Bowl Picks, Part 3

Bowls To Date: 12-10
Season: 231-93

The bowl season drags on and on. Next up is New Year’s Day. Once upon a time, New Year’s Day was a celebration of college football. You had the Cotton Bowl when it was a big game. You had the Rose Bowl, when it was an excuse to prepare for the really important game that night. Then, you had the Orange Bowl, which usually featured a Big 8 team and/or Miami playing for a national championship. Ok, not every year, but it sure seemed like it. Now, there is a glut of meaningless games on New Year’s Day and spreading to the days after. There is only one game that counts, and it is on January 8.

Outback Bowl, January 1, Tampa: Iowa vs. South Carolina: Slow Big Ten team plays underachieving SEC team. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier was once quarterback for an NFL team in Tampa. They went 0-14. He’ll do better on New Year’s Day. Pick: SC

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl, January 1, Jacksonville: Nebraska vs. Clemson: Middle of the road Big 12 team meets middle of the road ACC team. It won’t be great TV, but they’ll sell plenty of tickets and fill plenty of hotel rooms. Pick: Clemson

Capital One Bowl, January 1, Orlando: Georgia vs. Michigan State: See Outback Bowl-slow Big Ten team plays underachieving SEC team. That’s right, the Bulldogs underachieved, having lost to both rivals in Florida and Georgia Tech. Still, they should be able to handle the Spartans. Pick: Jawja

Rose Bowl presented by Citi, January 1, Pasadena, California: USC vs. Penn State: Once again, USC is in the Rose Bowl, and once again, a Big Ten team loses the Rose Bowl. Penn State should be able to keep it close, but SC’s defense should keep Penn State’s offense out of the end zone for most of the game. Pick: USC

FedEx Orange Bowl, January 1, Miami: Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech: This really is a BCS bowl game. None of the other BCS bowls wanted either of these teams, but the Orange Bowl gets the national championship game this year, so they’re stuck with this matchup. VT came out of a gaggle of evenly balanced teams in the ACC. Cincinnati dominated the Big East this year. Pick: Cincy

AT&T Cotton Bowl, January 2, Dallas: Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech: Ole Miss surprised the SEC and the world this season in their first year under Houston Nutt. Tech has won 11 games for the first time in the history of man. Make that 12. Pick: Tech

Liberty Bowl, January 2, Memphis: Kentucky vs. East Carolina: Zzzz. Did you know this is Kentucky’s third bowl in a row? So-so SEC team vs. champion of Conference USA. Give me the SEC. Pick: Kentucky

Sugar Bowl, January 2, New Orleans: Alabama vs. Utah: Bama has to be disappointed after running the table in the regular season before losing to Florida in the SEC championship game. The Utes had an awesome year, going undefeated to represent the non-BCS world in one of the $17 million BCS bowl. This won’t be as bad as Hawaii’s game last year against Georgia, but don’t look for the ’06 Boise State team to show up, either. Pick: Alabama

International Bowl, January 3, Toronto: Buffalo vs. Connecticut: Somebody has to go to Toronto in January for a bowl game. It may as well be two snowbound schools. At least the game is indoors. Buffalo won the MAC in Turner Gill’s third year as coach. UConn is becoming a bowl regular. The Bulls have had a great run, but UConn knows what they’re doing here. Pick: UConn

Fiesta Bowl, January 5, Glendale, Arizona: Texas vs. Ohio State: The Longhorns are really, really mad that they came out on the wrong end of the Big 12’s three-way tiebreaker for the South division championship. They really do have a case to be in the national championship game. On the other side of this matchup is Ohio State, winners of 10 games and a regular to this game in the desert. The Buckeyes had a nice season in the Big Ten, but they’re no match for Texas. Pick: Texas

GMAC Bowl, January 6, Mobile, Alabama: Tulsa vs. Ball State: Ball State had a great season, going 12-0 before being upset by Buffalo in the MAC championship game. Since then, head coach Brady Hoke has flown the coop for the warmer climes at San Diego State. Tulsa had a great year, as well, winning 10 games. Tulsa has faded a bit at the end of the season, losing three of their last five games. Pick: Ball State

BCS National Championship Game, January 8, Miami: Oklahoma vs. Florida: Get ready to stay up all night for this one, as there will be lots of offense here. Both teams have Heisman trophy winners. Both teams won premier conferences. Bob Stoops has national championship rings from both schools. As a Sooner fan, I cannot review this game objectively. Sooners win national championship number 8. Pick: OU

A Load of BCS

The pairings for the BCS are set. As expected, there are a lot of happy people in Florida and Oklahoma. There are a lot of upset people in Texas. The rest of the country is indifferent to the results of a sham of a system designed more to generate money for bowls and certain conferences than to determine a true national champion.

