Tag: BCS sucks (Page 3 of 4)

      Oklahoma rips MIZZOU, sets up title game vs. Florida?

      December 6, 2008 /

      Oklahoma SoonersAfter absolutely demolishing Missouri 62-21 in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday night, will the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Florida Gators in the BCS National Championship Game?

      Considering they set a record for scoring 60-plus points in five straight games, it’s going to be hard to deny the Sooners a trip to Miami. I realize they played a high school secondary in MIZZOU, but lighting up the scoreboard for 62 points is impressive – I don’t care if it’s done against a woman’s flag football team. If Oklahoma leapfrogged Texas in the BCS standings last week, than there’s no way the idle Longhorns top the Sooners in the new standings.

      OU’s victory Saturday night was impressive. And their non-conference schedule was harder than UT’s. But even considering all that, the Longhorns deserve a chance to play for a nation title – as does USC, Penn State, and yes, even Boise State. Nobody will convince me that the current BCS system is fair. And nobody will convince me that the current system is the best way to determine who the best two teams are in college football.

      A playoff wouldn’t solve everything, but it would certainly be better and more exciting than the crap way college football relies on computers to determine what teams are more deserving to play for a title. I would love to see Texas get another shot at Oklahoma and to see what Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford could do against USC’s defense. That would be exciting. What’s not exciting is playing the “what if” game – what if Texas played MIZZOU on Saturday night and won 62-21?

      If it winds up being Florida and Oklahoma in the title game, nobody is going to argue that it isn’t an exciting matchup. But that’s not the point. The point is that the current system is full of loopholes. And it’ll be the same mess next year, only probably with different teams.

      Think about this, the system is so screwed up that the announcers during the end of the OU-MIZZOU game were actually debating whether or not the Sooners should score just once more (they were already up 55-21 by the way) with under four minutes remaining to make sure they appeared dominant enough to the BCS. How sad for a team (and announcers for that matter) to be worried about something like that with the game already in hand.

      College Football

      Greg Cote supports a non-playoff format

      December 4, 2008 /

      Colt McCoyGreg Cote of the Miami Herald thinks the BCS format in college football is just fine and that a playoff wouldn’t be any better than the current system.

      Instead it looks as if we will be getting an Oklahoma Sooners team that would be 12-1 against either a 13-0 Alabama or a 12-1 mighty-hot Florida. Sounds like a legitimate championship game to me. Sounds like if you don’t agree, you are either insane or turning sour grapes into whine because your beloved Texas Longhorns just missed. The odd-team-out always claims an entitlement that does not exist.

      True, we should get a good game this year in the national championship. But nobody is debating that.

      A playoff is impractical because it would require a significantly shorter regular season, which would fail to win support from schools and conferences, if only for financial reasons.

      No problem. Take Michigan Technical School for the Blind off of Michigan’s schedule, Reading Rainbow Camp off of Texas’s schedule, ITT off of Florida’s schedule and every other no-name program that the bigger schools play twice a year and that frees up two weeks. Start conference play Week 1 or Week 2 if you’re worried about having enough time at the end of the year.

      If you had a four-team playoff based on the current BCS rankings, you don’t think No. 5 Southern California and No. 6 (and unbeaten) Utah wouldn’t be crying foul?

      Make it an eight-team playoff, and how do you think No. 9 (and unbeaten) Boise State would be feeling right now?

      An arguably deserving team always will be left out, whether it’s whatever playoff format you choose or whether it’s two teams in a championship game.

      The BCS works because, in effect, it is a playoff to reach the championship. Teams in the top six or so are in it every year, and it kicks in around mid-October, when the BCS rankings begin. The way the format works is, don’t lose late. Period.

      So if teams will be left out no matter what, why not give college football fans (essentially) two playoffs? Teams would be fighting to get into the eight-team playoff in October (which, in Cote’s words is like a playoff), and again when the actual eight-team playoff starts. What’s the harm in that? And at least teams that potentially could be left out (teams like Boise State and Utah) have a better shot to play for a national title in an eight-team playoff than they do in the current system where they have zero chance.

      The absence of precise black and white is college football’s unique, enduring asset. The BCS maintains the tradition of bowl games while ultimately deciding the champion on the field, not by polls.

      You get a recognized champion and you get the inevitable debate. That’s the best of both worlds — and that’s what the pro-playoff crowd never seems to get.

