The University of Alabama won the BCS Championship Thursday night, beating the University of Texas, 37-21.
But that's the BCS. Which is BS.
There should be a playoff.
Last month, I offered several posts that suggested a playoff. Like many other people did. My idea is to have all 11 Division 1-A conference champions, plus the top five non-champions (according to the Coaches Poll) in a 16-team tournament. Conference champs would be seeded 1-11, and the "wild card" teams would be 12-16. Details here.
What if they actually had done that? Well, based on how the bowl games turned out, I have an idea. Keep in mind that you might not like what I'm about to write.
I'm figuring that Texas Christian, Cincinnati, and Boise State are pretty even teams. TCU and Boise State played a close Fiesta Bowl. Cincinnati got their clock cleaned by Florida.
I think that Central Michigan, East Carolina, and Troy are pretty even. CMU and Troy went into overtime in the GMAC Bowl. ECU lost to SEC middle-of-the-pack Arkansas.
LSU lost a close one to Penn State. Georgia Tech lost a close game to Iowa. Ohio State beat Oregon. Virginia Tech clobbered SEC middle-of-the-pack Tennessee.
Based on that, here's how I think the tournament would have gone.
First round:
1) Alabama beats 16) Louisiana State
2) Texas beats 15) Virginia Tech
3) Texas Christian loses to 14) Iowa
4) Cincinnati loses to 13) Penn State
5) Boise State loses to 12) Florida
6) Oregon beats 11) Troy
7) Ohio State beats 10) East Carolina
8) Georgia Tech beats 9) Central Michigan
Quarter-finals:
1) Alabama beats 14) Iowa
2) Texas beats 13) Penn State
6) Oregon loses to 12) Florida
7) Ohio State beats 8) Georgia Tech
Semi-finals:
1) Alabama beats 12) Florida
2) Texas beats 7) Ohio State
Which sets up...
The championship game:
1) Alabama vs 2) Texas
Okay, I get the irony. As much as I bitch, moan, and complain about the BCS, the tournament I support would have resulted in the same game as tonight.
Unless, of course, Alabama had been unable to beat Florida a second time. Or if Ohio State had knocked out McCoy and edged Texas. Or if Tebow had been hurt while playing at Boise State. Or if...
And that's the thing. The "if" factor.
Who knows what would have happened over the course of a 16-team tournament?
I still think it would have resulted in the game we just had: Alabama vs Texas. But you never know. With five undefeated teams going into the bowls, it's not fair to TCU, Cincinnati, or Boise State. Those teams did everything that was asked of them, and were shut out of the championship. No, they wouldn't have won it. But you can't tell their crazy insane fans that.
A tournament would shut them up.
Or prove them right.
I am glad that the BCS put Boise State and TCU together. Who in Hell wanted to watch them play a good team and get shellacked like ESPN's darling Cincinnati did?
ReplyDeleteRemind me again, when was the last time a team other than an SEC team won the "national" championship?
For those that didn't get your point in the question: All four actual BCS Championship Games have been won by an SEC team.
ReplyDeletePrior to the 2005 season, there was no Championship Game, although they tried to match #1 against #2 in the Rose, Orange, Sugar, or Fiesta Bowls.
But several bowls over the years, prior to the BCS, featured #1 vs #2, starting with the 1963 Rose Bowl. It happened 11 times from 1963 to 1996. It did not happen in 2004, 2002, or 2001 bowls, under the Bowl Alliance.
Well, there's that and then there is the fact that the true national championship game is played every year in Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteQuite true, sir. Quite true.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the BCS game is played simply so pollsters can see how bad the non-SEC team will lose, so they'll know how low to drop them in the polls.