2008 Woodie Awards
Unnecessary Roughness
Taking the 'C' out of B.C.S.
Corey Kempf
Issue date: 12/10/03 Section: Sports
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I was pondering the events that took place at the Bowl Championship Series Selection Show Sunday evening when something occurred to me: The B.C.S. works about as well as a house made of sponges.
USC, the consensus number-one team in Division I college football, is not going to be national champion, at least in the eyes of the B.C.S. Why? Because the system used to formulate the Series is awful.
The system has been in place for six years now, and since then, three out of the six years it has failed to pit number one vs. number two in the two polls (AP and ESPN/USA Today). It was created to end the string of two teams sharing the title and give a team the title outright without having to "resort" to a playoff.
The system itself is a mess, factoring in so many things that only the creator can figure out. It has the two major polls, a computer average of other polls, a strength of schedule numbering process (this process is confusing in itself), a quality wins reward (that I've never understood), and a loss demerit. Don't think about that too hard or you'll need a couple aspirin to cool your migraine.
This year, the problem is larger than it has ever been. Right now, LSU and Oklahoma will play for the title in the Sugar Bowl. This past weekend, Oklahoma was manhandled by Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game, 35-7, and USC crushed Oregon State 52-28. However, due to the moronic B.C.S. system, the Trojans are left out of the Sugar Bowl.
With the number one team in the AP Poll not playing in the title game, we could possibly see a share of the national title, something the Series was supposed to eliminate. If USC beats No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl, they will more than likely retain their spot atop the AP Poll, whereas the winner of the Sugar Bowl will automatically get the nod above the ESPN/USA Today Poll, thus crowning two number ones. Confused yet? OK, I'll stop, but only because I'd rather not give myself an aneurysm thinking about this.
USC, the consensus number-one team in Division I college football, is not going to be national champion, at least in the eyes of the B.C.S. Why? Because the system used to formulate the Series is awful.
The system has been in place for six years now, and since then, three out of the six years it has failed to pit number one vs. number two in the two polls (AP and ESPN/USA Today). It was created to end the string of two teams sharing the title and give a team the title outright without having to "resort" to a playoff.
The system itself is a mess, factoring in so many things that only the creator can figure out. It has the two major polls, a computer average of other polls, a strength of schedule numbering process (this process is confusing in itself), a quality wins reward (that I've never understood), and a loss demerit. Don't think about that too hard or you'll need a couple aspirin to cool your migraine.
This year, the problem is larger than it has ever been. Right now, LSU and Oklahoma will play for the title in the Sugar Bowl. This past weekend, Oklahoma was manhandled by Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game, 35-7, and USC crushed Oregon State 52-28. However, due to the moronic B.C.S. system, the Trojans are left out of the Sugar Bowl.
With the number one team in the AP Poll not playing in the title game, we could possibly see a share of the national title, something the Series was supposed to eliminate. If USC beats No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl, they will more than likely retain their spot atop the AP Poll, whereas the winner of the Sugar Bowl will automatically get the nod above the ESPN/USA Today Poll, thus crowning two number ones. Confused yet? OK, I'll stop, but only because I'd rather not give myself an aneurysm thinking about this.