Some thoughts on the various BCS matchups:

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati. Not too long ago, these schools were members of the Metro conference for basketball and other sports, and independents in football playing each other every year. Fast forward 20 years, and these two schools are playing each other in a big-money bowl. On the field, it’ll actually be a pretty good game. However, it is a TV ratings disaster in the making. Plus, how many people are going to pay $125 per ticket to see Virginia Tech play Cincinnati? Good luck filling the stadium for this one. This is the price the Orange Bowl pays for hosting the national championship game a week later. VT won a very balanced but mediocre ACC. Cincinnati won an equally mediocre Big East going away. Both teams would finish 5th or worse in the Big 12 South, and it is questionable if either would win the North. Boise State would beat both teams by at least two touchdowns. So would Texas Tech. Flip a coin for a winner here. Picks will be made in a future blog post.

Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Utah. The Crimson Tide are back on the map in Nick Saban’s second year, going undefeated before losing the SEC championship game to the Florida Gators. Utah, in the meantime, went undefeated and won an underrated Mountain West conference. This will be a pretty good game.

Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Texas. The Buckeyes are here on the strength of their large traveling fan base, their huge alumni base, and their ability to draw a TV audience. Their second place finish in the Big Ten is not impressive due to the weakness of that conference. The Big Ten is definitely stronger in the classroom than on the field. Texas, on the other hand, has a case to be in the national championship game. The Longhorns were the only team to defeat Oklahoma, and were a last-second touchdown pass away from going undefeated. This is the most attractive matchup of the non-championship BCS bowls.

Rose Bowl: USC vs. Penn State. Penn State is this year’s sacrificial lamb put up by the Big Ten to be slaughtered by USC. 5:00 Central Time on New Year’s Day would be a good time to eat your black-eyed peas, as USC will have this one well in hand by then.

BCS National Championship Game: Oklahoma vs. Florida: Look for lots and lots of points in this one. Both teams are averaging over 50 points per game, and won the two dominant conferences in college football: the Big 12 and SEC. There is a possibility of a matchup of Heisman Trophy winners here, with Florida’s Tim Tebow and OU’s Sam Bradford. That is, if Bradford does what many expect and wins the Heisman on Saturday night. OU is looking to break a string of four consecutive losses in BCS games, including losses in the championship game in 2003 and 2004. This blog would love to see a rematch of OU and Texas in this game. However, Florida is very deserving of their spot here.

Breaking Ties Is Hard To Do

There is going to be a Big 12 championship game Saturday night in Kansas City, and Oklahoma is going to be in it. The Sooners used a 61-41 win at Oklahoma State to impress enough of the BCS computers to pass Texas in this week’s BCS ratings, enabling OU to win the league’s 5th tiebreaker over Texas and Texas Tech for the spot in Kansas City against the Missouri Tigers. (Wait, that’s a basketball score! The two schools have scored fewer points in basketball games against each other!)

The involvement of hard drives and statistical formulas provides a fitting end to the greatest season in the short history of the Big 12. OU, Texas, and Tech ran up point totals that would make the best video gamer proud. Not far behind them was Oklahoma State. The Cowboys were the fourth best team in the South division, but would have won the North. Heck, the Cowboys would have won the ACC, the Big East, and a few other conferences.

OU, Texas, and Tech were ESPN and ABC’s dream. The ABC Saturday night crew spent a lot of time this fall in Texas and Oklahoma, as that is where the best matchups were. It’s not that there was a lack of defense here. It’s just that the offenses were so good that nothing could stop them. These four teams gave fans plenty of reason to spend money to attend games and to make time to watch them on TV.

Teeth are gnashing and mouths are wailing tonight in the city of Austin, as the Texas Longhorns came out on the wrong end of this tiebreaker. They have good reason, as Texas beat OU in Dallas, 45-35. The wildcard in this scenario is that there is a third team in this scenario, Texas Tech, that finished with the same record as OU and UT. If the head-to-head result between OU and UT matters, then so does the head-to-head matchup between UT and Tech. By the way, Tech won that game, 39-33 in Lubbock. OU’s later pounding of the Red Raiders does not take away from Tech’s great season or their role in the tiebreaker.

