The BCS has decided, Now fall into line

The final BCS Standings have been released. The National Championship has pitted Ohio State against LSU. This is due to the previous two top teams losing in the last week of the season. West Virginia lost an unlikely game to Pittsburgh. Had WVU played like they normally do, they would be on their way to a National Championship, their first. Instead, they are relegated to an, although successful season, still a disappointment. Missouri also had a shot. One week after defeating #2 ranked Kansas in a border war, they earned a trip to the Big 12 title game to face the only team that had defeated them in this season, Oklahoma. Mizzou was holding the top spot in the Nation, and all they had to do was beat the Sooners on a neutral field. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t even hang with the Sooners. Oklahoma proved that they were better than the #1 team in the nation, not once this year, but twice.
So the question is, who should be playing for the title. We know who is, but who should be there. We will hear arguments from Georgia, USC, Oklahoma, LSU ought to make an argument to justify themselves, as should Ohio State. The best team in the country is such a difficult determination, that the only true way to determine it, is to have a playoff. Normally, we don’t have such a predicament, because one team does what is expected and wins all of their games.
Wait a minute, you say, didn’t Hawaii win all of their games. Yes they did. And they provided a formula to get other mid-majors into a BCS game. First of all, you need to win your conference, and do so undefeated. This is a hard thing to do, but not impossible. BYU has done so the past two years, and Boise State did so last year. Boise had an opportunity to do so again, but failed to beat Hawaii. The second step is to schedule weak opponents for non-conference games. This is the key. If a “mid-major” wishes to play with the big boys, they need to make sure that they don’t lose a non-conference game, and schedule pansies, push-overs, and weaklings. In fact, if you aren’t sure, go ahead and schedule teams that don’t even play in the same sub-division. This helps. This way, you are ensured to win all of your non-conference games, and then your tough goal is to win your conference. A conference championship isn’t good enough, only an undefeated season will get you in the BCS, unless you already belong to such a conference. In that case, you can actually suffer two losses and play for the National Title. Now playing these push-overs won’t get you national respect, and won’t get you a top 5 ranking, even after going undefeated through the season; it will only ensure that you play in a BCS game, and receive millions of dollars.
So since Hawaii doesn’t deserve to play in the National Championship game, who does? Does a two loss team really belong there? I don’t like this, but I am willing to concede Ohio State to a spot in the title game. I don’t think they are the best team, and I don’t think that they are even the second best team, but they won all their games, save one. They hold the best record apart from Hawaii. Did Ohio State play a tough non-conference schedule? No. Did they go undefeated in a tough BCS conference? No. Did they at least win a tough BCS conference? No. They won a BCS conference, but the Big 10 is by far the weakest of the BCS conferences this year, and may in fact be worse than the WAC and the MWC. Yet, somehow the Big 10 earned two spots in the BCS games. Thank you Rose Bowl for allowing this to happen. Ohio State has the best record over the past two years. They have suffered only two losses over the past two years, and as we’ve seen, all teams, save Hawaii and Kansas, have suffered two losses this year. So Ohio State gets one spot. Congratulations to them.
Who gets the next spot? Many of you have perhaps suspected my bias, but I believe Oklahoma deserves to play there. I will address that last. Does USC belong there? They beat Arizona State, pushing them out of contention, but they did lose to Stanford. They also lost to Oregon, but that was when Dennis Dixon was playing, and the Ducks with Dixon is a top 2 team. That loss to Stanford was ugly. It was close, but it was Stanford, with a Freshman quarterback, who had never played a college snap. They aren’t the same team they were two years back, when they lost in the National Championship game. Sorry Pete.
What about Georgia? I really don’t think they deserve a spot in the game either. The Bulldog’s didn’t even win their conference. Their two losses came at the hands of Tennessee, a good team, and South Carolina, a mediocre 6-6 team. This year, if you can’t win your conference, you don’t deserve a chance at the title.
