So, a couple of Trojans stopped by (Heather and DevHawk) and commented on my BCS Post.  No big surprise that they are content with this year’s outcome, after last year’s debacle.

First, let me say that I don’t necessarily “begrudge” either USC or OK their positions.  However…wtf is with Cal not getting a spot?  That’s crap.  Pitt?  Really?

BCS wouldn’t be so broken if there weren’t the guaranteed spots.  Leaving aside the issue of the national championship for a *brief* moment, let’s look at this (Rankings numbers are end-of-season):

Rose Bowl:  Michigan vs. Texas

Michigan – 9–2 (7–1).  AP Rank: 14.  USA Today/ESPN Rank: 13.  Conference: Big Ten.
Why they’re in the bowl:  Bowl alliance.  Big Ten goes to the Rose.  Guaranteed berth for Big Ten winner.  Unless the Big Ten winner plays in the championship and the championship is not the Rose.

# of ranked teams on schedule:  2 (1–1) (Beat Iowa, Lost to lower ranked Ohio State)
# of ranked teams in conference: 4 (1–1) (they didn’t play Wisconsin)

Texas – 10–1 (7–1).  AP: 6.  USA/ESPN: 5.  Conference:  Big 12.
Why they’re in the bowl:  They earned it.  Top 6 in all three rankings that matter.

# of ranked teams on schedule: 3 (2–1) (Lost to Oklahoma, beat A&M and Texas Tech)
# of ranked teams in coference: 4 (2–1) (All in the Big 12 South, making Oklahoma’s game against the Big 12 North “champion” Colorado a farce at best.)

Fiesta Bowl:  Utah vs. Pittsburgh

Utah – 11–0 (7–0).  AP: 5.  USA/ESPN: 6.  Conference:  MWC.
Why they’re in the bowl:  Well, they are undefeated.  Given the numbers though…I find it hard to have any real respect for the Utes.

# of ranked teams on schedule: 1 (1–0) They beat A&M first game of the year.
# of ranked teams in conference: 1 (0–0) Yeah..just them.  The MWC isn’t exactly a powerhouse conference.  New Mexico at 7–4 was the only other team in the conference above .500

Pittsburgh – 8–3 (4–2) AP: 19.  USA/ESPN: 21.  Conference: Big East.
Why they’re in the bowl:  Benefit of the bowl alliance.  Big East champ goes to a BCS game, regardless.   And by Big East champ I mean four teams in the Big East went 4–2 and benefitted from Miami and Va. Tech going to the ACC.  Clearly this spot should have gone to Cal.  Clearly.

# of ranked teams on schedule:  1(AP Boston College, ESPN West Virginia.  Beat both)
# of ranked teams in conference:  Same as above.  For simplicity, call it 2. (2–0).

Sugar Bowl:  Auburn vs. Virginia Tech

Auburn – 12–0 (8–0).  AP: 3.  USA/ESPN: 3.  Conference: SEC
Why they’re in the bowl:  Clearly they earned it. 

# of ranked teams on schedule:  4 (4–0)  Tennessee twice.
# of ranked teams in conference: 5 (4–0) Did not play Florida (Florida’s fault, not theirs).

Va. Tech – 10–2 (7–1).  AP 10.  USA/ESPN:11.  Conference: ACC
Why they’re in the bowl:  Automatic berth for the ACC champ.

# of ranked teams on schedule:  3 (2–1)
# of ranked teams in conference: 4 (2–0) Did not play FSU.

Orange Bowl:  USC vs Oklahoma

USC – 12–0 (8–0) AP: 1  USA/ESPN: 1.  Conference: Pac 10.
Why they’re in the bowl:  Wire to wire #1 in voting polls.  Undefeated.  Clearly they deserve a bowl.

# of ranked teams on schedule:  3 (3–0)
# of ranked teams in conference: 3 (2–0).

Oklahoma – 12–0 (8–0) AP: 2 USA/ESPN: 2.  Conference: Big 12.
Why they’re in the bowl:  Undefeated.  Ranked over USC in computer avg on BCS all year.

