College Football and you: the road to the BCS

[El Gallo]

Auburn should be #1 if they win their conference championship game, they won in the best conference in the country and did not almost lose to a team like Stanford.

The Big East is pretty shitty, though.  The thought of BC, Pitt or WVa playing against whoever gets left out in the Auburn/Oklahoma mix is pretty amusing.  The few teams that aspire to respectable football programs (those 3 + syracuse) need to kiss enough ass to move to the ACC or Big10, because there aren't enough independents out there to make a worthwhile football conference unless Notre Dame loses its financial sanity or Paterno gets PSU out of the Big 10.

If I was college football god for a day, I think I would merge the worthwhile football schools in the ACC & Big East into one all-sports conference, and take the remaining schools and make a nice basketball-focused conference, but that will never happen.

[Dark Vengeance]

The few teams that aspire to respectable football programs (those 3 + syracuse) need to kiss enough ass to move to the ACC or Big10, because there aren't enough independents out there to make a worthwhile football conference unless Notre Dame loses its financial sanity or Paterno gets PSU out of the Big 10.

The Big 10 is a damn tough place to make your bones as a prominent football program. You get beat up each year by powerhouses like Ohio State and Michigan, and even the weaker Big 10 schools like Indiana and Northwestern have been known to shock some teams.

Outside of those 4, you have 7 middle-of-the-road programs that have occasional standout seasons. If they are lucky, they get a Rose Bowl bid, otherwise they get beaten up pretty good during the conference schedule and go to a minor bowl. Wisconsin and Purdue were good examples this season.

Bring the noise.
Cheers.............

[Paelos]

The Big East and the Big Ten should be one conference for sure. The Big East is just a joke right now, and the Big Ten has two schools, Indiana and Illinois, that just need to stick to what they do best. That's not football. Get out of the way and make your basketball conference with the better teams from the ACC and Big East.

[El Gallo]

I think that WVu & Pitt would do fine in the Big 10.  They have both been top 10/20 schools at various points in recent seasons and been ranked #1 in the not-so-distant past (though Pitt's last one was pretty distant now that I think about it, don't think they have been #1 since Marino was there).  They'd get jacked by typical Michigan or O-State teams like everyone else, but they'd be cometitive with the rest of the conference.  Syracuse is more marginal, but I don't think they would be doormats at any rate.  It's also hard to predict more than a few years ahead; I remember thinking that Penn State would go to the Rose Bowl every year for the rest of my life when they moved to the Big 10.

It's not going to happen, of course, because it would screw up scheduling and split the TV pot too many ways.  It's also unlikely that Big 10 basketball programs would want Pitt & Syracuse moving in to their conference.

Drop BC from there since I forgot that they are already ACC-bound.

[Paelos]

Well it happened. I'm at a loss for words about it, but the results are in. Auburn is left out in the cold after going undefeated and winning the SEC championship. We are all tired of this kind of thing that will never improve. It's just another "working as intended" excuse that takes the focus off the problem that the system itself is just a substitute for the real thing. We need a playoff now more than ever with such quality teams in the race.

I'm going to do a small part by calling for a boycott of all 4 BCS bowl games. I will refuse to watch them and hope for change. Perhaps others will do the same and drive the ratings into the toilet. That's about the only thing we can do at this point. Hurt them in their wallets.

[WayAbvPar]

Cal got equally jobbed. Their only loss was the USC (#1 all year), and they had a chance to beat them- they were inside USC's 20 at the end of the game and down by 6.  Texas (who miraculously leapt over Cal) lost to Oklahoma (#2), and couldn't even score against them.

I also heard rumors that Mack Brown was calling sportwriters and coaches begging for votes to try to skew the polls (and thus the BCS) in his team's favor.

What a gargantuan clusterfuck. Until they put a playoff in, this is a fucking joke. They might as well go back to the old system (bowl games tied to conferences)- the arguments are still going to continue.

[Abagadro]

I will boycott the BCS as well.....

Except for going to the Fiesta Bowl.

[Rasix]

What a great system. All of the games absolutely SUCK except the Championship game.  Call v. Texas Tech.. WTF. Yah, #4 AP team in the nation v. table scraps. I think the only game I'll watch besides USC v. OK will be the Louisville v. Boise State.

Way to go, I can officially just concentrate on playing the games I receive for Christmas instead of giving a shit about college football.

[Nebu]

Until they institute a playoff system, the bowl games are dead to me.  

The BCS is a joke.

[sidereal]

Quick question.  If Div I goes to a playoff, what decides the seedings?  I assume the BCS?  Obviously getting a good seed is a far cry from getting a slot in the champ game in terms of consequences of arbitrariness, but still.  Aren't you going to have the same arguments about how Cal got jobbed with a #6 seed and Auburn not getting a BYE?