What about Virginia Tech? They lost to LSU, and LSU proved they were a better team. If LSU is in the conversation, Vatech is not.
So how about LSU? Obviously they are deservingly in the conversation. In fact, most people seem to think they are the best team in the nation, and that is why they are going to play in the game. In my opinion however, they don’t. I’ll give them credit for continuing to win these close games, but they could have just as easily been 7-5 rather than 11-2. (Note, I took away the SEC championship victory, because had they lost the other games, they wouldn’t have played in it. I may be bad a math, but not that bad.) So they are the best team in the SEC, but contrary to popular belief, the SEC is not the end all of college football. They are a conference that has a bunch of middle of the pack teams with anywhere from 2 - 9 losses. The average number of losses for an SEC team is 5, rounding up from 4.75. This just happens to be this year, other years, the SEC is still a good conference.
What about the other two loss teams. Arizona State has two losses, but they recently lost to USC, and USC is the conference champs, so the benefit of the doubt goes to USC. Boise State also has two losses, but their most recent loss came at the hands of Hawaii, and if Hawaii doesn’t deserve it, neither does Boise State. West Virginia has already been discussed.
Then there is BYU. They have two losses, their two losses were both at the beginning of the season. They have won 9 straight games. They have the second longest active winning streak in the country, second to Hawaii. They have gone undefeated in conference, for the second straight year. They are averaging over 30 points a game over the season. Their defense has yet to allow a 100 yard rusher. Yet, they are only ranked 19th. They are being overlooked by everyone. They are returning to the Vegas bowl, for the 3rd year in a row, and are facing one of the teams that beat them early in the season, UCLA. Doesn’t BYU get a chance to show that they could be the best team in the country. Their losses to UCLA and Tulsa are no worse than losses to Oregon and Stanford, or Colorado and Texas Tech, or Tennessee and South Carolina, or Kentucky and Arkansas. And BYU’s losses came early in the season. That should have opened the door for them to be ranked higher, but instead it prevented them from being ranked until late in the season. In my opinion, BYU probably isn’t the best team in the nation, but we will never know. They struggled just like everyone else, but have been winning since, and longer than everyone but Hawaii.
So, why do I think Oklahoma deserves to play in the National Title? Here’s why. They have played a strong non-conference schedule. They played Miami, they played Tulsa, at Tulsa, they did play Utah State as a gimme, but I’m willing to excuse one cupcake as normally everyone plays more than that. The Big 12 is a tough conference this year, probably the toughest. Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas are all ranked in the top 15. Texas Tech scores like crazy, and Colorado is on the up and up. The Sooner’s had to play a tough conference schedule and ended up losing twice. They beat their rival Texas on a neutral field and they beat Mizzou twice, once will they were ranked 9th and once while they were ranked 1st. One of their losses was on the road, without their starting quarterback. The other was lost on a field goal, also on the road. There are many reasons why I think Oklahoma is the best team in the country. Had the kicker from Colorado missed that 40+ yard field goal, it is likely that the Sooner’s would have won that game, and ended up with only 1 loss, a loss without their starting, record setting quarterback. Instead of playing for the title, the national media kept their love-fest going with the SEC and voting for LSU.
So in summation, the BCS is flawed. The only way we will ever see a consensus on a National Champion is if we institute a playoff. I am not saying that I am for a playoff, in fact I’m not. But I am also not in favor of the BCS. It is a flawed system, and it rewards teams that are undeserving, such as Illinois, and this year Kansas, since Missouri deserved to play in stead. It keeps out other deserving teams. Not just the mid-majors. If I was the Pac 10, I’d be pissed. Instead of getting two teams, ASU being the second, they only get one, and once aain get shafted. It happened to Cal, to Oregon, and now to ASU.

