Idiots Write About Sports

Somewhere out there, there is probably a very insightful commentary on the BCS and its ability to put together compelling match-ups that leave no question as to who is college football’s undisputed champion.

This offering, from the AP’s Ralph Russo, is not one of them.

The BCS has been hammered in the past for putting the wrong teams in its championship games. Two years ago, USC was left out and college football ended up with two champs. Last season, many felt Auburn should have played USC for the championship instead of Oklahoma.

The other common complaint is the BCS doesn’t create compelling matchups beyond the title game. Well, it all worked out this season. Even before a bowl is played, the BCS can declare victory.

Ralph, I hate to break this to you — but when you have just two teams from the major conferences who have undefeated records, are one and two respectively when it comes to average points per game, and boast the three most likely Heisman Trophy candidates on their rosters, it’s real easy to come up with who should be playing in the championship game. I’m fairly certain we don’t need fancy computer algorithms or sportswriters polls to tell us that, yes indeedy, USC and Texas are two awfully good football teams who should face each other for college football’s championship. I’m pretty certain my grandmother could reach that conclusion and she’s been dead since 1981.

Ah, but Ralph also goes on to argue that the BCS also did a super job of lining up teams for its other games, thus making up for all those years of screwing the pooch. This seems likes an awfully insignificant thing to go praising the BCS for, considering that four of the six slots are determined by whoever happens to win a conference championship. That leaves two spots open to the BCS’s machinations — this year’s choices were Notre Dame and Ohio State, which Ralph Russo contends, should please any college football fan. Well, any college football fan who didn’t matriculate in the vicinity of Eugene, Oregon, I guess.

While some complain that Notre Dame has bulked up this season on a weak schedule and gets too much credit for a 34-31 loss to USC, the Fighting Irish are college football’s top drawing card.

Ohio State (9-2) out of the Big Ten was assured of an at-large bid by finishing fourth in the final standings released Sunday.

That left no room for Oregon, which had a better record than both the Buckeyes and Irish and lost only to USC.

“I didn’t quite understand the Notre Dame deal. But obviously I have not been a student of the BCS,” said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, whose Ducks will play in the Holiday Bowl.

Last season, California was 10-1 but got bumped out of the Rose Bowl by Texas, a slight that caused an outcry from the Pac-10 and elsewhere.

The Ducks won’t get as much sympathy this season.

And for once the BCS gets to gloat.

Yeah, but should it? To recap, Oregon has only one loss, to the aforementioned best team in the country. Notre Dame has two — one to that same best team in the country and the other to a Michigan State squadron that couldn’t even win enough games to qualify for one of the 73 bowl games that will be played in the next month. Also, that loss to the sub-part Spartans? Happened in South Bend. As for Ohio State, it also lost two games — one to the other best team in the country and a second to a Penn State team that, while very good, ain’t making anyone forget the Todd Blackledge years.

So, because Oregon got passed over for two teams solely on the basis of marquee value as opposed to actual wins and losses, this is a testament to how the BCS works? You’re a far more charitable man than I am, Ralph Russo.

Ah, but perhaps, I’m being too negative. Maybe the BCS does work. Oh sure, certain things have to fall into place — like there being only two undefeated teams who are obviously superior to all other programs and that there’s enough big-time programs that had good-if-not-great-years and when the schools that get the shaft are from out-of-the-way places west of the Rockies. But whe all that happens, the BCS is golden. I can’t think of a better way to determine a national champion.

Except, you know, for every other way.

Update: The estimable Jake Curtis informs me, via this article, that I am mistaken about this year’s at-large selections — the BCS had no free will when it came to selecting either Notre Dame or Ohio State.

Notre Dame was guaranteed one of the two at-large berths because BCS rules give any team that’s not from a BCS conference an automatic BCS berth if it finishes in the top six of the final BCS standings. The Irish, who are not in any conference, were sixth. The rules also give any team from a BCS conference a guaranteed spot if it finishes among the top four. Ohio State was fourth. So the Fiesta Bowl could pit Ohio State against Notre Dame in the matchup it wanted without having to apologize to anyone.