      The bowl games are a joke. And if crowning a champion and getting to bitch about the current BCS system is getting the best of both worlds, than I must be missing a few brain cells because it’s not fun to watch this mess take place every year. What would be fun is a damn eight-team playoff. What would be fun is watching USC come from a 6 seed and knock off a 5 seed and then a 3 seed and on and on.

      Cote’s idea that it’s fun to debate about this crap system every year is ridiculous. Debating isn’t part of the fun – it’s part of the frustration.

      College Football

      Latest BCS fiasco is just another example of why the NFL trumps college football

      December 1, 2008 /

      I used to have a friend in college named Paul. He was a great guy – loved football, although he couldn’t care less about the NFL. He was a college football fan through and through.

      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.

      Sam BradfordHis 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.


      Texas Longhorns      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.

      College Football

      Jason Whitlock on Texas being snubbed by BCS

      December 1, 2008 /

      Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City-Star reacts to Texas getting the shaft after Oklahoma leapfrogged over them in the BCS standings.

      Sam BradfordAP and Harris voters could comprehend a simple, unavoidable fact: On a neutral field, Texas beat Oklahoma 45-35 this season.

      There’s nothing left to debate. It doesn’t matter that Oklahoma’s nonconference victories are more impressive than Texas’. It doesn’t matter that Oklahoma is playing “better” football at the end of the season.

      Texas beat Oklahoma.

      And I don’t care about the three-way tie, and the fact that Texas Tech beat Texas. We’re allowed to use common sense when deciding a complex situation.

      The Red Raiders lost a game by 44 points this season. The Red Raiders barely beat Baylor this season.

      The Red Raiders needed a last-second touchdown to slip by Texas.

      Tech had a magical year, beat up a bunch of cupcakes early and hung on for an 11-1 season. It’s a fluke. Oklahoma exposed the Red Raiders and Mike Leach’s gimmicky offense.

      Look, my main point is that it’s criminal Oklahoma will get to play for the Big 12 crown and not Texas.

      Everybody allegedly wants a playoff system, but it appears we reserve the right to ignore what happens on the field when it suits our purpose.

      As Whitlock points out, there really is nothing to debate. Texas beat Oklahoma on the field. Texas beat Oklahoma on…the…field. Texas beat Oklahoma on the field. TEXAS BEAT OKLAHOMA ON THE FIELD!

      Only in the BCS system could a team beat another team on the field and not benefit from it. It’s a complete crock of crap, but unfortunately not even something as ludicrous as this will force a change. I’m of the mindset now that we’ll never see a college football playoff.

      College Football

      Oklahoma jumps Texas in the BCS

      November 30, 2008 /

      This makes me sick on so many levels. I have no alliegence to Texas, but they got completely screwed by this retarded system. Texas beat Oklahoma. Enough said.

      Even worse, Bob Stoops is being rewarded for being a complete ass. I understand that style points matter, but do we really need coaches who run a no-huddle offense in the fourth quarter with a 50-point lead? Every year we watch Bob Stoops run up the score during the regular season, only to have his team choke in bowl games.

      Of course, we need a playoff system, but even BCS critics like Ivan Maisel seem unable to get past the arguments advanced by BCS apologists.

      A playoff is not the panacea to cure college football’s ills. A playoff would present as many problems as it does solutions. A playoff is politically unfeasible unless the regular season is shortened, which is financially unfeasible. A playoff could suck the life out of the regular season, much as it has done to college basketball.

      A playoff wouldn’t ratchet up the tension throughout November — National College Football Arguing Month — the way the BCS does.

      His first sentence makes no sense. If you assume an eight-team playoff, only five games need to be added – four playoff games one week following the regular season, and then one championship game following the bowl games that would cover the semi-finals.

      His second sentence is even worse. Is he really comparing an eight-team playoff to the 64-team tournament used in March Madness? This year there would have been a mad scramble for the last several seeds, as teams like Utah, Boise State, Ohio State and Georgia would be playing for a spot in the playoffs. Also, we’d have a huge fight for the first four seeds, who would be hosting first-round playoff games in their home stadiums under this proposed system (wouldn’t it be great to see a Big-Ten team hosting Florida in a playoff game up north in November?). This would create plenty of tension in November.

      Remember when baseball purists argued that expanded playoffs would ruin pennant races? They were wrong.

      College Football, General Sports

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