Weekend Wrap Up

While it has been sometime since I last wrote concerning the state of college football, I have nonetheless been following it with the same intensity. I have also been almost at a loss for words concerning the things that have happened in the past few weeks in college football. The two teams that I felt were the best in the nation lost their starting quarterback for the season and for a game respectively, and ended up losing at least one game. Oregon lost their Heisman candidate for the season, and lost to Arizona, and now to UCLA. Oklahoma lost their nation leading quarterback and lost to Texas Tech. Oklahoma’s Bradford returned for their last game against Oklahoma State. Bradford didn’t throw for many yards, but was able to throw 4 touchdown passes, to get the Sooner’s back on track. When the Sooner’s are playing healthy, they are the best team in the country. They get a chance to play against the currently ranked #1 team in the polls and in the BCS this coming weekend when they play Missouri for the second time. If you remember, Missouri’s one loss this year came from the Sooners.
Another quick note about Sam Bradford. He has broken the NCAA freshman record for touchdown passes, and still has a game to go. He has played phenomenally, and the Sooners are not getting the credit they deserve in the polls, and Bradford is not getting the credit he deserves. Though I normally disagree with pre-season Heisman watch lists, I’ll play the game and say that Bradford should be on everybody’s list next season. Bradford this season has thrown for 32 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. His completion percentage is 70.2% and 2670 yards. He still has two games to go, with the Big 12 Championship game, and whichever Bowl game they attend.
The tragedy of the BCS this year is that Ohio State may still end up in the National Championship game. Should West Virginia or Missouri lose, the Buckeyes will have gained admission through doing nothing. West Virginia plays Pitt this weekend, and should win, locking up a spot in the title game, while Mizzou faces a tougher test, as previously mentioned, against the team that has already beaten them this year. If Mizzou loses, we will see a similar NC game as last years. Ohio State doesn’t have the speed or the talent to play with West Virginia. In one writers opinion, that is one reason the BCS is again flawed. Do I have a solution, sure, but it won’t happen, so I won’t discuss it.
One game I’d like to talk about is the rivalry game known through out the country as the Holy War, or the battle for the Beehive Boot. BYU v. Utah. BYU has scored more than 30 points in six of their games this year, and had two other games where they were on the verge of 30. Utah was on a roll scoring over 27 points in their last 4 games, and 50 in their game against Wyoming. This was lining up to be a high scoring game with the last team with the ball winning. But with this rivalry, you never really know.
The first half was a defensive struggle, with the only points coming off the foot of BYU’s kicker, Mitch Payne. The Utes definitely had the edge in special team play, but were unable to take advantage of that. BYU had been able to move the ball effectively against the Utes, but couldn’t seem to get in the end zone. In the fourth quarter, the Cougars were up 9 - 3, with no one in the end zone. BYU had multiple chances. A couple were just out of reach or off the fingertips of the receivers, and another was nullified by an offensive pass interference call on Austin Collie.
The Utes also had their opportunities. They were put into scoring position after an interception by BYU quarterback Max Hall, but rather than scoring Utah quarterback in turn threw an interception, that would have gone the distance had Cody Hodgkiss not tripped over his own feet.
Utah was finally able to get into the end zone on a 1 yard run by Darryl Mack. They had taken the lead, but left BYU with just over a minute and a half to take back the lead. Max Hall fumbled the snap on first down, putting BYU in a second and 18. Failing to convert on second and third down, BYU now faced a 4th and 18, and the game. Utah played a prevent defense, and Hall scrambled around, until he found Austin Collie standing alone in the field for a 49 yard gain. This kept BYU’s hopes alive. Utah then proceeding to give the game away with a personal foul, and a pass interference call. BYU was now 11 yards out, and freshman sensation running back, Harvey Unga rumbled into the end zone for the go ahead touchdown. BYU lead by 5 points, and opted to go for a two point conversion. Hall found Collie in the back of the end zone to convert the two points.
Utah had some time left, but their hopes ended when Johnson threw a 50 yard pass into the end zone that was batted down. BYU had won another nail bitter against their rival. This is a team that should be good for years to come. They have a good discipline and a good coach.

Top 25 - November 6, 2007

I must apologize to my faithful readers. I was able to watch some of the games on Saturday, and caught the big ones, but I was away from my computer and unable to write up what I saw and what I thought. Unfortunately, that may again be the case this weekend, and also in a couple weeks. Because this isn't my full time job, and I do actually have other responsibilities, we will need to bear with it, and continue on.
That said, it was an exciting week in College Football. Though I still feel that some of my rankings may not fully reflect the actual state of College Football, they are an accurate representation of what has happened so far. You may notice some changes in my top 10, and not just because Boston College lost.

