posted January 5, 2010 at 17:32 EST in NCAA F Articles
Boise, TCU and Cincinnati Validate Scrutinized BCS System
by Tim Furious
We’re used to a lot of things in the NCAA college football betting season. Underdogs capturing victory over heavy favorites, college studs emerging and college stars fading. All events that take place every season. Along with that we always get people griping about the BCS system and that how it under values most schools while inflating the value of larger programs. Well this season, three schools (four if you include Oregon) got a shot in the BCS bow series, and all they did was justify years of pollsters jilting undefeated teams from small schools.
The first team to do so was the wildly overrated Cincinnati Bearcats which finished fourth in the AP polls. Well, they were blasted by Tim Tebow and the Gators to the tune of 51-24. If Brian Kelly hadn’t bolted for Notre Dame, the Bearcats still would’ve lost but maybe the game is a bit closer (like 45-31).
So what did we do? We largely ignored the Bearcats’ staggering loss and turned to the Fiesta Bowl in hopes that Boise and TCU could give the blistering critics another reason to judge the BCS system.
The Boise State Broncos are going to end the college football season as one of two undefeated college teams, but that won’t be enough for them to make a case for the vaunted title of the AP’s final standings. That honor will go to the victor of the Texas-Alabama BCS Championship game.
A win over TCU was maligned by the fact that their offense couldn’t get revved up early on and a tremendous number of miscues on offense led to a 17-10 nail biter that should’ve been a blowout as the Horned Frogs failed to hit the ground running with their top-ranked rushing attack.
Every year, critics lampoon the BCS method and make wild accusations that smaller programs deserve shots at the national title game. Programs like Utah, Boise State, TCU and Cincinnati have been the smaller voices leading that lobby, but the 17-10 victory by Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl is proof, yet again, that the BCS system, while not near perfect, isn’t as flawed as you think.
I criticized the selection of Boise State versus TCU for a BCS College Bowl Game because it didn’t serve to justify the credibility of two teams from weak conferences that notched top-5 rankings. If TCU had blown out Boise, as many college betting experts predicted they would, this would be a different sports story. Hell, it would’ve been different if Boise had won by 30-points, but that isn’t the reality we’re faced with.
The Broncos backers will try to make a case that the boys in blue deserve a share of the national championship, because controversy sells and Boise has been the cry baby of the college football underdogs for the last few years. Since they played in a horrifically weak WAC Conference, it’s virtually unthinkable that they deserve a share of the national championship, especially when Texas and ‘Bama are coming out of the Big 12 and SEC respectively.
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If that’s the type of football game that TCU and Boise State would have against each other, then what the hell would’ve happened had they played the Longhorns, Buckeyes or even the Nittany Lions? I think we can all take a cue from the lopsided affair between Florida and Cincinnati. It doesn’t matter if you’re undefeated unless you’ve emerged from a strong schedule. It would be like a champion boxer who only fought opponents who were paralyzed from the waist up and claimed his undefeated streak was historic (ok, maybe not that far).
Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State were supposed to prove to us why smaller conferences and smaller programs can sometimes be given a chance. Well they got their shot…and all three of them blew it.
For those of you that care about real college football, hear what Tim Brown has to say about the Alabama-Texas game. It’s the only bowl game, frankly, that matters.
So what’s the solution? Would a playoff really make that much of a difference? My answer is “no”. First of all, the college system is already 15-games long and if you’re going to make the playoffs, you couldn’t make it any more or less than three rounds for it to be remotely credible.
These are still kids. They have school work to do. Their bodies can’t possibly handle the strain of a season that long. They don’t get paid (unless they play for USC). Asking them to extend their season by three or four more games just so we can stop complaining about the BCS is ludicrous.
If Cincinnati, TCU and Boise had played admirably in the bowl series, then we would maybe make a case for a playoff. Hopefully that inane chatter can end now. It’s not a debate anymore. The BCS isn’t perfect by any stretch, but under the circumstances of the football season, it’s the best solution we’ve got.
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