[trias_e]

Utah is going to destroy Pittsburgh and we will have no idea how good they really were compared to the rest of the top 10.  So many shitty bowl games otherwise as well, it just seems like it was all designed in a sinister plot to turn college football fans into bigger fans of other sports.

Fuck this shit.

Hopefully no one will watch most of the bowl games and attendence will be low, but that probably won't happen either.

[Abagadro]

My concern is the coaching sideshow that is going on at Utah. There is a chance that Utah will play its biggest game ever with a lame-duck head coach and without either its offensive or defensive coordinators (who will be headcoaches elsewhere).

[Paelos]

Quick question.  If Div I goes to a playoff, what decides the seedings?  I assume the BCS?  Obviously getting a good seed is a far cry from getting a slot in the champ game in terms of consequences of arbitrariness, but still.  Aren't you going to have the same arguments about how Cal got jobbed with a #6 seed and Auburn not getting a BYE?

It would be some upheaval but much less important when you look at the situations of a system of "All or Nothing" that the BCS represents. In the current state teams get jobbed for anything less than perfection. That's no way to choose a champion, especially when top teams don't get to face each other. The season is over as of this week. Starting a four round playoff on this weekend for the next four weeks would make sense and not cost a lot of time over the current wait. It still arrives at the New Year's dates that the championship game would be played in anyway. Pick the top 16 teams and let them have at each other. Hell, take eight conference winners and 8 wildcard spots. It's perfect.

[El Gallo]

I was hoping Pitt would somehow get matched up with Va Tech or Michigan, either of which they would have a decent shot of beating.  Utah is an unknown because they haven't played many quality opponents, but Pitt's pass defense is not good at all.  

My picks:
USC in a close win over OU, 7 or fewer
Auburn blows out Va Tech by 25+
Utah solid win over Pitt by 14
Texas whips Michigan by 21

Not too many good matchups.  I'll still watch whatever game Keith Jackson calls, because I love him.

[Nebu]

Quick question.  If Div I goes to a playoff, what decides the seedings?  I assume the BCS?  Obviously getting a good seed is a far cry from getting a slot in the champ game in terms of consequences of arbitrariness, but still.  Aren't you going to have the same arguments about how Cal got jobbed with a #6 seed and Auburn not getting a BYE?

If Div I went to a playoff at least the top 16 teams would have a chance to play for the national championship.  The possible problems would come mainly from two areas: 1) The seeding of the teams and 2) Chosing the last two teams to be included.  Some one would always get screwed... I see that as unavoidable.  In my eyes at least the top 10 teams would still have a shot at the national title.

Sadly, a playoff will never happen.  There is too much money to be made in the current bowl system.  A playoff benefits the fans and the players, it doesn't line coffers of corporate interests.  

EDIT: Reflecting on this, I could see a playoff being hard on the players as they still are students.  I've always hoped that the NFL would create a farm system to separate players from student athletes... I doubt that will happen either.

[Kenrick]

I also heard rumors that Mack Brown was calling sportwriters and coaches begging for votes to try to skew the polls (and thus the BCS) in his team's favor.

That's not a rumor, he was doing that.  Looks like it worked.

You gotta feel for Auburn... Back in August, you think the coach told them: "Hey guys, you're going to go through this season undefeated. And guess what? You're not going to be playing for a national championship.  Now go git' 'er done!"

BCS is fucking retarded.  8 team playoff, please.

[HaemishM]

Call v. Texas Tech.. WTF. Yah, #4 AP team in the nation v. table scraps.

This is my biggest problem with College football in general. Half the games of all the big schools are against table scrap teams, and the other half may or may not be challenging games depending on recruiting, NCAA sanctions or the amount of partying the teams get away with.

[Jacob0883]

I go to a Big East school and I agree that Utah is getting screwed by playing Pitt.  Utah isn’t going to be given the chance to prove anything.  The best team in the Big East should be WVU, but due to retarded coaching (Make the guy with the gimp leg run all season) and stupid ass wide receivers (Thanks Henry), we lose and make the Big East look even worse than it already did.  I must say I am happy we didn’t win.  I didn't enjoy going to Jacksonville last year and getting harassed and if we would have won, I would be going to the bowl game.  I do know that the Jacksonville landing enjoyed the great amount of alcohol consumption that only a mountaineer can do!

[Nazrat]

Rumor has it that the BCS commissioner strong armed the bowls to ensure that Utah met Pitt so that there would only be low ratings for one BCS bowl.  I'm not saying that I agree with that but I heard it on the radio today so it must be true.

I believe that Utah is better than the horns.  As an Aggie fan who's team played both, just look at the stats and the scores and make your own decision.  Utah was the second best team we played this year to OU.

Cal and Auburn both suffer from not have good strength of schedule.  While it isn't included in the computer rankings, I believe that a lot of voters used it to decide close votes.

