Oh man, oh man, if this does happen, then this will be sweet! BCS mulls changes in format -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services Computers may be sacked right out of the Bowl Championship Series selection format, USA Today reported on Monday. The newspaper reported that officials with the BCS are looking at reducing the increasingly disputed role of computers in selecting teams for its national title game. In fact, computers could be eliminated altogether. Without computer involvement, a possible solution would be to allow the two major polls alone to determine the No. 1-vs.-2 match up, as long as they're in agreement, according to the newspaper. The BCS mathematical formula, which also includes computerized strength-of-schedule ratings, win-loss records and quality-win bonuses, in addition to the computer ratings, would be another option. Either change would have altered this month's Miami-Nebraska matchup in the Rose Bowl to Miami-Oregon. The Hurricanes and Oregon finished the regular season 1-2 in the USA TODAY/ESPN poll and the Associated Press media poll. Miami easily won the Rose Bowl and the national championship, jumping out to a 27-0 lead before coasting to a 37-14 victory over Nebraska. The major-conference commissioners who run the BCS met for two hours Sunday in conjunction with the annual NCAA convention, USA Today reported. "Any prognostication about where we'll be in April is premature," BCS coordinator John Swofford of the Atlantic Coast Conference told the newspaper. "We don't want to overreact too close to (the end of) the season." Another possible solution could be something similar to the NCAA men's basketball tournament -- but that's not realistic, Swofford says. "In basketball, you're selecting 65 teams (actually 34 in addition to 31 automatic qualifiers)," He told USA Today. "In this, you're trying to differentiate two teams from the pack. Some years, it might be relatively easy. Other years, that might be difficult. "Talking individually with others, it's kind of a mixed bag -- from shouldn't we have more emphasis on the human aspect to the formula's sound as it is. We're just going to have to evaluate that."
Stupid stupid stupid. The whole point of the computers was to help counter human bias. The polls provide the "human perspective" that is also needed. Now, they are saying "the computers disagreed with the humans [duh, that was the point], so let's get rid of them!" I don't see what the big deal was this year. Oregon was #2 in the polls. Nebraska was #4. Oregon was given a 2 point advantage, and had their SOS and computer ratings even been similar, they would have gone easily. The fact that they didn't go means that those other factors were SEVERELY against them. Funny thing is that Oregon would have at least jumped Colorado had they not had that Quality Win Bonus thingy. This just tells me the BCS is trying to design a formula around getting the results they want instead of who should really go. If that's the case, then just pick who you want instead of creating a formula and then blaming the formula when it didn't work. Next year, the #2 team in the polls will be jumped by the #3 team due to schedule strength and then they'll dump that aspect too. In the end, we'll be back to just picking #1 and #2, until the polls disagree and then all hell will break loose (again). If that was the goal, why not just leave it like that in the first place?
You know I got a similar impression when I read this article. Why have this complicated BCS when it looks like that you are going back to the old method of letting the polls decide? I guess that it is apparent that I have always been biased towards the computers. However, I would be happier that this could happen because it would mean more controversy and more pressure for a college football playoff. I will not be satisfied until major college football gets a playoff.