Is there a better way to break the tie? Perhaps. The SEC and ACC drops the third team from the tie if said team is more than 5 places below the higher-ranked team in the BCS standings. That would not happen here, as Tech is ranked 7th behind OU’s 2nd and UT’s 3rd. Maybe the three schools should do what high schools in Florida do: meet at a neutral site on a Tuesday night, play one quarter each against each other, and let the two top teams play a final quarter for all the marbles. Just kidding, as this would be logistically impossible. A more logical solution would be for the three coaches to meet at a truck stop in Wichita Falls and flip coins. Or, draw straws. Or, better yet, play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Ok, with as much money as these teams generate and these coaches make, they could meet at the Grand Hyatt at DFW Airport. The truck stop would make for better TV, though. Kinda like the real story in the book, Friday Night Lights. To sum it up, there’s not a good way to break a tie between three really good teams.

There is hope for the Longhorns. OU could very well lose to Missouri Saturday night in Kansas City. And, the Longhorns could very well stay ahead of Florida if the Gators defeat #1 Alabama in the SEC championship game. Both of these scenarios would give Bevo a trip to Miami for the national championship game.

The BCS is good for nothing but controversy. So is anything involving OU and Texas.

As the BCS Turns

The first installment of Bowl Championship Series rankings came out on Sunday. As expected, Texas is on top of the rankings.

1 Texas
2 Alabama
3 Penn State
4 Oklahoma
5 USC
6 Oklahoma State
7 Georgia
8 Texas Tech
9 Ohio State
10 Florida
11 Utah
12 Boise State
13 LSU
14 TCU
15 Missouri
16 South Florida
17 Pittsburgh
18 Georgia Tech
19 Tulsa
20 Ball State
21 BYU
22 Northwestern
23 Kansas
24 Minnesota
25 Florida State

Some more observations:

• There is a good chance that at least one BCS conference team will go undefeated. Texas has at least two games left that they could lose: at home against Oklahoma State, and at Texas Tech. They stand a good chance of winning both of those, however. Alabama is undefeated, but still has SEC West battles against LSU and a weakened Auburn team. Penn State has a titanic road trip this week at Ohio State, but should be able to win the remaining games thereafter. At least one of these three teams will probably be in the national championship game, barring a collapse.

• The Big 12 South continues to have a murderers’ row, with four teams in the top 8: #1 Texas, #4 Oklahoma, #6 Oklahoma State, and #8 Texas Tech. OSU must visit Austin this week to play Texas. Tech must still play all three of the other Big 12 South powers. OU has a home game with Tech and a dangerous road trip to Stillwater to play OSU. With just a tiny bit of help, the stage is set for an OU-Texas rematch in the national championship game. Right now, the BCS computers like all of these teams. It is impressive that OU has a loss and is still ranked #4.

• Penn State plays Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday night in what may as well be the Big Ten championship game. No other team in this conference can touch either of those teams. Michigan thought they had something going when they led Penn State 17-7 in the third quarter. Penn State broke out the hammer, crushed the Wolverines, and won 46-17.

• USC is dominating the Pac-10 after an inexplicable brain fart on a Thursday night at Oregon State. It would be a huge upset if they lost to another Pac-10 team.

• There is a very good chance that a non-BCS conference team will make it to a BCS bowl for the third year in a row. For this to happen, one of these teams must finish in the top 12 of the BCS standings, or in the top 16 and ahead of the champion of a BCS-qualifying conference (such as the ACC or Big East). Currently, Utah and Boise State are undefeated and ranked 11th and 12th, respectively. Lurking at #14 is TCU, with one loss. It would be very interesting if TCU could qualify for a BCS bowl with a loss, provided they win at Utah. Boise State, however, has a very good chance to finish undefeated. Also in the rankings are undefeated Tulsa at #19 and undefeated Ball State at #20. Only one of these teams can make a BCS bowl, per the rules of the system.

That's all for now...

It Makes Too Much Sense

As has been written earlier in this blog, a college football playoff is the best way to both determine a legitimate national champion and to generate the maximum amount of revenue. Imagine, as the first round of a national championship playoff could be this week. First round games could be played on home fields to maximize revenue. It would be a 16 team bracket, and every conference champion would get an automatic bid. The five best teams to not win their conference would receive an at-large bid. This week’s pairings would be as follows (ratings taken from the final BCS ratings):

#16 Florida Atlantic at #1 Ohio State
#9 West Virginia at #8 Kansas

#12 Florida at #4 Oklahoma
#13 BYU at #5 Georgia
(Florida and Georgia played in the regular season, and would not be allowed to play in the first round of a playoff)

#11 Arizona State at #6 Missouri
#14 UCF at #3 Virginia Tech

#10 Hawaii at #7 USC
#15 Central Michigan at #2 LSU

The first two rounds would be played on the home field of the higher-seeded team in order to maximize revenue and to reward higher-ranked teams. The semi-finals would be held as a doubleheader at a neutral site, in a Final Four-type atmosphere. The national championship game would be held at another neutral site, awarded via a bidding process similar to that of the NCAA basketball tournament.