Which doesn’t weaken my argument in the least, really — if anything, a system that devises ways to mathematically shaft superior teams out of better bowl games so that the idiots behind it are somehow absolved of any resposnsibility (“Hey, it’s out of our hands… the computers tell us what to do”) is not one deserving praise from any self-respecting sportswriter.

the BCS has worked this year, because almost like every year in the past, it has screwed another west coast team in favor of another cousin humping, old white boy farting team (*cough* ... midwest team, I meant). Since the BCS head is also the Big 12 commissioner, it makes sense.

Go Bc$

Notre Dame: The most overrated team in the country. (Every year. Even when they're good, they're overrated.)

It's embarrassing to me as a football fan (1) how much influence "draw-ability" has when it comes to BCS invites; and (2) how shameless BCS supporters are about the fact that Notre Dame got the invite based solely on that fact.

As for the title game, the fact that people are cheering about how this year "proves" that the BCS "works sometimes" reminds me of that old adage about even a stopped clock being right twice a day...

Seems strange that the rule invoked to help the Utahs of the world (top 6 in a non-BCS conference) ends up justifying the selection of Notre Dame. Sort of like letting rich people buy caviar with food stamps. In fact, it seems silly to have any provisions for Notre Dame at all (9 wins, top 12 BCS to be eligible) if everyone is going to bend over backwards to invite them. I know the counter-argument is that they don't get the benefit of backing into the BCS, like a FSU (#22BCS) for example, but if you're not going to play with a conference, then you can't complain about the conference not helping you out. Not that they aren't a tremendous draw, and a coming off a good season and a compelling story, but still...

Phil:

I saw the "Notre Dame was invited because they were in the top 6" thing right after I posted my comments, too. So Notre Dame wasn't *technically* invited based solely on their draw. But I still say they got the invite because they're overrated ;-)

Notre Dame was certainly able to negotiate its BCS-entry criteria by virtue of the fact that it is a draw. I don't see any of the other independent schools -- where's Navy's sweetheart BCS deal? -- being afforded the same courtesy. Then again, I don't see any of Navy's home games being televised on NBC, so I guess I have my answer.

Well, the BCS is no more slanted towards traditional football powers than the old system. there was a bias towards programs like Notre Dame there too.

There seems to be some griping about the Big Ten getting 2 teams in the BCS (and one being a 2 loss team) and Notre Dame being 2 loss and getting in ahead of Oregon. But some of it doesn't make sense.

Notre Dame is getting pounded for not having compelling wins on its sched this year, but that's mostly because several of the traditional powers on its sched happened to not be as good this season. If you're going to count sched at all, you have to give a program at least a little credit for trying to put together a tough one, and discount a little against teams that ended up with a tough sched simply because one of their patsies turned out to catch lightning in a bottle.

Bowl selections have always used tradition as part of the selection process as organizers wanted a good take at the gate, so they need teams that travel well. Ohio State does, as do several other teams in the Big Ten. Is that fair? maybe not, but it's hard to definitively determine which team is better (and I think it's obvious that record never tells the whole story in any sport) the other factors jump in.

And for people who think a playoff solves all of this, it doesn't. The argument just shifts to who gets into the playoff and how the seeding is done.

I understand that THIS year the BCS "had no choice" about the Notre Dame pick, since a non-BCS-conference school made the top 6, but c'mon, who made that idiotic rule anyway? Notre Dame??? They have been in bed with the BCS since its inception! I'll be so glad next year when their deal changes. As if Notre Dame NEEDS all that fourteen or so million dollars...

One thing we all have to remember is that its the voters that put Notre Dame there, not the BCS. The VOTERS voted Notre Dame higher than Oregon in the polls, but the computers didn't. The whole system is retarded. Any comments?

Another crazy thing about the BCS is this guaranteeing Notre Dame a spot if it finishes in the top six.

I can't wait for the day that Notre Dame finishes sixth but another "non-BCS" team finishes fifth, takes the second at large BCS spot and screws Notre Dame out of its "guaranteed" BCS spot.

Post a comment