1 Previous 1	OHIO STATE 10 – 0 They are yet to be tested fully. Wisconsin had a chance, but Wisconsin doesn’t appear to be in my top 25 either. Their first real test will be their last game of the season.
2 2	OKLAHOMA 8 – 1 They bounced back. Sam Bradford threw for 5 touchdowns against Texas A&M. I view this as the best team in the nation, but there is something to be said about winning all of your games.
3 4	OREGON 8 – 1 I think Oregon would like a do over against Cal. The Ducks asserted their dominance over ASU and Dixon just became the front runner for the Heisman trophy.
4 5	LOUISIANA STATE 8 – 1 Close game against Alabama. The tigers could just as well be on a four game losing streak. They win their close games, and that is better than most.
5 8	KANSAS 9 – 0 I think that the Jayhawks could have hung 100 on Nebraska. I moved them up despite other teams winning because that was just too impressive.
6 7	WEST VIRGINIA 7 – 1 Idle this last week. They have some tough games ahead, and will get a chance to prove themselves as the class of the conference.
7 8	MISSOURI 8 – 1 I said that they would not drop below Kansas until they played, but Kansas just played too well. This isn’t a knock on Mizzou, they are still a top ten team, and could still win the conference.
8 10	TEXAS 8 – 2 Texas is playing well. They are the best two loss team. One of their losses was to Oklahoma, and the other was a let down. But how they are playing now gets them here.
9 3	BOSTON COLLEGE 8 – 1 They were playing on borrowed time. They should have lost earlier, but they are still the class of the ACC.
10 6	ARIZONA STATE 8 – 1 In a battle of the best of the Pac 10, Arizona State was blown away. They have their other tough games still ahead of them. If they beat USC, UCLA, and AZ, they deserve an at large bid to a BCS bowl.
11 11	GEORGIA 7 – 2 These bulldogs are still barking. This week is a tough game against Auburn and then against Kentucky. Winning these games should give the Bulldogs the confidence to beat LSU in the SEC championship.
12 13	BOISE STATE 8 – 1 After another dominating performance, Boise is playing the best football in the WAC. They have a loss, but have played a tougher schedule than Hawaii.
13 14	MICHIGAN 8 – 2 Tough win against the Spartans. The Wolverines are on a roll. They faced tough games and learned from them. As I’ve been saying they will be the Buckeyes real test.
14 12	HAWAII 8 – 0 They didn’t play, and that shouldn’t drop them. It didn’t, it was the outstanding play of the other teams.
15 15	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 7 – 2 They got their payback against Oregon State. But now they face Cal, who is looking for payback and to justify their season. Look for USC to lose this weekend.
16 16	VIRGINIA TECH 7 – 2 With Boston College losing, Vatech has a chance to win the ACC title now. They face 3 tough games and would need to win all of them in order to play BC again for the title.
17 17	CONNECTICUT 8 – 1 This is the surprising team of the season. They have come out of nowhere and are the leading team in the Big East. They still face West Virginia and
18 19	FLORIDA 6 – 3 Tim Tebow is good enough to justify Florida in this position. Also let’s not forget what a great motivator Urban Meyer is.
19 24	CLEMSON 7 – 2 Clemson lost their games that were tough. This week is another tough game against Wake Forest. Follow that with another tough game against Boston College, and Clemson could be out of the picture.
20 22	BRIGHAM YOUNG 6 – 2 The Cougars asserted their dominance against a struggling CSU team. They face TCU who may have found themselves in time for the game. BYU has too many weapons to fall this week.
21 21	AUBURN 7 – 3 They have a chance to play spoiler. If they can upend Georgia the way they did with Florida; that will really be something.
22 25	VIRGINIA 8 – 2 Their end of the season game against VaTech will likely decide who faces the Eagles for the ACC title. This is a good team, so don’t automatically give it to the Hokies.
23 23	TENNESSEE 6 – 3 Tennessee still could represent the conference in a BCS game. They need a couple things to happen, like a Georgia loss, but if they win out, and Georgia loses once, Tennessee is your SEC champ.
24 NR	CINCINNATI 7 – 2 They handed South Florida, the media darlings, their third straight loss. This week is a big game against Connecticut. I never thought I’d say that in football.
25 NR	AIR FORCE 7 - 3 Will the Falcons hand Notre Dame another loss. I think, and most would agree, that they will. Notre Dame is that bad, and the Falcons are actually a good team.