What about the bowls? There would still be room for bowls. For instance, Penn State and Texas A&M could still meet in the Alamo Bowl. Cities would have the option of keeping their bowls or placing themselves in the bidding for the championship rounds.

This is a treasure chest of money waiting to be earned. Oh, yeah, a champion would be crowned, also.

The Obligatory Anti-BCS Rant

This season was the best in the history of college football. There was no dominant team. Every week brought upsets and unpredictability. Thirteen teams ranked in the top 5 were subsequently beaten by unranked teams. There was never a dull moment.

This awesome regular season is about to be followed by a dud of a post-season. That post-season structure is called the bowl system. Instead of qualifying for a playoff, big-time college football teams subject themselves to the whims of computer geeks, coaches, retired coaches, and Chamber of Commerce guys in setting up their post-season. The result is one really big game, four big-name, high-paying games, and a bunch of meaningless exhibitions created to fill hotel rooms in the winter season.

One can argue that the lack of a playoff legitimizes the regular season, and makes every week and every game important. The current structure is like survival football, only a team can lose, fall, and climb back up in the standings if enough other teams lose. This season has resembled a big game of musical chairs, only teams are allowed to re-enter the circle. LSU has been #1 twice this season, lost, and still made the championship game.

The BCS was created to put #1 and #2 in the same bowl game, to preserve big-time bowl games, and to channel a ton of money into six major conferences. The system has served its purpose too well. The major conferences have seized control of big-time college football. The bowls have survived, in spite of thrilling matchups like last year’s Orange Bowl between Louisville and Wake Forest. What the BCS system really tells us, though, is that it’s more important to have controversy and make a whole ton of money for a handful of schools than to crown a legitimate national champion like every other collegiate sport.

A 16-team playoff would generate more money for all the schools, including those in BCS conferences. The biggest difference, though, is that the money would be controlled and distributed by the NCAA instead of the individual conferences. I have to admit that I cringe at the thought of the NCAA controlling that much more money and structure. The current administration of the NCAA lets off the biggest stench of academic elitism in its promotion and operation of college athletics. That’s what happens when you have an organization run by pointy-headed university presidents. If I have to choose between college athletic directors and college presidents, give me the A.D.’s any time. The A.D.’s are a lot more in touch with reality.

The purposes of college athletics are two-fold: to provide an opportunity for students to receive an education, and to promote the university among the general public. Fundraising is an outgrowth of both of those. A college football playoff would only enhance those purposes and help to provide more opportunities for athletes. Imagine how many more women’s and men’s sports a school could add with the extra money generated by a playoff.

The BCS is a barely-legal cartel. Remove the C, and you have the smell of the current college football post-season.

The Deed Is Done

Let the weeping and gnashing of teeth begin…

The final BCS ratings are out, and the BCS bowls have made their selections. As befitting the nature of this most psychotic of seasons, these selections are controversial. Some comments on the choices made by the Chamber of Commerce guys in the loud blazers..


BCS National Championship Game, New Orleans
Ohio State vs. LSU
It’s tough to argue with this one. Ohio State moved up four spots in the rankings without playing the last two weeks, and find themselves as the #1 team in the nation. LSU plays on its home field away from home in the Superdome. Buckeye fans normally take over a bowl city, no matter how far from Ohio it is. Now, they have to deal with New Orleans and a date with the home team, LSU. Look for the Superdome to be filled with 75,000 drunk Cajuns. Ask OU how that went the last time there was a national championship game in the Superdome. This matchup will be as good as any. TOSU is 0-8 against SEC teams in bowls. It will be a tall order for them in the Big Easy.


Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
USC vs. Illinois
After Ohio State qualified for the national championship game, the Rose Bowl had the first pick of at-large teams. The Rose Bowl people had a chance to take Georgia or any number of teams, but are so married to the Big Ten that they took 9-3 Illinois. Illinois isn’t bad, but they’re not elite bowl-caliber. This won’t be pretty. USC will spank Illinois. USC is back in their home away from home in Pasadena.


Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
Virginia Tech vs. Kansas
The Hokies are #3 in the BCS composite rankings, and are champions of the ACC. The Orange Bowl made a controversial pick by choosing Kansas. The Jayhawks have had a great season, finishing 11-1. Problem is, Missouri was better, beating the Jayhawks head-to-head, finishing 11-2 (with both losses to Oklahoma), winning the Big 12 North, and finishing higher in the BCS rankings. KU will have a great bowl trip until game time.


Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Arizona
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
OU returns to the scene of last year’s debacle against Boise State. The Mountaineers find themselves here after blowing a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make the national championship game. There will be a lot of points scored in this game. It will be well worth watching.

Sugar Bowl, New Orleans
Georgia vs. Hawaii
Georgia finished 10-2, but did not get a chance to play LSU for the SEC championship, since they lost to Tennessee. They are playing as well as anyone in the country right now. The Hawaii Warriors represent the hopes of the islands as well as the little guys of college football. This will be a good game.

Coming: my true thoughts on the BCS and a playoff system as it relates to this season.

BCS History At A Glance

We're still a long way from another college football season. And, the BCS is still a bunch of B.S. Nonetheless, it has become an even higher level of bowl game, and the prestige has increased along with the payouts. The upcoming season will be the 10th season of the BCS. Some interesting things I uncovered, while researching at College Football Data Warehouse:

The BCS has existed for 9 years.

38 different schools have been involved in BCS bowl games.

Nine different schools have won BCS national championships in the nine years of the BCS: Tennessee, Florida State, Oklahoma, Miami, Ohio State, LSU, USC, Texas, and Florida.

Florida State has appeared in the most BCS bowls, with six. The Seminoles have only won one of those bowl games.

USC and Ohio State have won the most BCS bowls, with four wins each.

Florida State has lost the most BCS bowls, with five. Hey, at least they got there.

Three schools from outside BCS conferences have appeared in BCS bowls. Notre Dame has a special deal with the BCS. They have appeared in, and been spanked in, three different BCS games. Can you say not ready for prime time? On the other hand, Utah and Boise State have both capped undefeated seasons with victories in the Fiesta Bowl.

The following schools have appeared in the BCS:
ACC: Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest
Big East: Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Louisville
Big Ten: Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, Iowa, Illinois
Big XII: Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Colorado, Kansas State
SEC: Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama
Pac-10: USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, UCLA, Stanford
Notre Dame
Non-BCS: Utah, Boise State

The BCS is a poor imitation of a playoff, but it's all we have at this time.

Looking forward to the next BCS National Championship game next January in the Big Easy...

Playoff, or BCS?

Imagine if college basketball had a bowl system, and, if it morphed into the BCS.

We could have the following:

Fiesta Bowl: Kansas vs. Memphis
Sugar Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Pittsburgh
Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. UCLA
Orange Bowl: Georgetown vs. Texas A&M

National Championship Game: Florida vs. North Carolina

That's just a really good way to determine a national champion. (sarcasm)

Wait a minute: Where's Ohio State? Sorry, the selection committee seeded North Carolina as the #2 team in the country, even though Ohio State was #1 in every major poll at the end of the season. Doesn't that sound like the BCS?

Let's enjoy the Tournament, and hope, wish, and pray that more sensible heads will prevail in the world of college football.

Progress

The Cotton Bowl today made official their attempt to reinvent their bowl game. As has been rumored for the last month, the Cotton Bowl board of directors voted to move their game to the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington, effective in 2010.

The Cotton Bowl will now attempt to crowd into the BCS bowl rotation. It is one of the traditional New Year's Day bowls, but suffered in recent years from a decaying and decrepit stadium. The game was in danger of being passed up by other cities in the pecking order of Big XII and SEC teams.

The new Cowboys stadium would be a great place for a BCS bowl game, and a national championship game. It would also benefit the Big XII, as the Big XII often finds itself playing in a hostile environment for national championship games (see Orange Bowl-OU vs. Florida State, Sugar Bowl-OU vs. LSU, and Rose Bowl-Texas vs. USC).

I am excited that the Cotton Bowl has made this move. I hope that OU and Texas follow suit and move the Red River Rivalry to Jerry's Palace on Johnson Creek.

Did you know..

...in the 9 years of the BCS, nine different schools have won the BCS National Championship?

1998-Tennessee
1999-Florida State
2000-Oklahoma
2001-Miami
2002-Ohio State
2003-LSU
2004-USC
2005-Texas
2006-Florida

A Decent Proposal

The eternal, ongoing debate concerns the need for a playoff in the highest level of college football. At this point, the only opponents of a playoff system are college presidents, BCS conference commissioners, and some athletic directors and coaches. Many coaches (such as Urban Meyer) are warming to the idea of a playoff. Media members and fans have been on the playoff bandwagon for years.