[Abagadro]

I doubt any strongarming was required. It boiled down to the order that they were picked. Under the rules, the Fiesta had the first pick and the last pick. They took Utah with the first pick and had no choice but to take Pitt.

[Nazrat]

I understand who they chose.  However, consider that the Fiesta typically chooses a Big12 team when they aren't the title game.  Given that the horns were available, why didn't they choose the horns first?  That is the odd decision.  I would have loved to see the horns and Utah play.  Maybe Utah v. Michigan, etc.  However, no one wants to see Pitt due to their record and their conference and Utah is not predicted to be a big ratings hit nationwide, although the Utes will bring a lot of fans south for the winter.

Just seemed interesting.  The BCS commissioner made some comments on this but I am in a conference all day so no time to google.

[El Gallo]

It was a down year for the East, but I think some of the piling on is a bit excessive.  Pitt has owned Va Tech the past few years.  Michigan is not so hot either, they had a common opponent with Pitt (ND, both games at ND) which Pitt beat and Michigan lost to.  And, all "golly gee it's just like Hoosiers for Mormons" sentiment aside, there is no way Utah goes undefeated, or even once-beaten, in a real conference.  If the bowls weren't forced to pick Pitt, they would not have, that's true.  But if they weren't forced to pick Utah, they would not have, either.  Cal would be in.   But for the Rose-Big 10 tie-in, Michigan probably would not be in a top-4 bowl without the BCS, either, Georgia would.

You didnt hear all the bitching about the ACC when they had an automatic bid, the worst conference in football by far, and sent Maryland to get massacred a couple years ago.  There have been tons of 3-loss teams snet to the BCS bowls, and even 4-loss teams (by the ACC).  There have been a lot of teams ranked 10th or higher who got in.  Texas got in ranked 20th in 1996.  Hell, Stanford got to a BCS game ranked 22nd in '99.

This is not to say that Pitt deserves to be in the top 4 bowls, they don't.  It's not to say they'll win, they probably won't.  But it is hardly the abomination before God and man Trev Alberts & co make it out to be.

[trias_e]

"there is no way Utah goes undefeated, or even once-beaten, in a real conference."

How exactly can you be so sure of this?  I'm just wondering.  If you look at the only connections between schedules of Utah and other top teams, Utah definitely performed better, for instance against Texas A & M compared to Oklahoma.

Also UNC, who right after losing to Utah 46-16 took Miami out of top 10.

Thats really all there is in comparing Utah's schedule to the top teams, which definitely means we know little, but I still don't see how you can know with certainty that Utah wouldn't even be a 1 loss team.

Would Utah beat USC?  Probably not.  Would Utah beat Texas?  Probably.

[Abagadro]

You really needed to have watched all of Utah's games to get a sense of how superior they were to everyone they went up against this year.  They completely dominated absolutely everyone with their backups playing most of the second half in nearly all of the games. They kneeled down in the redzone at least 4 times that I can remember. They beat everyone they played by at least 14 points, only the second team to do so after the 1995 Nebraska juggernaut.  They played some good nonconference schools and some of the MWC teams were pretty decent (we'll see in the bowls how they stack up against other conferences).  I think Utah can play with any team in the country with a chance to win and easily beat all but maybe 7 or 8.  That may sound like homerism, but I watch a lot of football and the Utes are an amazing team this year.

[El Gallo]

You are right that you never know.  I overstated it and an talking at least partially out of my ass because I only watched one Utah game this year that I can recall.  Still, it's hard for me to look past the tons of small-conference teams out West who have put up gaudy offensive numbers over the years and got crushed when it counted (several Houston and BYU teams come to mind).  It's not entirely fair to tar Utah with the "ANDRE WARE LED THE BEST OFFENSE IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY BUT THE EAST COAST MEDIA KEEPS US DOWN" brush, but there is a big difference between playing a schedule where you have to get up for one or two games all year, and one where you are playing against a team with legitimate depth half your games or more.  Their toughest game after the opener was NC, which went 6-5 and is a middle-of-the-road team in an average big conference.  

Anyway, my main point was not to hate on Utah other than to point out that the BCS would have taken Cal if it was allowed to.  I think Utah has a much-better-than-even chance of beating Pitt, Va Tech or Michigan.  I just wanted to point out that the flogging of the Big East and Pitt isn't really all that justified when you look at some of the other teams that are in this year and especially teams that have been in BCS bowls in the past.

[Abagadro]

I would tend to agree with you if they handn't been sooooo dominant that they looked damn near unbeatable every time they stepped onto the field. Smith is an amazing QB and the defense is actually pretty good this year. Most of the points against the Utes were scored on the 2 & 3s late in ball games. The average halftime score was something like 32-8.