# of ranked teams on schedule: 3 (3–0)
# of ranked teams in conference: 4 (3–0)

Okay, with all that broken down, let’s look at it.  First of all, the major glaring problem is that, regardless of rank, the conference champions for the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, and Big East get automatic BCS bowls.  That only leaves 2 spots for other teams.  Now clearly, this year, Pitt and Michigan are taking the spots that should, just according to BCS rank, rightfully belong to Georgia and Cal.  That’s a fact.  There’s two teams sliding in because they know people who know people.  And Michigan, by virtue of just being in the Big 10, gets arguably the most prestigious bowl in the NCAA (if you aren’t playing for the championship that is) in the Rose Bowl.  That right there is a crock.  The SEC, ACC, Big 12, and Pac 10 teams deserve it this year, without question.  But the other two…give me a break.

Georgia and Cal have been officially screwed, not by the BCS ranking system, but by the automatic berth system.  Automatic berths need to go.  Now.  Especially the Big East…they’re barely a conference anymore with all their power in the ACC as of this year.

Now on to the matter of the championship.  We have 3 teams, Auburn, USC, and OU, that clearly deserve to be given the chance to fight for the top spot.  Nothing against the Utes, but I don’t think they are in the same class, undefeated or not.  Now maybe I’m biased, but I still look at the SEC, and look at the Pac 10, and think to myself “self, the SEC looks like a much harder conference to play in than the Pac 10.  That should count for something”.  And I know I’m not the only one, Auburn fan or not, that thinks USC got a lot of voter sympathy from day one because of what happened last year.  Bottom line is any of these three teams could probably beat the other two if they were having a good game.  So again, how is it fair that Auburn doesn’t get the chance?  Don’t give me any of that shit about “we got screwed last year”.  Someone got screwed this year too, and neither time has it been fair to the screwed party.  I think USC was better last year anyway, and would have beaten LSU and Oklahoma.  This year I think Auburn could seriously do it if given the chance, especially in the Orange Bowl.  Auburn broke down a little against Tennessee, but the fact is, it was the SEC championship, UT was #15, and they were playing for the second time.  That’s a much different setup than rolling over unranked Colorado or having a close one against unranked UCLA, and there’s no denying it.

The system is broken.  Way broken.  I don’t have an answer.  A playoff is not it.  I know a good start is having only one poll.  And taking away the automatic berths (and the bowl alliances).  That’s just money talking, and has nothing to do with the game or the rankings.  My suggestions:

• Get rid of the automatic berths and the bowl alliances.  This solves the Cal problem instantly.
• Eliminate the AP poll from consideration.  Only use the Coaches poll.  This eliminates problems of being ranked differently in different polls, and what the hell do writers know anyway?  Sportswriters have proven time and again that they are idiots and jackasses.
• Revise the BCS algorithm to give more credence to strength-of-schedule again.  I don’t know why they reduced the importance of strength of schedule anyway.  That was one of the things that made the most sense.
• Create ranking numbers to take into account with “rivalry” games.  Also take into account where the game is played.  Auburn-Alabama is a big game, regardless of who’s ranked where.  Same with Florida-Florida State, FSU-Miami, USC-UCLA, OU-Texas, Texas-Texas A&M, Michigan-Michigan St. and so on.  Some games mean more, and the outcome should be weighed differently than say, Florida blowing out Northwest Louisiana State Tech School for the Blind A&M Community College in the first game of the year.  It isn’t just about wins and losses, but record and poll ranking are the two biggest factors in the BCS.  And it’s hard to get ranked down if you win, which means that as long as USC, OU, and AU didn’t lose this year, it was pretty much going to be status quo for all three teams all year.  Other data needs to be given more weight than it is currently getting.

And for the record Heather, I have complained about the system long before my team was on the outside looking in.  And although I may be an east-coast elitist in all areas of my life, not just college football, I do stay up late and watch your games.  And I hold to my opinion that the SEC and ACC are way stronger conferences than the Pac 10, year in and year out.  And I remember ‘93 when my team went 11–0 and couldn’t play for the SEC championship and couldn’t play a bowl game because they were on NCAA sanctions for something that none of the kids on that ‘93 team were involved in.  The year they beat Florida and Steve Spurrier in the Swamp.  And the voters gave them no love.  So I’m bitter about the old system too.  And I think it sucks that they can go undefeated in what 4 out of 5 college football fans will tell you is a tougher conference than the Pac 10 or Big 12, if not the toughest conference in the NCAA, and don’t get a title shot.  And nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise.

But at least I still have the Red Sox.