The primary argument used against a playoff is the amount of missed class time around the end of the semester and final exams. That is a bunch of Barry Switzer (B.S.). Divisions I-AA, II, and III play four to five weeks of playoffs, ending right around finals week. The missed class time arguments do not wash.

The unsaid argument revolves around money. The BCS generates a large amount of money. The BCS is not controlled by the NCAA, but by the bowls and the six BCS conferences. The six BCS conferences accumulate a large percentage of the money generated by the BCS. An extra BCS game was created, and increased access offered to non-BCS conferences, as a way to avoid a lawsuit from the non-BCS schools. This is the reason for the extra rotating BCS championship game, beginning this season. Any playoff system would be controlled by the NCAA. It would generate a larger amount of money, but the BCS conferences would receive a smaller portion of that money. The power conferences would rather have a larger portion of a smaller pie.

A college football playoff would serve two purposes: 1) To determine a champion, and 2) to maximize revenue for the member schools.

My proposal calls for a 16-team playoff. Each of the 11 Division 1-A conferences would have an automatic qualifier, just as in the NCAA basketball tournament. There would then be 5 at-large teams.

Why 11 automatic qualifiers? 1) Each conference would receive a share of revenue from the playoff, so each conference should participate; 2) It provides an easier first-round opponent for higher-ranked teams; and 3) It adds the once-in-a blue moon chance at a David-beats-Goliath upset, the element that makes the NCAA basketball tournament great.

5 is a good number of at-large teams, because there are really very few teams capable of winning 4 playoff games in a row to win a national championship, and these are teams that would be capable of doing so. It also places a value on the regular season, as a 6th place team in a power conference would not be in the NCAA football playoff, as they would qualify for the basketball tournament. There would normally not be a team with less than three losses in the playoff as an at-large team.

What about Notre Dame? They would not get an automatic bid. They would be forced to strongly consider joining a conference. The Big Ten and the Big East would be forced into a bidding war to offer the Irish the best deal, if ND felt the need to join a conference. ND could squeeze a sweet deal out of either of these conferences, making up for their lost BCS money. A Big 10 championship game could make up for that. This year, they went 10-2, and are 11th in the BCS rankings. They would be the last at-large team under my proposal. They might not get that lucky every year.

The first two rounds would be played on home fields. This maximizes revenue, and keeps fans from having to travel to more than two bowl-like games in neutral locations. It would be next to impossible for large numbers of fans to follow their team to four bowl locations in consecutive weeks in one season. The semi-finals and finals would be mega-events played in neutral sites, determined by a bidding process.

Television rights would be sold to the highest bidder. Coverage on the first two weekends would be regionalized, but supplemented with pay-per-view coverage of games not broadcast over-the-air in particular regions, similar in form to ESPN Game Plan or CBS Mega March Madness.

A playoff for this year would be as follows (seeds are based on BCS rankings):

Troy (16, Sun Belt champ) at Ohio State (1, Big Ten champ)
Auburn (9, SEC at-large) at Boise State (8, WAC champ)

Wake Forest (12, ACC champ) at USC (5, Pac 10 champ)
BYU (13, Mountain West champ) at LSU (4, SEC at-large)

Notre Dame (11, at-large) at Louisville (6, Big East champ)
Houston (14, Conference USA champ) at Michigan (3, Big 10 at-large)

Oklahoma (10, Big 12 champ) at Wisconsin (7, Big 10 at-large)
Central Michigan (15, MAC champ) at Florida (2, SEC champ)

The first two rounds would take place the weekends of December 8-9, and December 15-16. Games would be played on Friday night and all day Saturday, with no games competing with the NFL on Sundays. There would be a break during Christmas weekend, and the semifinals would be played on Monday, January 1, in a neutral location-either a dome or a warm-weather city. The semifinals would be a mega-Final Four-type event, played as a doubleheader on New Year’s Day. The winners would play in another city on January 8, the day of this year’s BCS championship game.

Games would be scheduled for maximum television exposure, and for minimum overlap with NFL games.

This proposal promotes all that is great about college football, maximizes revenue, and protects the integrity of the regular season. It also determines a champion on the field.

Urban Renewal

Congrats to the Florida Gators, the #2 team in the nation, and opponent for The Ohio State University in the BCS National Championship Game, January 8 in Glendale, Arizona. I don’t have a huge problem with it, as Florida beat Arkansas, LSU, Tennessee, and Georgia on its way to winning the SEC.