Dropped Out : Wake Forest, Alabama, South Florida

Also Considering: Texas Tech, Tulsa, Illinois, California, Kentucky

Thayne Top 25 - October 31, 2007

1 Previous 1	OHIO STATE 9 – 0 They finally played someone worth while. The destroyed Penn State, but still don’t inspire tons of confindence.
2 2	OKLAHOMA 7 – 1 This is the best team in the country. They have had their struggles, and Sam Bradford has proved that he is mortal, but he will be better for his struggles, as will this team.
3 3	BOSTON COLLEGE 8 – 0 Big win over VaTech. BC is the real deal. They have a great quarterback, who is going to be a pro. He may also be getting some hardware come the end of the season.
4 4	OREGON 7 – 1 This team would be ranked #1 if it weren’t for a foolish fumble into the end zone against Cal, by Colvin. They played against a good USC defense and they were slowed, but not stopped. Another big game against ASU this weekend should prove who will win the Pac 10.
5 5	LOUISIANA STATE 7 – 1 A bye this past week. Good thing too, because they were coming off too many close games. Maybe the break will have helped them overcome some of their problems. I thought they were supposed to have a dominate defense, but teams keep scoring on them.
6 6	ARIZONA STATE 8 – 0 They beat Cal, not as big of a deal as previously expected. But they are definitely at the top of the Pac 10. They have a chance to be NC contenders if they win at Oregon this weekend.
7 8	WEST VIRGINIA 6 – 1 The Mountaineers are the best team in the Big East. I don’t think many people are talking about them in NC race, but with other teams losing ahead of them, it could happen.
8 10	MISSOURI 7 – 1 Mizzou is still ranked ahead of Kansas. Why? Because I still had them ranked ahead of Kansas when they lost to OU, and they haven’t lost since. They will stay there until the two teams play.
9 11	KANSAS 8 – 0 This team is good. Magino has them playing at a new level. They should continue to compete in the Big 12, and the North may have just changed its face.
10 15	TEXAS 7 – 2 Texas is back in the top 10. How, why? Because nobody else wants to be there. They should finish out their schedule undefeated, but Tech and A&M could give them problems.
11 20	GEORGIA 6 – 2 The second best team in the SEC right now. Everyone else, besides Bama has three losses. They beat Florida, something they seldom do. The other tough games on their schedule are Auburn and Kentucky.
12 18	HAWAII 8 – 0 I almost had to move them up this far. I didn’t like it, but when teams lose to teams they shouldn’t lose to, they drop. Hawaii may not be amazing, but they do keep winning games, and that is something.
13 19	BOISE STATE 7 – 1 The Bronco’s beat Fresno State. Now the only tough match up left for them is against Hawaii. That should be a good game for both teams.
14 22	MICHIGAN 7 – 2 I said it back in September and I’ll say it again. Michigan will win the Big 10 title. They have some tests before Ohio State, but that game will once again have National Title implications. Not for Michigan, but they could stop Ohio State from playing for it.
15 9	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 6 – 2 This is not the same team that it was two years ago. The National Media is saying that the USC dynasty is over, and I think “What Dynasty?” I guess they had a Pac 10 title dynasty.
16 7	VIRGINIA TECH 6 – 2 Their two losses come to two teams that currently sit in the top 5. They don’t have a great offense, but their defense and special teams will keep them in all their games.
17 NR	CONNECTICUT 7 – 1 Another Basketball school with only one loss. They beat South Florida, and proved they can compete in the highly competitive Big East.
18 24	ALABAMA 6 – 2 The SEC keeps beating itself up, but Bama has come out with only two losses so far. They are good, and will only get better. Tide fans should be excited for the coming years.
19 14	FLORIDA 5 – 3 Tebow seems to not want the Heisman. He isn’t making the plays he needs to, and Florida keeps losing games.
20 13	SOUTH FLORIDA 6 – 2 The Bulls are good. They are going to continue to be good. They are lead by a good quarterback. They have two losses in a row, and they need to stop the bleeding. Cincinnati normally would do that, be that will still be a tough game.
21 23	AUBURN 6 – 3 Auburn has some talent, but no stars. They get to stay here for now, but they got games against Georgia and ‘Bama coming up. They don’t appear destined to stay ranked.
22 25	BRIGHAM YOUNG 5 – 2 Their game was postponed, and normally that doesn’t merit being moved up, but this last week, as I’ve explained, gives them the right. The postponed game is actually a good thing, because their tough game against Utah will mean more now.
23 NR	TENNESSEE 5 – 3 I think I’m being fooled just like the rest of the country. This is the 6th SEC team ranked for me. Maybe I am, but Tennessee has beaten some good teams, and their losses to Florida and to ‘Bama are understandable. But what happened against Cal?
24 12	WAKE FOREST 6 – 2 They are in the same boat as Michigan. They lost their first two games, and that hurt them. They are now fighting their way back into it and are one game behind BC in the ACC. Too bad they already lost to BC.
25 21	VIRGINIA 7 - 2 They may get a chance to face BC in the ACC championship if they win out. They can, but they face Wake this week. That will be a good game, whereas in the past, nobody would have cared.

Dropped Out : California, Kentucky

Also Considering: Clemson, South Carolina, New Mexico, Kentucky