http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?id=1814421 Ivan Maisel calls it "jealousy", which I think is off base. It's all about fairness: why should the other three bowls possibly get stuck with, say, an Oklahoma versus East Carolina BCS game--especially if said lopsided, blowout-guaranteed game is followed a week later by the National Championship game--while the Rose Bowl gets a free pass? Anyway, just to revive the current BCS 2004 issue: as it currently stands, 2004 BCS determinations are based on (a) the AP, (b) the coach's poll and (possibly) (c) a cumulative computer ranking. If (a) and (b) are in agreement on the #1 and #2 teams after the conference championship games yet (c) is not, then (c) is ignored alltogether. Here's a simple yet highly unlikely scenario (I'm sure we could think of others as well) for this upcoming season that could see a 12-0 LSU team left out of the Orange Bowl mix: First, it's a given that LSU will not be one of the top two teams in the preseason polls that count; for grins, let's say it's Oklahoma and USC as the top two teams. All three run the table. In USC's case, that's almost a given. Oklahoma would have a tougher time of it while LSU would have to pull off a feat even more impressive than last year's 12-1 pre-Bowl run. Anyways, all 3 run the table. Since there would be zero chance of LSU passing USC in either poll, what about Oklahoma? Well, I suggest that LSU doesn't jump the Sooners, either, and seriously why should they? The Big XII is a very good conference and an undefeated Oklahoma would have wins over at least two (and possibly 3) top 10 teams at the time that they play those teams (if you don't think Nebraska can be a top 10 team at season's end, you haven't looked at their schedule yet). Sure, LSU could pass one of those two teams in the computer polling (likely USC, since some computer polls will still use strength of schedule), but this would be tossed out since they'd be #3 in both human polls. There you have it: the defending national champ wins the SEC in consecutive years, goes undefeated with it's biggest and hardest wins ALL on the road against at least Top 15 teams (Florida, Georgia, Auburn)...and STILL ends up in the Sugar Bowl with zero chance of winning the title. Insanity, sure, but it's been the norm in Div 1-A forever and a day. Just ask Joe Paterno, for example, and the kids he had on those 1968-1969, 22-0, ZERO National Titles during that time Penn State teams.
Anybody think that would be better than the system we had last year? IF this is the case, all big schools will start playing cupcakes (like USC does) and hope they are picked #1 or 2 to start the season. IMO you could just get rid of the BCS, because this is just like the old system.
It truly is, but I honestly think movement towards playoff is gaining momentum. It's gonna happen sooner or later.
I get the feeling it's going to be much later than sooner. The BCS contract is coming to an end soon, but I think they'll renew it in some form or fashion ... so that's another 5+ years down the road. At this point, I would settle for the NCAA to sanction one game after all the bowl games. Hell, I don't even care how they pick the 2 teams ... just pick 2 and eliminate all this co-champ BS. Until the NCAA recognizes a champion, we'll have to put up with all this madness...
I agree 100%. The Nittany Lions feasted on a steady diet of cupcakes back then. There schedule was full of your Pitts, BCs, and Syracuses who were mere shadows of what they later became. PSU NEVER ventured into the Big 10, Big 8 (now Big 12) or the SEC. They stuck to the northeast and were nothing but a medium sized fish in a very small pond. JoPa's recent failures are not because the game has passed him by. The neighborhood kids he used to bully have all grown up.
This is the exact reason a playoff system will never work....money and EGO!!!!! The Rose Bowl for one, will never accept anything less than Pac-10 vs. Big Ten and a National Championship game every four years. EGO, EGO, EGO. After-all, we all know the Pac-10 is head and shoulders above every other conference in the NCAA. We should just give them everything they want. We should mail them our national championship trophy...better yet, we should make a rule that every year the #1 team in the Pac-10 is automatically the national Champion. Step up the the plate Pac-10 and play by the rules everyone else plays by.....YOU AIN'T SPECIAL!!!!!
Bottom line, without a playoff system we have to have something like the BCS that rewards teams that play tough schedules. It is nothing more than crap when a team (USC) is picked preseason #1 because an idiot can look at their schedule and say "Gee I don't think they can lose a game, so I think they will be number 1" . Is it saying they are the best team or just a team that will go undefeated because they don't have to play any other tough teams? Well that is how the human polls work, they pick who they think will go undefeated or 1 loss, not who they think is the best. Last year the BCS actually did it's job, it used the human polls,computer polls, quality wins (which is one thing they do need to fix see LSU Georgia)ect to pick the top two teams........the best teams played for the National Championship, not the most popular. o:
I was never a big fan of the bcs or bowl coalition. I liked it back when the Rose Bowl was big ten vs. pac ten, orange bowl had big 8 vs. at-large, and sugar had sec vs. at-large. I would love to see the big ten and pac ten and the rose bowl go back to how it was and for the sugar to match the sec vs. big 12 champs every year and for the orange to match the acc and big east every year. You would have three big bowls that make sense geographically. Have the Fiesta take the mountain west champs vs. best available and have the cotton take second place big 12 vs. at large and so on. And have similar deals that you have now for the second tier bowls. People would still get excited about the citrus matching #2 sec vs. #2 big ten. Then have a vote at the end of the year by the AP and Coaches polls.