Coach Urban Meyer has now won championships in three different conferences in six years: Bowling Green in the MAC, Utah in the Mountain West, and Florida in the SEC.

I’ll have more comments on the BCS and the bowls later in the week.

College Picks-Championship Week

It’s conference championship weekend, along with a few assorted regular season games. The #2 spot in the BCS is still in play, as well as four BCS conference championships.

Last Week: 13-7 Season: 180-80

Big XII Championship game at Kansas City: Oklahoma vs. Nebraska: The Sooners are making a surprise appearance here, winning seven games in a row after losing to Texas. They are doing it the Woody Hayes way: three yards and a cloud of dust. RBs Allen Patrick and Chris Brown have picked up the slack after the injury to Adrian Peterson. Nebraska is the best of a mediocre bunch in the North, but the Huskers do have a big road win over Texas A&M, the latest conquerors of Texas. The forecast is for temperatures in the 20s in Kansas City Saturday night, which favors the OU running game over the West Coast Offense of Nebraska. Pick: OU
MAC Championship game at Detroit: Central Michigan vs. Ohio: Frank Solich has the Ohio Bobcats in the championship game and a bowl in his second year in Athens. The Chippewas blew through the West division of the MAC. Pick: Ohio
Conference USA Championship game at Houston: Southern Miss vs. Houston: The Coogs have rolled through the West division of C-USA, after a midseason 3-game losing streak. Southern Miss is consistently good. The game is on Houston’s home field. Pick: Houston
ACC Championship game at Jacksonville: Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech: Wake Forest got through a murderer’s row in their division, getting past Maryland, Boston College, and a weakened Florida State to reach the championship game. Georgia Tech is coming off of a tough loss to archrival Georgia. Neither team expected to be here at the beginning of the year. The ride continues for Wake. Pick: Wake Forest
SEC Championship game at Atlanta: Florida vs. Arkansas: The Gators have made it to this point with only one loss, on the Plains at Auburn. Arkansas won 10 games in a row before losing last week against LSU. Arkansas is doing some fun things on offense, such as lining up RB Dwight McFadden in the “Wildcat” formation, a variation of the single wing. Florida barely survived last week in Tallahassee against weakened archrival Florida State. Arkansas is better than Florida State. Pick: Arkansas
Army vs. Navy at Philadelphia: A lot of these guys will be fighting terrorists as soon as next year. Props to them for serving our country. This rivalry takes a back seat to none. On the field, Navy is once again having a solid season. Army has had its ups and downs. Pick: Navy
USC at UCLA: All that stands between the Trojans and the BCS championship game are their hated rival Bruins. USC needs to win in the Rose Bowl to avoid returning there on January 1. UCLA is a fair team, but nothing special. USC just keeps getting better. Pick: USC
Rutgers at West Virginia: The Scarlet Knights can secure a conference championship and BCS bowl bid with a win. Problem is, it’s their toughest road game of the year. West Virginia suffered an improbable home loss to South Florida last week, bringing an end to their BCS hopes. Still, the ‘Eers will have enough in the tank to bounce back and handle Rutgers. There will be a lot of happy people in Louisville Saturday night. Pick: West Virginia
Air Force at TCU: TCU, with a win, will clinch another 10 win season, after slipping under the radar with early losses to BYU and Utah. Air Force has slipped to the status of a middle-of-the pack Mountain West team, and is no longer the strongest program of the service academies. Pick: TCU
Oregon State at Hawaii: The Beavers are the only team to defeat USC this year. They will not have a vacation in Hawaii this week, as the Warriors have won 9 games in a row, and are ranked 24th in the nation. The Warriors (don’t call them Rainbow) have scored more than 40 points in all 10 of their wins. The Beavers can’t hang with that. Pick: Hawaii

Strange Things Happen

The BCS and a few conferences came into focus this weekend, as a few unexpected things happened.

In our part of the country, the Fightin’ Texas Aggies went into Austin and shocked the Texas Longhorns, 12-7. Hindsight is always 20-20, but what was Mack Brown doing when he allowed Colt McCoy to come back from injury this soon? Colt had easily his worst game of the year, throwing three interceptions, and having to be carted off the field with 20 seconds left in the game, after aggravating his shoulder injury. I like Colt, and wish he didn’t play for that school in Austin. In my opinion, Mack set him up for failure by letting him come back so soon. On the other sideline, Dennis Franchione more than saved his job, and the Aggies delivered a win on which they can build a program. The Ags are going to be hard to deal with in years to come.