[Paelos]

No offense Ab, but your team is the big dog in the Little Sisters of Charity conference. You played one good team, Texas A&M. USC played twice in your conference, but not your team. Your defense, while certainly not doing badly, is not your strongest point. Your offense put the games away early against terrible defenses. Teams like San Diego St. still managed to hang 3 TDs on you in a quarter, and that wasn't in the second half.

I'm not saying you don't deserve it, I'm saying you'll never know. The BCS isn't going to give you the matchup to determine anything important. You're playing against a Pitt team that a dozen teams played better than. I'd say you might be able to beat half of them at best.

[trias_e]

They deserve their ranking at 6, but I agree that we will never know what they truly were capable of, and thats why I'm pissed off.

Although I do think the Utah offense might be the best in the country based on what I've seen, if not the best then definitely close enough to be on par with the best.  Their defense would be their downfall.

[Abagadro]

San Diego State was a spotty team this year. They lost to Michigan by only 3 points at Michigan.  They had the best receiver in the MWC this year.

Also, one of those touchdowns in that second quarter wasn't against the defense.

I'm not saying Utah played the toughest schedule this year, but their play was so far above their opponants that I think they proved themselves.  Is Texas a weak school because they needed a bogus PI call to win against a horrendous Kansas team?

[Paelos]

I'm not saying Utah played the toughest schedule this year, but their play was so far above their opponants that I think they proved themselves.  Is Texas a weak school because they needed a bogus PI call to win against a horrendous Kansas team?

Texas is a bad example. They got really lucky a bunch of times with other teams literally either getting screwed or bringing out the morons in the second half. OKSt should have never lost to Texas, but instead they decided to issue the secondary lounge chairs and mai-tai's for the latter half. Texas is the Ohio State of days past. That team you hate because they keep winning in tight games against opponents that should have never stood a chance in the first place.

Look at teams like Georgia, who fell hard out of the race with two bad games. I discount the Tech game being close since we lost our QB and two other major offensive players in the first quarter. Auburn killed us, and TN edged us out. I think a match between Georgia and Utah would prove if Utah was for real. If you can beat a top 3 SEC team, you deserve your ranking.

[Abagadro]

My only gripe with that complaint is that such teams won't schedule us. We had a handshake deal to play a home-and-home with Texas in 2006/2007 that they just backed out of. If you are a good mid-major team, the big programs won't play you.

[sidereal]

No upside.  If you beat a mid-major, it's a yawn.  If you lose, end of season.  Gonzaga basketball has had this problem for years, though it's not as bad as football.

Strength of schedules issues are one of the reasons I tend to defend the computer polls against the 'OMFG computers don't understand football!!' crowd.  They're very good at isolating whether you're puffing up a record on mediocre teams, or playing great teams close.

[El Gallo]

To even things out on the coaching front, Pitt finally booted Walt Harris out yesterday, something that has been brewing for a couple years.  Rumors are that Dave Wannstedt, Tim Lewis or (blech) Bob Davie will replace him.  Anyway, both the Utes and the Panthers will be playing under lame duck coaches.

The more I think of it, they should have switched Pitt and Auburn around.  Utah v Auburn and Pitt v Va Tech could be two pretty good games, whereas we will probably get two beatdowns with the current matchups.

[Rasix]

Since I don't feel like making a thread just about the Orange Bowl... but... WHAT A GLORIOUS NIGHT!

I wonder if this will get all of the "PAC 10 IS OVER-RATED, BIG 12 4 LIFE, YO" people to shut the hell up for a while?  Sure Cal looked pathetic in their outing, but hell, USC, "over-rated" QB  and all, just put an absolute hurting on Oklahoma.  They just out played them on ever single level of the game.  This USC team could be downright frightening next year if Leinart returns (I really doubt he will, he's looking at #1 draft pick money, RIGHT NOW).  

And probably the best thing of the night was the absolutely horrid half-time show.  First they can't get Clarkson's mic on. Then they pipe in a TON of backup track during her refrain (it sounded terrible) and then one of her back up singers was nearly louder than she was (male too).  Trace Adkins was ok, but country music sucks.   Then, to top it off, Ashlee Simpson drives the stake through the heart of her career.  Now, this talentless media creation's career was pretty much already over due to the whole lip synching snafu, but this just sealed the deal.  She sounded like a high school freshman doing bad kareokee (sp).  The song she chose too was just so generically pop; it sounded like something they would have put on the Transformers soundtrack.  She got rightfully booed too, that was easily the worst life performance I've ever seen (she's gotten uglier too, if that was possible).

Great night! Fuck the Big 12, fuck MTV creations.  This was like watching Duke basketball lose the big game while Bill Walton is impaled on a microphone stand.

[Paelos]

OU is now the Atlanta Braves of college sports in my mind. Could a team suck more in the post-season lately?