BCS, Emphasis on the B and the S
Monday, December 07, 2009
So the Bowl Championship Series matchups are out and have succeeded in confusing an entire nation of football fans again, except those in Texas and Alabama. For them, it's not that they get it any better than the rest of us (Lord knows...it's Alabama...I mean come on); they're just happier with the results.
As I understand the BCS selection process:
1) Massive schools in the South and Soutwest assume their rightful places in the top 5 and stay there all season through a wiley combination of bribes, positions of tenure within this "BCS" and the assembling of weak schedules (save but for a "hard" game or two);
2) Enough latitude is given to allow some undefeated, heretofore unheard-of school recently defining itself as "Division I" to have one single spot in the BCS top 5 so as to appear like it is indeed open and competitive;
3) In December, a group of gnomes with an IBM Thinkpad are fed ESPN streaming coverage, theoretical nuclear physics textbooks, scrolls concerning weather pattern prediction from the Middle Ages, a copy of the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, a duck, a random selection of adult movies and the first movement to Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. They use all of this and come up with:
This.
For all 6 Sparty fans, we get picked to lose a horrid, flaming death to Texas Tech on January 2nd. Somehow, MSU's already-dubious selection into the BCS provides State with an opportunity to show how horribly a second-rate secondary will stand up against a school known for the veracity of its passing game.
Awesome.
Take a look at this year's BCS games in the link above. Consider this an open thread on college football and the need for a playoff system. Sure, as a Sparty I realize I should be careful what I wish for, as we may never appear in a playoff again. But as such, is #1 or #2 really ever #1 or #2?
5 comments:
The current system is next to useless. Every other amateur and professional sports program has some kind of playoff system (even curling has a championship series). Is this really so hard?
1) Massive schools in the South and Soutwest assume their rightful places in the top 5 and stay there all season through a wiley combination of bribes, positions of tenure within this "BCS" and the assembling of weak schedules (save but for a "hard" game or two);
Don't forget that players for their programs are probably paid more than some professional athletes (thanks to booster programs).
I love football, but I don't really care for college football. College hockey is fun to watch and college basketball is, too, especially when tournament time rolls around.
For all 6 Sparty fans, we get picked to lose a horrid, flaming death to Texas Tech on January 2nd. Somehow, MSU's already-dubious selection into the BCS provides State with an opportunity to show how horribly a second-rate secondary will stand up against a school known for the veracity of its passing game.
It doesn't help that State's two best receivers, a starting corner, and at least seven other players are gonna miss the game for beating the hell out of some engineers.
But honestly, I respect State more for playing the game . Notre Dame is gonna skip their bowl game because they're afraid of getting shitcanned by Central Michigan. Which they would. Because they are terrible.
Frankly, this year was better than most for the BCS. At least this year it had two teams that started highly ranked and made it through the season undefeated, one each from (arguably) the two best conferences. Better than last year, when there were 3 one loss teams all vying for the final spot from the Big 12 against a one loss Florida team, while undefeated schools from non-BCS conferences received consolation prizes.
This Year, even though Cincy, TCU and Boise State are also undefeated, they really can't claim any MORE right to the title game than Texas and 'Bama, since those two schools got through against better average competition. So far, this is the CLEANEST I think the BCS has had it, every other year it's been unmittigated chaos.
As far as the selections for the other bowls... that goes pretty much the way it always has. There is a pecking order and conference tie ins, and each committee takes turns picking the teams that they think will provide a compelling matchup from a tickets/TV viewing standpoint. MSU is getting shafted in it's matchup, but usually it's the entire Big Ten. At least this year, with the exception of the MSU game, every Big Ten team has a legit shot at a win.
Notre Dame is gonna skip their bowl game because they're afraid of getting shitcanned by Central Michigan.
It's been somewhat interesting being in Mount Pleasant this fall.
I keep forgetting to mention that Ari Fleischer has actually been hired to defend the BCS.
I guess if anyone knows how to defend a cumbersome, failing system full of cronyism and payoffs, it's him.
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