I might as well warn you now - expect a little bit of sarcasm in this post. Somehow, the BCS always seems to bring this out in me. Surprises? Seriously though, more of the same insanity, just a different day.
It's two days post-"National Championship" game, so I thought it would be time to reflect on that which is the BCS these days. A good departure point is the "game" we witnessed on Thursday night. Some things never change. Bob Stoops loses another BCS game - "Big Game Bob" is getting pretty consistent on that one. What's the record now, Bob? Oh, right, 0 - 5 in the past 5 BCS games. That isn't even best in the Big 12 South Division. That would be on par with - Baylor.
Florida beat Oklahoma by ... 10 points. I think we saw something like that, on another neutral site, back in October. It was ... yes ... Texas ...
... and yes, I will stop riding that horse now, given that the Longhorns really stunk up the joint for 40 minutes on Monday night. Yes, it was good enough for a win, and all wins are worth the same in the "win-loss" column ... but it certainly didn't help give anyone the warm fuzzies for this season.
Oh, but back to the "National Championship" for a moment. Yes, Florida was solid. Yes, Tim Tebow is a great college player (though it's another debate as to whether or not he's the "best" college football player). Percy Harvin - has speed to burn, and then some. Sam Bradford? Well, he looked pretty average when he wasn't given 10 seconds to throw the ball. His numbers were good - but the difference between his numbers and Tebow's were the ability to do the most important thing - lead his team into the end zone. I am still not sure what all the buzz is about with Bradford, but he's got a big statue now and might even head to the pros, if rumor serves correct.
Admittedly, this wasn't helped by Stoops' play-calling. Bob, take the three points before halftime - you're not playing Baylor here.
It was a sloppy game, with twelve total penalties accounting for 112 yards. And for all the hoopla surrounding the 80-some points per game these teams scored in the regular season, it was a bit over-rated. A score of 24 - 14 ... wasn't anywhere close to ... ummm ... 45 - 35. Ooops, I mentioned "that" game again.
What makes all of this even worse is the end-of-season "polling" that goes on after the game. First and foremost , coaches should not be voting in the first place. In other businesses, they call this "conflict of interest". I understand how Kyle Whittingham would vote Utah number one - especially since not enough other coaches did so. But a coach has an inherent conflict of interest from the persepctive of their own team and their own conference - both entities that stand to benefit financially in the lon run. So coaching votes shouldn't even play into this. Just look at the disparity in the top 5 of the AP poll and the USA Today coaches poll.
And now - chapter whatever in the continuing saga of insanity of the BCS. In all reality, we have four teams that should truly be considered in the discussion of "National Champion" - Florida, USC, Texas, and Utah. Now wouldn't a playoff solve this? The team playing the best at the end of the season would continue to ... advance. And it would all be solved on the field - much like 90% of all people responded in various polls. Ask the students - ask coaches like Stoops and Meyer and Paterno and Brown ... everyone, including the President-Elect, wants a playoff.
And if college basketball makes a bazillion dollars on March Madness, imagine what would happen with a December Dream in college football? CBS, give us a catchy jingle that we can't get out of our minds, and I can see December becoming "the new March".
Let's add a little to the insanity that is the end-of-season poll. Debate all you will about the number one team. But please tell me how Ohio State loses and moves up one spot in the AP poll? Boise State (12-1) loses by one to TCU and drops 4 places in the USA Today poll, and look who's still ahead of them - Texas Tech (11-2) and Penn State (11-2) and Georgia (10-3) and Ohio State (10-3). Oh that's right - coaches that are voting don't watch games ... apparently they weren't watching Mississippi dismantle Texas Tech!
It would be interesting to see what the computers would say now - the ones that are involved in the BCS rankings. Do you find it a lovely coincidence that we never see THAT ranking after the last week of play? No human input and a large basis on wins and strength of schedule ... that would be very telling after the bowl games we've seen this year [insert here - Utah pounding Alabama].
But no worries, there is a solution. I am putting the final touches on it as we speak.
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Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.