No one can complain

It's amazing that we can go through this BCS mess every year and nothing changes. Some say Michigan got robbed and some say Florida obviously deserves it, but most rational people admit they have no idea.

I think Pat Forde gets it right in his article. He says no one knows which team deserves to go, but everyone thinks that the way it worked itself out was messed up. Last night Kirk Herbstreit was screaming about how people didn't really think Florida was the second best team, but they voted them in anyway because they didn't want to see a rematch.

It's a good point, but Chris Suellentrop makes a interesting argument in his blog. He says that even playoff systems don't necessarily pit the two best teams against each other in the final game, because many times the two best teams play in the earlier rounds. However, no one complains because every good team gets a shot.

In college football the entire season is your shot. No team who has a loss should complain about not getting to the title game. If you lost a game, you blew your chance. You had a shot at the beginning of the season to win every game and you didn't. If you do go in spite of a loss, consider it a gift.

Two years ago Auburn went undefeated and didn't go to the championship game. They had a legitimate reason to complain. They won every game they played against a tough schedule and got unlucky in the end. This year, Michigan had their shot and blew it. Likewise, Florida had their shot and blew it. They just got lucky. The only team that really earned a trip to Glendale is Ohio State.

Tommy Tuberville is right

Although he ate his own words soon after he said them, I have to agree with what Tommy Tuberville said a long, long time ago. Before Auburn lost to LSU, he said he didn't think any SEC team would be able to make it to the national championship game without a playoff system.

After watching this season, I have to agree with him.

The SEC is the toughest conference this year. There is no argument about this. They beat each other up, they lose to each other, they make each other look bad. This is not the way to produce a national championship team.

Look at Florida this year, for example. They've had what everyone has considered to be the toughest schedule in the nation, they only lost one game, and yet they're not even in the discussion to go to the BCS championship. Why? Because they haven't looked "good" in any of thier big games. They've sqeaked by but continued to win.

If you need an example, look at Gene Wojciechowski's column. In it, he talks about how ridiculous it is to pick between USC and Michigan to go to the national championship game based on style points. Yet, in the same article, he dismisses Florida, saying he hopes they don't "squirm in" to the big game. Wait, so they played the hardest schedule in the country and have the same record as USC, but if they make it in it would be ridiculous?

I'm not saying that I think Florida is better than USC or Michigan. I don't know. What I'm saying is that they don't have the same opportunities to make themselves look good as Michigan or Ohio State because they play so many tough games.

If you want to go to a national championship, schedule yourself 2 or 3 tough games and to look legitimate and then a bunch of mediocre games to make yourself look good. Definitely don't play in the SEC.

No wonder the Big Ten and the PAC Ten go to the national championship so often.

Why the BCS Exists

Every year in college football, without fail, we have a BCS controversy. Every year some team screams, often deservedly so, about how they deserve to go to the national championship game but don't get a chance. Although this list will be whittled down, this year you have USC, Michigan, Florida, Arkansas and Notre Dame clamoring for one spot.

No one is surprised by it. We would actually be shocked if there was no controversy. And we would be right. The only situation in which there would be no controversy in the BCS is if two teams from major conferences with good schedules have undefeated records. Any other scenario and you have multiple teams with good arguments.

So if this happens every year, why doesn't it change?

The answer, of course, is money. Don't listen to schools talking about saving their students from extra games and distractions. They don't care.

In this fantastic blog post from the University of Illinois' Business Law Society, the author explains very clearly why the BCS remains in place even though everybody wants a playoff system. Basically, the current system allows the major conferences to control who goes to the big bowl games and keeps them in their superior position. No teams from mid-major conferences can win the national championship, and the major conferences want to keep it that way.

While I agree that this is the way the BCS conferences think, I disagree with their conclusions. The author of the post says that if there was a playoff system, the smaller conferences would eventually catch up to the big boys, like in college basketball. I have a couple of issues with that.

First, football is a different animal than basketball. Any team can get hot and take down a better team in basketball. That doesn't happen in football.

Second, a playoff system in football would still be very small and elite, and would allow the conferences to keep their power position. If only eight teams fight it out for the national championship, how is it that different than what happens now? We know who the top eight teams are, and none of them are from small conferences (sorry, Boise State). I don't think that if those top eight teams all played each other it would have any effect on the smaller conferences.

Honestly, there's no way the small schools catch up with the big boys. Football is just too expensive. I actually think that the increased revenue from the hype of a playoff system and the extra games would actually make more money for the big schools and conferences.

I just wish the BCS conferences thought like I do.

The Apocolypse Is Upon Us

Welcome to the Apocolypse, the game we've all been waiting for for the last six weeks. Tomorrow, No.1 Ohio State will play No.2 Michigan in what I think is the biggest regular season college football I have ever seen. Based on the ridiculous amount of coverage ESPN is giving it, I think they agree with me. Check out this page for a look at everything they've got to offer.

