In BCS news: nothing. The top six teams in the BCS standings all won yesterday (No. 7 Georgia Tech was off…lazy bastards), most of them by big blowouts against really crappy teams. The exception was Cincinnati’s win against West Virginia, who were ranked No. 25 before heading into southwest Ohio. Whatever. So it looks like after the SEC championship game, which will pit Florida against Alabama, we’ll be left with five undefeated teams. Terrific.
The problem (as if there were only one) is that the teams in the BCS conferences have caught on–if a program like Texas or anyone out of the SEC can run the table, they’ll play for the national championship. Those teams have zero incentive to play quality teams, or even give the so-called mid-majors a game. Teams like Boise State, who have struggled to bolster their strength of schedule, are being left out in the cold. TCU, the Broncos, and Cincinnati (who’s poised to play the role of “2003 Auburn”) are all screwed.
There’s one option that sounds ludicrous, but would be potentially viable in this BCS bedlam–the mid-majors should have their own post-season tournament. Seed the winners of the Mountain West, WAC, Conference USA and anyone else not affiliated with the BCS. Take those top four teams, or top six teams, whatever. Play until there’s a winner. But do something. Until the mid-majors decide to stop being ignored by the BCS, they don’t stand a chance of winning anything.
Southern Cal head football coach Pete Carroll has taken a look at the first 2009 BCS poll that came out earlier this week and, no sir, he doesn’t like it. As his team sits at 5-1 and fourth in the human polls, the BCS computers currently have the Dudes of Troy occupying the 11-hole. Supwiddat?!
My take is there is a big discrepancy with the computer polls (and the human polls),” Carroll said. “It’s a huge discrepancy. I would think that gives you reason to question the end result. Why would there be a big discrepancy?”
BCS expert Jerry Palm said USC’s computer ranking is lower because the Trojans played San Jose State and Washington State, who are each 1-5. –Palm Springs Desert Sun.
Hey, I didn’t think San Jose State was in the Pac-10 because OH RIGHT, THEY’RE JUST ANOTHER DIVISION SUCK NON-CONFERENCE TEAM! You know what the computers would say to you right now, Carroll? GREAT JOB AGAINST WASHINGTON, DUDE! Heaven forbid there be some component to the BCS that you find yourself completely unable to manipulate. Let’s face it, if the BCS was a 20-year-old girl, Southern Cal would win the national championship every year.
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will be taking the lead in considering anti-trust investigations of the BCS sometime this year, expressing outrage over the current system to Deseret News:
“As I have said before, the BCS system is anti-competitive, unfair and un-American,” Hatch said. “I am looking forward to exploring what legislative remedies might be applied to fix a system that violates our nation’s antitrust laws by placing non-BCS universities at a serious competitive disadvantage.”
I think we can all agree–whether you favor a playoff or not (I don’t)– that the current system needs reform. If you’re in an FBS conference and you finish undefeated, how do you not deserve a BCS bid? A conference championship in football doesn’t mean nearly as much as it does in basketball. That needs to be fixed. And if they can’t agree on anything else in the Senate for the next two years, they might as well work on something that will bring a little more competitive balance where it’s needed.
|Wizard of Odds, via EDSBS|
This weekend, Saturday Night Live continued its trend of being the best 90-minute show that you can watch in 20 minutes on your DVR, thanks in part to Will Forte’s song making fun of the BCS. Even though every Will Forte song on Weekend Update sounds exactly the same, and even though this devolves into easy George Bush jokes, I still found this mildly enjoyable enough to post. What a ringing endorsement! Ain’t no compliment like an underhanded compliment!
You know how when you were a kid, some days you’d show up to school and your teacher would surprise you with a film? And your teacher kind of smelled like your divorced uncle? Well, I’m not hung over, but I don’t feel like working, so here’s Florida’s Major Wright crushing the Sooners’ Manuel Johnson last night. I know I’ve had some animosity towards Oklahoma in the past, but this isn’t meant to be pro-Florida or anti-Oklahoma. Think of it as pro-someone getting their teeth knocked in. That’s a cause we can all believe in.
[via EDSBS, which also points out this COLUMNFAIL]
UPDATE: Sad trombone from Da Wiz after the jump.
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Also excited: Jesus
Florida beat Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS Championship Game last night, cementing its status as the best non-undefeated team in the nation, which equates to a national championship this year. Sorry, Utah. Try not being in Utah, you’ll get some more respect.
Maybe I’m the only one who doesn’t care that the Sooners’ streak of 60-point games stopped, but I actually enjoyed seeing an evenly matched game with defensive stops and a couple turnovers (the Gators’ two goal-line stands were the difference in the game). The only problem I had with the game was the announcers, Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis. Here’s a sample of the commentary:
Brennaman: …and Tim Tebow is just putting this team on his back. What an amazing leader!
Davis: I’m even more impressed by the person he is, Thom.
Brennaman: And such a considerate lover.
I couldn’t stand it, and I like Tebow. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Oklahoma fans. Their malformed, shrunken brains must have been so angry! More photos, links, video, and commentator screw-ups after the jump.