That result set up Saturday in Stillwater, where Oklahoma needed a win in the Bedlam series against Oklahoma State in order to win the Big 12 South and advance to the Big XII Championship Game next week in Kansas City. The Sooners got 156 yards rushing and a touchdown from Allen Patrick, and 74 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Chris Brown, to get past the Cowboys, 27-21. The Sooners have survived the ineligibility of a starting quarterback and offensive lineman, a botched call which cost them an early game at Oregon, and the loss of all-everything running back Adrian Peterson to win the South division and to be one step from a BCS bowl. Bob Stoops has done the best coaching job of his tenure at Oklahoma.

Elsewhere, USC pounded Notre Dame, 44-24, to make their case for #2 in the BCS rankings, and a spot opposite Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game. Notre Dame is vastly overrated, and has been the beneficiary of some good luck (Michigan State’s collapse) and good scheduling (name teams in down cycles such as North Carolina and Stanford, and the three service academies). It is my hope that the rumor comes true, and the Fiesta Bowl allows the Big 12 champion to play Michigan in the Rose Bowl, and that Notre Dame would go to Glendale to play Boise State. I would love to see Boise cream Notre Dame.

LSU helped their BCS at-large chances, by going to Little Rock and defeating Arkansas, 31-26. The Hogs’ 10-game winning streak came to an end. Arkansas can still advance to the Sugar Bowl with a win over Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

West Virginia blew their BCS chances with a 24-19 loss at home to South Florida. The Mountaineers are now reduced to being spoilers, as they face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this week. Rutgers can win the Big East with a win in Morgantown.

The ACC has turned upside down, as Florida State and Miami are barely qualifying for bowls, and Wake Forest is playing Georgia Tech for the conference championship. In the Big 12, this would be like Texas Tech playing Kansas for the conference championship. In the SEC, it would be like South Carolina going against Ole Miss for a conference championship. Hell hasn’t frozen over on Tobacco Road, but it is basketball season there. It was weird to see Wake Forest play Maryland in a meaningful football game. That is usually reserved for basketball.

More comments, projections, and rankings to come later….

Half a BCS Mess

Who's Number Two?

The Ohio State University took care of business on Saturday, with a wild 42-39 win over Michigan. Both teams went to the air early and often. Woody Hayes was turning over in his grave. Bo Schembechler was turning over at the funeral home, as he hasn’t been buried yet. Those two coaches made this game famous with three yards and a cloud of dust. The Buckeyes can book their reservations for the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona on January 8. The race for the other spot is a mess.

Michigan has a chance to join them, but they need some help. They would really be helped if their little buddies from Notre Dame beat USC on Saturday. USC played a lethargic first three quarters before pulling away to defeat Cal, 23-9. At this point, Michigan remains #2 in the BCS rankings. It remains to be seen if USC wins over Notre Dame and UCLA would help them pass Michigan in the BCS rankings.

Also players in this #2 mess are Florida and Arkansas. Both teams have games this week, as Florida plays Florida State, and Arkansas plays LSU. The winner of their duel in the SEC championship game has an outside chance to end up as the #2 team.

If USC wins out, it’s hard to argue with them due to the strength of their non-conference schedule. They would have wins over Notre Dame, Arkansas, and Nebraska, in addition to their Pac-10 title. Michigan has proven themselves worthy, but USC’s non-conference schedule should be enough to carry them to the #2 spot.

BCS Projections

BCS NCG: TOSU vs. USC
Rose: Michigan vs. Notre Dame (rematch)
Fiesta: Texas vs. Boise State
Sugar: Florida vs. West Virginia
Orange: Arkansas vs. Georgia Tech

Big XII Rankings

1. Texas: Needs win over A&M to stay in this spot.
2. Oklahoma: Needs win by Texas Aggies and win over Oklahoma Aggies.
3. Nebraska: Getting ready for Kansas City.
4. Texas A&M: Sooners will be cheering for Aggies on Friday.
5. Texas Tech: Good win over OSU.
6. Oklahoma State: Inconsistent, but facing their Super Bowl with OU coming to Stillwater.
7. Missouri: What was that brainlock in Ames?
8. Kansas: Fighting Manginos need win over Mizzou this week.
9. Kansas State: Followed up Texas win with loss to hated archrival KU.
10. Baylor: Season mercifully over.
11. Colorado: Improved from beginning of season to end.
12. Iowa State: Sent coach McCarney out a winner.