http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1679892 Saturday, December 6, 2003 Special to ESPN.com ESPN's Brad Edwards breaks down the impact of Syracuse's 38-12 win over Notre Dame -- a result that may allow LSU to make it to the BCS championship game: Edwards: "Notre Dame's loss weakens USC and will allow LSU to finish with a better schedule strength than the Trojans. If LSU and Boise State (an 11-point favorite at Hawaii) both win tonight, LSU will end up at least five schedule strength spots ahead of USC, which means the Tigers would only need supremacy in six computers to make up the rest of its current deficit. I believe they will finish ahead of USC in at least six, if not all seven computers. USC could beat Oregon State by 50, and it won't matter, because LSU doesn't need to jump USC in the human polls. LSU should be in the Nokia Sugar Bowl with a win tonight unless Hawaii beats Boise State, which would make it necessary for LSU to get one-tenth of a point in quality-win bonus from Georgia remaining in the BCS top 10. If LSU is able to jump USC in all seven computers, however, the quality-win points won't be necessary. If LSU and Boise State both win, USC's only remaining chance would be for Oklahoma to lose and fall to No. 2 in the polls -- between USC and LSU. If the Sooners lose and fall to No. 3 in both polls, then USC would be No. 1 in both polls and finish third in the BCS. Basically, if LSU, Oklahoma and Boise State all win tonight, I feel confident that LSU will be No. 2 when the BCS comes out tomorrow."
*reads post* *scratches his head* Ummm..yippee? Serisously guys this could all be solved with a friggin' playoff system. It works in EVERY OTHER DIVISION! Let the lower tier bowls be the host games for the first round games among the top 16 or 32 teams then rotate the championship game among the big 4 bowls. Yes I know someone would end up feeling left out every year but at least it would settle things on the field, not in a computer's processor. Just my opinion.
I'm all for a playoff... but NOT between 16-32 teams. Just keep it the way it is now... but the top 8 in the BCS get a chance to be in the playoffs. In fact, playoff games would ENHANCE the importance of a bowl game... Right now, who cares about who wins the Fiesta or Rose Bowls.... if there was a playoff system, these bowls could be the SEMI-FINALS, with a potential national champion involved... defenitly warrants more interest. But, in the end... it'll be the SCHOOLS and the big money conferences opposing the playoff system. All I know is that the other bowl sponsors shouldn't be the ones who cry foul over a playoff system... cause hey, NOBODY cares about the non-BCS bowls right now.
Bob Stoops can suck my big brown ****. I can't believe I'm rooting for these SOB's and K-State is using them like $2 whores.
Couldn't have said it better. Why can't there be an 8 team playoff? $$$ Also they need to either get rid of all conference championships or have one for every conference that's eligible.
This is why I can never fully embrace college football; why the NFL is still the the ultimate form of football. I realize the college football playoff argument has been beaten to death over the years, but it sickens me that the NCAA brass can't get their heads of their asses. There are three teams that are 12-1 right now. One of these three teams will not play in the Sugar Bowl even though they have earned the right to. I guess it looks like USC will be the odd team out. There are many Texas fans here at Clutchfans. How would you feel if UT was in USC's shoes right now? I would be pissed beyond belief. I would feel like I wasted my money going to games for the season. One loss is one loss, I don't care who it came against. Heck, this OU team that showed up tonight couldn't beat Cal. I think any sport where the title game attendees are picked by human opinion loses credibility. College football's current post-season set-up is an insult to the passionate sports fan. Passionate fans follow their team in its persuit of a national championship team, and when a team actually earns the right for a chance to win it all and doesn't go because of human opinion, they feel ripped off. Yet millions of people still like college football over the NFL.
It's not automatic. They'll likely be #2 though....the computers won't drop them much, and they have that quality win over Texas. The only thing that will change is the human polls.
Used and abused. How's that for irony? Texas fans, disconcerted by their recent BCS shaft, can perhaps be consoled by the fact that OU will miss out on the championship game, but, instead, they will get to watch OU head to the championship against LSU because of their quality win. Eh...Good luck. I'd rather the Big 12 claim a national title than LSU.
I kinda hope we don't go to the NC. I still can't get myself to believe that we're anywhere near deserving to.
I'm am suprised OU didn't drop to 4. One blowout loss on that last game of the season to me is worse than 2 loses much earlier in the season when 1 close lose was on the road due to special teams plus another close road loss to a top 15 team. This is not unprecedented, a two loss CU conference champion got voted #3 over a 1 loss Nebraska team that like OU got blown out their last game. If I had a vote I would have voted LSU (#1), USC (#2), Michigan (#3) and OU (#4). Some idiots even gave OU #1 overall votes. I just don't think you can ignore their lambasting on their last game of the season. Now if OU was ranked 4 in both polls but still got the #1 overall BCS--I would have no problem going. But if them being ranked in the top 3 keeps them in--I'd be really pissed if I were USC.
