THE MANY PROBLEMS OF THE BCS – SOLVED

Yes. College football sparked my interest at the right time.  I was never a big football fan until I went to my first college football game.  I was hooked the moment that I saw the inside of the stadium.  I learned about the game very fast.  I grew familiar with the teams, conferences, championships, bowl games, but not the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).  The BCS includes the six major conferences:  The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, PAC-10 and Southeastern Conference. So I looked furhter and examined this thing called the BCS. Let me be the first or the millionth person to tell you, it is a piece of crap system.The BCS system was created in 1998 to have the top two teams play in the national championship game at the end of the season. The BCS uses computer rankings, strength of schedule, quality wins, and margin of victory to pair up these two teams. Some tweaking has been done to the system every year since it has been in effect. That should send up a red flag that this system is all wrong. The BCS website states, “Until the early 1990’s, the selection process for major bowl matchups with affiliated conference champions was totally disorganized and in many cases resulted in chaotic situations.” Well BCS, at least the old way recognized conference champions.

A BCS team that can not win its conference title does not deserve to be in the national championship game. So, I am sitting at home watching, of course, college football. The Colorado Buffaloes are playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Whoever wins goes to the Big XII Championship game. Keep in mind Colorado has 2 overall losses already. Colorado opens up a can of whoop ass on Nebraska in November. I mean a major can of 62-36 can of whoop ass. Then, I see the Kansas State Wildcats completely dominate the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big XII title game in 2003. I can’t believe the events that follow those two games. Nebraska (in 2000-2001) and Oklahoma (in 2003-2004) play in the national championship games in which they both lose.

But, wait. Let’s look at the first sign that the BCS was going to be a piece of crap. Wait. Is that what the “C” in BCS stands for? In 2000, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Florida State Seminoles early in the season. Later in the season, Miami and FSU had one loss, and the Seminoles are invited to the national championship against the Oklahoma Sooners. In the very same season, the Washington Huskies (with only one loss) defeated the Hurricanes. The big question many never thought of was, “Why isn’t Washington in the national championship?” They beat the Canes who beat the ‘Noles. Hey BCS, talk about chaos. That’s what the “C” in BCS stands for. Am I right? The 2003 season really shook up the BCS. Every top team had one loss. Hey you computer poll guys, it was bound to happen. Michigan, Southern Cal, LSU, and Oklahoma all had one loss before the national championship game. Man, you guys should have had a playoff/tournament system. Here is a fact that you don’t need a computer to figure out. The BCS has screwed up three times since it has been in affect in 1998. That really sucks. Now we have it. That’s what the “S” in BCS stands for. Well, it fits. If you don’t remember history, you are destined to repeat it.

All of these non-BCS teams deserve a shot at the four major bowls including the national championship. Isn’t it ironic how the official BCS website has a link to all of the conferences even though they are not part of the big six. Take notice: These schools belong to the NCAA. The first letter “N” stands for “National” doesn’t it? Each and every Division 1-A team should have a shot at the national title. I have the system that could work, but more on that later. One major argument comes up, and the BCS supporters scream, “The non-BCS teams don’t stand a chance!” My reply is, “Neither do at least 25 of the teams that ARE in the BCS conferences.” Rutgers, Baylor, Kentucky, and/or Duke in the big game.

Yeah, right. Baylor has a conference record of 2 wins and 30 losses over the past four years. Kentucky possesses a 5 wins and 27 losses conference record over the past four years. Some of these non-BCS programs can challenge if not beat the higher level teams. Over the past few years to the present, Cincinatti hung with Ohio State, Colorado State defeated Colorado, Louisville beat Florida State, Troy beat #16 Missouri, Fresno State defeated Kansas State (defending Big XII champs) and Washington. Bowling Green has won its past six games against BCS teams from three different conferences heading into the game at Ohio State in 2003. In 2003, N.C. State had a harder time with Connecticut than with Virginia. Connecticut tore apart Wake Forest 51-17. Wake Forest in a BCS conference. Get real! Vanderbilt was defeated by Navy and TCU in 2003. I guess the next thing that you are going to tell me is that Memphis beat Ole Miss with Eli Manning. Wait a second, that did happen. Memphis 44, Ole Miss 34 last year. So the list goes on. Washington can’t hold off Nevada. For the life of me, Washington, it’s Nevada. Wait while I check a magazine to see what conference they are in. Nevada, a WAC member. San Diego State put up a bigger challenge against Michigan and Ohio State than some of their Big Ten opponents. Some of these teams like Vandy, Rutgers, Duke, and/or Baylor should think about the Sun Belt, Conference USA or the MAC. What looks worse? Houston losing to #4 Miami, or #18 Maryland losing to Northern Illinois. Well, Novak’s Huskies defeated the Terrapins last year.

A lot of professinal football fans said that they would be college football fans if a playoff/tournament style system would be put in place. The BCS system is flawed to the maximum as it is. It is impossible for a non-BCS school to play in the national championship even if they do win out. In all other college sports, there’s a chance for the Cinderella story to make a run for the national title.

Many BCS-crats say that a playoff or tournament system will make the regular season games mean less. Not so fast! The win/loss records will still have a place and the conference champs will get the major bowl bids. Okay fans. HERE IS THE SOLUTION: Have 16 conferences set up with 8 teams in each conference. I know that equals 128 teams. Eleven more than the present 117. Let some other teams step up in the Division I-A spotlight. Let the school presidents figure that one out. Like I said, it’s the NCAA. Some adjustments will have to be made, of course, but don’t they always? Okay, let’s continue. Each team plays seven conference games and two out of conference games. Then, the 16 conference champs are paired up and battle it out in a playoff. The 16 becomes 8, then 4, and finally 2 teams are left.

These two teams are set to play in the national championship. Okay fans, I know what you are thinking. What about these teams that played hard and did not win the conference playoff games and what about all of the other bowls? Let the teams that lost those games play in the other major bowl games. Pair them up and let them play. Have eight major bowl games and let the national championship game rotate among these eight bowls. Keep the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange bowls. Create or allow four other bowls like the Gator, Cotton, etc. to be in the championship rotation. As for the other lower bowls. Rearrange the bowl tie-ins and these teams with a 6-3 or 5-4 records can compete against one another. Let the “new and improved” bowl committee take care of the tie-ins. Okay, you filthy rich alumni guys from the major universities. You are going to argue that these lower teams like TCU, Bowling Green, Fresno State, and Utah don’t deserve a shot at the national title because they can’t bring the fan base and/or the money. Hey, winning is winning, and money has nothing to do with it. Too bad the NCAA doesn’t realize that a playoff or tournament style system (or my system) would mean more money from fans, television, and sponsors.

So that’s my story. College football is the greatest sport on earth. Bigger stadiums than the NFL. A whole lot faster than baseball. The traditions, rivalries, hard-working players, hardcore fans, and the surprise teams of the year are what make up college football. It is an NCAA sport, and that means that all teams should have a legitimate shot at the national title.