoma.

The Utes from the Mountain West Conference swept through their regular season, while Florida and Alabama from the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 and Southern California from the Pac-10, jockeyed for position in the national title chase.

The Mountain West does not have an automatic bid to the BCS — it’s not considered a strong enough league to deserve one — but the Utes earned their way in.

Utah was seventh in the final regular-season poll, but that perfect record looked much more impressive after the Utes beat Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl last week.

The Pac-10 should do the right thing and bring Utah and BYU (or TCU?) into its conference. Then they could have a conference championship game and Utah and BYU (or TCU?) could show how good they really are.

Imagine if the NFL had the same system college football has. We wouldn’t have had the opportunity to witness one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time when the Giants beat the Patriots last year, because the Giants would have been ranked No. 6 in the polls.

Let there be no doubt, or sour-grapes discussion today, about a national championship left unresolved.

Let there be no rote resumption of complaints against the Bowl Championship Series or a renewed cry for a playoff.

The BCS got it right this time, and the right team won. The better one. The best one.

Anybody who doubts that today must be from Texas or Southern Cal or Utah. Or perhaps an idiot on general principle.

The Gators flat-out won this game and this title, and all the more impressively because it was less by Tebow’s magic (though he was voted game MVP) than by his defense defusing the other team’s epic offense.

Bradford had thrown 48 touchdown passes this season. His offense ran on jet power.

Florida made that offense look more like Oklahoma’s symbol: the Sooner Schooner, a covered wagon pulled by two small ponies of the type rented out for kids’ backyard birthday parties.

Let me pause for a second to laugh…

Anybody who doubts that today must be from Texas or Southern Cal or Utah. Or perhaps an idiot on general principle.

Then punch me in the face and call me an idiot, Greg, because I certainly doubt that the BCS has ever got it right. And that’s not a knock against Florida because they were amazing after losing to Ole’ Miss earlier in the year, but how could anyone in their right mind say that the BCS got this right? Utah didn’t get a chance to play Florida and neither did Texas. And saying that the “Gators flat-out won this game and title” is a bit of a stretch considering that if Oklahoma converts in the red zone, I don’t know if Florida comes back with the way their offense played for most of the night. (Again, not to take anything away from the Gators’ defensive play.)

No, no, no, no – NO! This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. There should be a clear cut winner and no debate that follows. Their should be a playoff, where all the deserving teams get a shot and then (and only then) can we say that a team “flat-out won this game and this title.”

Here are six quick-hit observations on Florida’s 24-14 victory over Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game.

1. These were the best two teams in college football?
One game shouldn’t make or break how teams are perceived for an entire season (Florida and Oklahoma had tremendous years). But if college football refuses to implement a playoff to determine what teams are the best in the country, than the BCS needed a better showing than that. That was one hell of a sloppy football game, complete with stupid penalties, ugly turnovers and bad decisions by both players and coaches. To say that that wasn’t a cleanly played game would be a gross understatement and anyone from the BCS that can unequivocally state that Florida and Oklahoma were the two best teams in college football after that mess should be embarrassed. This game did nothing to support the notion that college football doesn’t need a playoff system.

2. Utah could play with both of these teams.
There’s no question that Utah’s performance over Alabama was more impressive than Florida’s win over Oklahoma. Again, without a playoff system, how can anyone from the BCS say without question that Utah isn’t the best team in the nation? They were the only team to go undefeated, beat two teams that did/will rank in the top 10 (Alabama and TCU), and they won their BCS game in convincing fashion. The Gators, who absolutely bulldozed everyone in their path after losing by one to Ole’ Miss earlier in the season, lost a game and didn’t look particularly sharp in their BCS victory. Who knows, maybe Florida would shit-stomp Utah on a neutral field next week. Maybe the Utes would run the Gators over like they did ‘Bama. We’ll never know and that’s the problem with the current college football system – it leaves too much to debate.

3. What happened to the shootout?
One word: pressure. Both of these teams did a great job of pressuring the quarterback and disrupting the rhythm of the opposing offense. Oklahoma didn’t see a defense as good as Florida’s all season. But you know what? Florida didn’t see a defense as good as the one Oklahoma trotted onto the field tonight, either. While the offenses played awfully sloppy, you have to give it to the defensive minds on both sides for coming up with great game plans. Tebow and Bradford could hardly set their feet and that’s the main reason why the final was 24-14 instead of 44-38 like most people expected. (Of course, Oklahoma’s struggles inside the red zone played into the low score, too.)

4. Percy Harvin was more valuable to Florida tonight than Tim Tebow.
Harvin (9 carries, 122 yards, 1 TD) was the best athlete on the field tonight – period. And the funny thing was, he played on a bum ankle. With all due respect to Tebow, without Harvin the Gators don’t win tonight. He provided a spark to an offense that seemed to be off all night, he provided Florida with its biggest plays and he opened the door for Tebow in the running game in the second half. Oklahoma’s defense was pretty damn good tonight, but Harvin was even better. I shutter to think how well he would have played if he was completely healthy.

4A. Chris Brown is lighting in a bottle.
Percy Harvin’s play out shadowed him, but Brown was absolutely phenomenal tonight. He was the backbone of Oklahoma’s offense and he picked up some much-needed first downs in the second half. Too bad Bob Stoops and the OU coaching staff decided to run what looked like the same damn play on the goal line when he was stuffed on consecutive 3rd and 4th down plays, because I would have loved to see if he could have scored on a screen pass. He’s so quick.

5. Sam Bradford is the real deal.
Bradford’s final numbers (26 of 41 for 256 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) certainly weren’t as dazzling as they have been all season. But it doesn’t take a pro scout to see that this kid is loaded with talent and doesn’t get rattled. Florida drummed up some decent pressure at times and Bradford often starred down the heat and delivered the ball in a timely manner. And the two interceptions he threw were hardly his fault considering they both hit his receivers in the hands. I think he should stay at least one more year at school to hone his skills and try for a national title again next year. But it’s pretty clear that he has the intangibles to play at the next level. (I’ll let the people in the know determine whether or not he’s got everything else.)

6. Every team would be fortunate to have a Tim Tebow.
He might have annoyed a lot of Sooner fans tonight with his sideline antics, but Tebow is the kind of emotional leader I’m sure every football coach wish he had. He’s got so much fight and determination that he’s easy to root for and I’m sure he has no problem rallying his team, too. I also love how he’ll lower his shoulder and head to fight for just one more inch – there’s no way he’s running out of bounds. I don’t know if he can be a pro quarterback or not, but there’s no question that he’s quite the football player and has a future playing on Sundays (at whatever position).