Here at the Top 10, I'm focused on what this game means for the rest of the people in the championship race. Many people around the country are clamoring for a rematch of this game in the national championship in Glendale. Their argument makes a lot of sense.

These two teams have obviously been the best two in college football this year, so why should one of them get dropped below another one-loss team if they lose. It shouldn't matter when you lose in the season, you need to look at the season as a whole.

Maybe these people are right, and it shouldn't matter when you lose. But it just does. Teams are playing different football in the early weeks than they are at the end of the season (check out Arkansas). If you are in the national championship hunt at the end of the year and you lose a huge game, then I don't think you deserve another shot. You need to take care of business.

In this excellent article by Pat Forde, Jim Tressel (Ohio State's coach) agrees with me. He says is you don't win your conference, you don't deserve to go the big game. It's about stepping up to the plate and earning a chance to play for the championship. It's the chance the Louisville blew last week against Rutgers.

Anyway, I like the Buckeyes tomorrow. They're at home.

What Just Happened? part 2

Let's go over the rest of the teams that still have a chance:

Florida- Believe me, a lot of people in the Gator Nation are ticked that USC jumped Florida in the BCS. They have a good point. USC barely scraped by some of the bottom-dwelling PAC-10 teams earlier in the year, and lost to Oregon State. While the Gators have played a much tougher schedule, they have looked pretty pathetic in the last few weeks. I don't think either team deserves to be No. 3. That honor should go to...

Arkansas- Amazingly enough, these guys look like the best team in the SEC right now. They are dominating games with a versatile running attack. I know they lost to USC earlier in the year, but that wasn't the same team. Darren McFadden didn't even play. They've got their toughest competition coming up in LSU and then Florida. But the way they're playing right now, they deserve to be No. 3.

Notre Dame- You think Rutgers has an easy schedule? After the Irish play Army on Saturday, they will have played all three military schools, North Carolina, and Stanford. This happens every year, but they always end up ranked higher than they should. There's no way they should be No. 4. If they actually beat USC in the last week and go to the national championship game over Michigan, Ohio State or an SEC school, I don't know what I'll do.

Rutgers- There's no way the polls will let the Scarlet Knights get to Glendale. Still, if they beat West Virginia, I can't wait to see what happens when they get to their bowl game. Will they be like Utah two years ago where this little school comes in and whoops up on a major conference team? I hope so. Go Scarlet Knights!

What Just Happened?

Last week I talked about how this season seemed like one of the craziest, most confusing college football seasons in recent memory. That was before four national title contenders went down in flames in one long weekend. Louisville, Auburn, Texas and Cal all blew their chances for the big game. Like this story from ESPN.com says, that's why they play all the games.

So this season is definitely crazy, but hopefully the national title race has become a little less confusing. Let's take a look at the surviving national championship hopefuls in the Top 10 and their chances to win it all.

Ohio State/Michigan- The winner of the Apocolypse game on Saturday will go to the big game in Glendale, but the question is whether the loser deserves a rematch. Many people around the country argue that if the game is close, both teams should get a chance to play it again. I'm going to be writing a more comprehensvie answer to this question in my next blog post, so I'll wait a few days to offer my opinion.

USC- USC seemed effectively out of the national title discussions after their loss to Oregon State, but now everyone, including the BCS, loves them again. They're the No. 3 team in the country after a big win against Oregon. I have to say that I'm still not convinced. If they can get through Cal, UCLA and Notre Dame, maybe I'll come around.

We'll finish the rest of the teams tomorrow...

My Playoffs

How about them Scarlet Knights? I stopped watching at halftime and didn't even find out they had won until the game was over. Check out this story from ESPN in case you missed it, too.

This puts the BCS in a ridiculous spot, because I don't think Rutgers has enough steam to get past the big one-loss teams, and there are so many of them that look good. Which leads us to the point I made earlier this week: college football needs a playoff system.

If I was going to make a college football playoff system, I would go with the eight-team playoff. You don't even have to change the current ranking system, which already makes the top eight teams go to BCS bowls. Just have those teams play each other. I like the system because if there were 16 teams it would take too long, and if there were only four teams then I think it there would still be lots of controversy.

People say that playoffs would make the regular season less meaningful, but I don't see that. If that's a huge concern, the four-team system might actually work better.

The only real obstacle to this is the conferences thinking that they will lose money. All these excuses about not wanting to take up too much of the students' time is complete crap. It's all about the money. But I don't see how a playoff system doesn't make more money. There are more big games than just the four BCS ones, and it would be such a huge deal.

So please, for everyone's sake, let's make a playoff system.