Let me pose a few questions to start this off with: In Blackjack, if you get a 21 and the dealer has less than that or busts, does the dealer still win because he played tougher opponents this round? In baseball, do the LA Dodgers win the division but are punished by not making the playoffs because they play in an inferior division? The answer to both of these questions, without me even having to state it, is no. The teams or blackjack players are both rewarded for their hard work, no matter what the case may be.
Why is it then, in college football, they can't seem to figure out this whole bowl fiasco. I'm not even talking just about the undefeated Boise St. Broncos. (More on that later.) I'm also talking about the five teams with one loss that deserve equal opportunity as the two playing for the National Championship. Who's to say that these teams don't deserve the same chance? Well, a computer, that's who. Some computers sitting in a basement at NCAA headquarters that input a random chance of numbers and graphs that decide who will play for the National Championship. Computers and a biased coach's poll in which coaches often vote for friends of theirs or other storied programs.
Let us not forget the automatic inclusion of the so called "power" conferences. Is a 9-4 Virginia Tech team really worthy of playing in a major bowl game. Or how about an 11-2 Cincinnati team that barely beats Hawaii? Even more so, how about a 10-2 Ohio State team that is ranked lower than BSU in the BCS and has been walloped in their last two major bowl games? Point being, the system is not right and needs to be fixed.
My proposal, BCS masters, is very simple. It's called a 16 team playoff. Four weeks of hard nosed, action packed football and it still ends in the same time in January as it does now. You can even keep your automatic qualifiers from the six "major" conferences. After that, you take the teams that are ranked highest in the final polls. Or if a team like formerly unbeaten Ball State is just on the outside of those rankings, throw them in there as the 16th seed and see how they can do. Each week, we eliminate teams, but at least it would be giving teams to see how they really stack up against one another. Each game can be played at a neutral sight, with the final eight being played at places like the Sugar Bowl, The Fiesta Bowl, The Rose Bowl, and The Orange Bowl. That way, these cities still get their precious money and we get to see the best teams playing each week. You can even throw in your small, random bowls for other teams that didn't make the playoffs.
The idea is not perfect, granted, but it is an option. Perhaps teams will start playing weaker opponents in the start of the year to secure wins, but its not like that doesn't happen now. The reason Oklahoma has the number 1 seed this year is because they played higher quality non-conference opponents. Professors will argue that the kids need their education and that's the priority. In reality, what's another month of football. It's become a year round institution and if a team did make it to the final, the last two games are over Christmas break for most schools anyway. Every great suggestion is flawed, but there are always reasonable answers.
As for BSU, the question for you, BCS, is this. Why is undefeated Utah considered so much better than undefeated BSU? You can't possible argue that because Utah beat Michigan they are any better. Michigan had their worst season in over fifty years and didn't even get to five wins. Meanwhile, Boise St. beat a nine win Oregon team at Oregon. Not to mention, the bottom of the Mountain West Conference is just as bad as the WAC. Oh yeah, Boise State is undefeated against the Mountain West. Including a win at Utah just a few years ago. The teams are evenly matched and both should have the opportunity to enjoy a major bowl game. This may not have been the year Boise State took down Goliath, but with the young talent they are loaded with, that victory may just be right around the corner.
As it is, nothing will change this year. I will gladly watch as Boise State takes on TCU in which should be a very good game. And I will be watching the next week when Texas thumps Utah and sends them back to Salt Lake whimpering like dogs. I just hope the system can be fixed shortly and we can enjoy a true playoff and find a true national champion in the near future. Until then, the questions will continue to arise and we will ask what might have been with an undefeated BSU team and a one loss Penn St. team.
And Mark May, BSU would have not lost four games in the Mountain West this year. Check your facts and get off the air.
J.
Why is it then, in college football, they can't seem to figure out this whole bowl fiasco. I'm not even talking just about the undefeated Boise St. Broncos. (More on that later.) I'm also talking about the five teams with one loss that deserve equal opportunity as the two playing for the National Championship. Who's to say that these teams don't deserve the same chance? Well, a computer, that's who. Some computers sitting in a basement at NCAA headquarters that input a random chance of numbers and graphs that decide who will play for the National Championship. Computers and a biased coach's poll in which coaches often vote for friends of theirs or other storied programs.
Let us not forget the automatic inclusion of the so called "power" conferences. Is a 9-4 Virginia Tech team really worthy of playing in a major bowl game. Or how about an 11-2 Cincinnati team that barely beats Hawaii? Even more so, how about a 10-2 Ohio State team that is ranked lower than BSU in the BCS and has been walloped in their last two major bowl games? Point being, the system is not right and needs to be fixed.
My proposal, BCS masters, is very simple. It's called a 16 team playoff. Four weeks of hard nosed, action packed football and it still ends in the same time in January as it does now. You can even keep your automatic qualifiers from the six "major" conferences. After that, you take the teams that are ranked highest in the final polls. Or if a team like formerly unbeaten Ball State is just on the outside of those rankings, throw them in there as the 16th seed and see how they can do. Each week, we eliminate teams, but at least it would be giving teams to see how they really stack up against one another. Each game can be played at a neutral sight, with the final eight being played at places like the Sugar Bowl, The Fiesta Bowl, The Rose Bowl, and The Orange Bowl. That way, these cities still get their precious money and we get to see the best teams playing each week. You can even throw in your small, random bowls for other teams that didn't make the playoffs.
The idea is not perfect, granted, but it is an option. Perhaps teams will start playing weaker opponents in the start of the year to secure wins, but its not like that doesn't happen now. The reason Oklahoma has the number 1 seed this year is because they played higher quality non-conference opponents. Professors will argue that the kids need their education and that's the priority. In reality, what's another month of football. It's become a year round institution and if a team did make it to the final, the last two games are over Christmas break for most schools anyway. Every great suggestion is flawed, but there are always reasonable answers.
As for BSU, the question for you, BCS, is this. Why is undefeated Utah considered so much better than undefeated BSU? You can't possible argue that because Utah beat Michigan they are any better. Michigan had their worst season in over fifty years and didn't even get to five wins. Meanwhile, Boise St. beat a nine win Oregon team at Oregon. Not to mention, the bottom of the Mountain West Conference is just as bad as the WAC. Oh yeah, Boise State is undefeated against the Mountain West. Including a win at Utah just a few years ago. The teams are evenly matched and both should have the opportunity to enjoy a major bowl game. This may not have been the year Boise State took down Goliath, but with the young talent they are loaded with, that victory may just be right around the corner.
As it is, nothing will change this year. I will gladly watch as Boise State takes on TCU in which should be a very good game. And I will be watching the next week when Texas thumps Utah and sends them back to Salt Lake whimpering like dogs. I just hope the system can be fixed shortly and we can enjoy a true playoff and find a true national champion in the near future. Until then, the questions will continue to arise and we will ask what might have been with an undefeated BSU team and a one loss Penn St. team.
And Mark May, BSU would have not lost four games in the Mountain West this year. Check your facts and get off the air.
J.
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