The difference between the two situations is that Colorado was the team that blew out Nebraska that year.
That is a difference and one I well remember but the bottom line is the 2 loss team that came on strong was voted over the 1 loss team who got blown out late. I'd had Michigan #3 if I were voting. Now if OU lost a close one I still would have considered them top 3--but not losing that way in their conference championship. Like I said if OU was properly ranked #4 and still got the top 2 BCS spots as Nebraska did that year I'd have no problem with them going (I had no problem with Nebraska going that year either), I just don't think they are a top 3 team when you examine LSU's, USC's and Michigan's overall season when you give a little extra weight for the last half of the season--which is a better indicator of actually how good the team is.
Less than an hour until decision time... By Brad Edwards Special to ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1680412 It might be the toughest ticket in the history of college football, and the party scene might be second only to Mardi Gras. Oklahoma (12-1) and LSU (12-1) will be No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, when the final BCS Standings are released today (5:30 ET, ABC). This means the Sooners and Tigers will square off for the national title in the Nokia Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4 in New Orleans. USC (11-1), which entered the final week of the season as the BCS' No. 2 team and enjoyed a 24-point win over Oregon State on Saturday, will finish third and meet No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. The Trojans are the top-ranked team in both the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll and The Associated Press' media poll and could still win AP's national title with a Rose Bowl victory. The coaches' poll is obligated to crown the BCS championship game winner as its national champion. In the end, USC's schedule strength and computer rankings were not strong enough to hold off the Sooners and Tigers within the BCS formula. USC non-conference opponents Auburn, BYU, Hawaii and Notre Dame, along with conference foes Arizona State and Washington, all failed to live up to preseason expectations, which weakened the Trojans in every element except the minds of the human voters. Despite its 28-point loss in the Big 12 championship game, Oklahoma held onto the No. 1 spot in most of the BCS computers, mainly because those ratings are no longer allowed to factor margins of victory or defeat. Those rankings, along with a very strong schedule, allowed the Sooners to hold their spot as the BCS' No. 1 team. College football's last split national title came in 1997, when Michigan and Nebraska both went undefeated. The BCS was created after that season, presumably to assure that the top two teams in the nation would always meet on the field in a bowl game. Twice previously -- 2000 (Miami) and 2001 (Oregon) -- the No. 2 team in both of the voter polls did not reach the BCS championship game. This is the first time in the system's six-year history that the No. 1 team in either poll has not finished in the top two of the BCS Standings. Kansas State's win over Oklahoma for the Big 12 title gave the Wildcats an automatic BCS berth, likely in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. More than likely, they will take on Florida State, while Miami and Ohio State play a rematch of last year's national title game, this time in the FedEx Orange Bowl. In the coaches' poll, the Trojans had 37 first-place votes and 1,542 points to the Tigers' 18 first-place nods and 1,516 points. Oklahoma still received eight first-place votes and 1,449 points. Michigan (10-2) remained fourth in the poll, followed by Texas (10-2), Ohio State (10-2), Tennessee (10-2), Florida State (10-2), Miami (10-2) and Kansas State (11-3). Georgia (10-3) fell from fifth to 11th after its loss to LSU. In the media poll, the Sooners fell to third after holding the top spot since the preseason. USC is No. 1 for the first time in 22 years, garnering 42 first-place votes (1,595 points). LSU (1,580) got 21, and Oklahoma (1,491) received the final two. The Sooners had hoped to join Florida State in 1999 as the only teams to go wire-to-wire since the advent of the preseason poll in 1950.
It's kinda funny. Because you know what the computer does. It treats everyone fairly rather than let in some human bias that distorts everything. It did exactly what it was supposed to do. Pick the best two teams. And anyone who doesn't think so is failing to see the truth. I would like to see a playoff system too, but the fact of the matter still remains, Oklahoma was still the best team in the country at the end of the season. One loss is only one loss no matter when it comes. Should we penalize the students who get all A's up until the final. Should they be ranked behind all the other students because they got a B+ on the final instead of an A. No. Oklahoma deserves to go.
It's kinda funny. Because you know what the computer does. It treats everyone fairly rather than let in some human bias that distorts everything. Keep in mind that the computers disagree with each other quite a bit too. If you had picked a different set of 8 computers, you might have totally different results.
But here is the rub. OH didn't get a B+ on the final. They got a F on the final but it was tossed out or at worst treated as a B (because margin of loss and degree of domination was not considered). Further, a student struggles early with a test (USC) but puts it all together at the end of the season (aces a comprehesive final) performs better than the student who aced the class early but flunked the last bit of the course. thus I think the end of the season is more telling about how good that team is so it is perfectly reasonable to weigh that stronger. It just depends how you look at things. We just need to move to a playoff so every team with any kind of reasonable case for belonging is included. With the top 3 teams honestly there are reasonable cases for each.
