The B(C)S Strikes Again

I'm laughing, again.  Somehow, some big conference elites somewhere are trying to sell college football fans that the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) is a flawless way to determine who should play for a national college football championship.  Every year, the "system" flirts with controversy, and manages to bring up some really good points over the years.   One of the classic arguments that they like to bring up is...

"Every game counts"

Hmmmmm.... what about Texas 45, Oklahoma 35?  

In the BCS standings now, guess who's #2?  OU... who's #3?  t.u.  ....Every game counts, eh?  

Apparently, "what have you done for me lately" and a bunch of computers spitting stats count a lot more now than the results on the field.... too funny.  

In a twist of fate, the Big XII South, arguably the best division in college football, has a three way tie for first place with three teams at 7-1 (11-1 overall) and all ranked in the top 7 in the BCS standings.  There is no clear head-to-head tiebreaker (t.u. beat OU, OU beat tech, tech beat t.u.) so the tiebreaker goes to the leading team in the BCS standings... Given the "what have you done for me lately" world of football politics, OU beats Okie State (ranked #12 and a darned good team in their own right) 61-41 to impress the pollsters and the computers with a high quality road win.  This is enough to put them ahead of the Horns, who *ahem* beat the Sooners a month and a half earlier.  

Let the controversy begin.  The Horns are now probably hosed because the pollsters will probably not allow a team that did not win their conference play for the MNC, so if Mizzou upsets OU, likely the voters will ensure USC plays the SEC Champion (Bama or Florida) instead of promoting Texas who sits idly at #3 right now.  Considering the great season they and Colt McCoy have had, this is unfair... especially given they won't win the Big XII on a technicality.  

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So, if we're comparing college football to college hoops... people say that the regular season matters more in college football, that "every game counts"...but seriously this is only the case for teams that are ranked in the top 10 in some poll with a month and a half to go in the season.  For everyone else, we're playing for pride or to play in some meaningless overly-commercialized exhibition game during the first week in January.  If you're not in contention for a BCS bowl, this is your life.  Enjoy it.

In basketball for a team "on the bubble," the final six weeks of the season is a race to build a resume to impress the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament.  To say that the regular season doesn't count doesn't follow hoops at all!  In addition, Strength of Schedule (SOS) counts for a heck of a lot on the resume... so contending programs schedule good opponents in non-conference play, unlike top football programs that schedule I-AA programs and losing programs at home before conference play (no lineup of "sisters of mercy" for the UNC's, UK, or UCLA's in the winter).  In fact, a big road game for a team on the bubble (not even ranked in the top 25) could mean life or death tournament wise... for a 20-30 football team, it's the difference between the Capital One Bowl and the PapaJohns.com bowl (yes, this is an actual bowl game this year!).  Do I need to say anything more?  

Besides, there are 30+ game in a hoops season with pre-season tournaments for good programs... 12-13 max for college football teams.  Scarcity produces a little attention in its own right.  

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So, what IF college football's championship selection looked more like basketball?  What if the team's resume had to be evaluated by a committee using the BCS as a guide (college basketball uses a statistical ranking system known as the RPI)... what would the resumes this year look like (let's assume a 8 team playoff here)

1.  Alabama (12-0).  

Pros:  Undefeated season.  Strong strength of schedule.  Impressive road wins vs. UGA and LSU in conference play

Cons:  None really.  Win vs. Clemson in week 1 not as impressive as it looked at the time.

Opinion:  #1 SEED.  

2. Oklahoma (11-1).

Pros:  Played a very strong schedule, huge margins of victory in most games, including on the road vs. rival Oklahoma State

Cons:  One neutral field loss vs. Texas in October... would be considered a quality loss considering the ranking of the opponent.  

Opinion:  #3 SEED

3. Texas (11-1)

Pros:  Huge margins of victory in most games... statement victory versus arch rival Oklahoma on a neutral field (45-35), finishing tied for 1st place in the strongest division in college football

Cons:  No signature road win versus a quality opponent.  Weak non-conference schedule.  Lost only quality opponent road game to Texas Tech 

Opinion:  #5 SEED

4.  Florida (11-1)

Pros:  Dominated most opponents faced, including top 25 opponents UGA (49-10), FSU (45-15), and LSU (51-21).  Finished strong in the SEC.  A victory over #1 Alabama would position themselves with claim as the #1 team in the country.

Cons:  Upset home loss to Ole Miss in September.  The SEC is also not as strong this year than as in years past.

Opinion:  #2 SEED

5. USC (10-1)

Pros:  10-win season and high expectations given pre-season ranking.  Dominated Ohio State in September (35-3)

Cons:  No signature road win.  Lost to Oregon State on the road, who lost to Oregon.  Pac 10 very weak this year.

Opinion:  Seed #7

6. Utah (12-0)

Pros:  Undefeated season.  Performed exceptionally in a strong conference, albeit not in the "BCS club" 

Cons:  Not in a BCS conference.  Several close wins.  

Opinion:  Seed #4

7. Texas Tech (11-1)

Pros:  Finished tied for first in Big XII South, with 4 teams in the top 14 and three in the top 7.  Provided Texas with their only loss and convincing win over Oklahoma State

Cons:  No signature road win.  Embarrassing road loss to OU (65-21) and played a weak non-conference schedule.

Opinion:  SEED #8

8. Penn State (10-1)

Pros:  Finished strong after an upset loss to Iowa  on the road with a convincing win over Michigan State.  Impressive road win over Ohio State.  Played a decent non-conference schedule with impressive win over Oregon State, who contended for the Rose Bowl in the Pac 10

Cons:  Loss to Iowa after victory @OSU.  Iowa is a decent team but not considered a contender. 

Opinion:  SEED #6

9.  Boise State (12-0)

Pros:  Undefeated season and signature road win over Oregon.

Cons:  Play in the WAC, not highly ranked and not a BCS conference

Opinion:  OUT

All other teams have more than one loss... Assuming that conference champions from the top 6 conferences (judged by a conference RPI formula similar to hoops, some 2 loss teams may get to play as a result of winning the conference, but for now, the B(C)S is what we got to work with... :-P

Your thoughts?