As a result, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has developed. It's a half-ass attempt to logically compare schedules, victories, and points via computer to create the official rankings to determine Number 1 and 2 teams. This sounds good, but it never really lets the championship be decided on the field in a straight-up tournament style.
For example, this year the Number 1 team has been the Ohio State Buckeyes all season. This team has dominated everyone they played, except Michigan who hung within three points of them. They've taken apart Texas (last year's champs), Penn State, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, and Northwestern.
Picking the Number 2 team has been the difficult point. Of course for the last four seasons everyone has had a hard-on for the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans. Deservedly so, the Trojans have won the 03 and 04 national championships while losing to Texas in 05's championship game following a miraculous comeback led by Vince Young. Be that as it may, the University of Michigan Wolverines seem to be getting screwed regarding this year's championship game. Michigan has only lost one game this year, just as USC did; however, they lost to the Number 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. Meanwhile, USC lost to Number 24 ranked Oregon State at USC.
What I don't understand is how the weekend following Thanksgiving after beating Notre Dame, USC moved from third in the BCS rankings to second with Michigan slipping to third. Grant it, beating Notre Dame is a big accomplishment that I relish seeing, but both Michigan and USC beat Notre Dame this season. As a matter of fact, Michigan beat Notre Dame by 26 points with a score of 47 to 21. USC beat Notre Dame by 20 points, 44 to 24. Not only did Michigan beat Notre Dame by more points than USC did, but they did it under harder circumstances marching into Notre Dame's sacred South Bend, IN home with the game being played under the watchful gaze of Touchdown Jesus. USC had the luxury of beating Notre Dame under the sunny skies of Southern California. Where would you rather play Notre Dame? And how can such a victory catapult USC over Michigan to play in the National Championship game?
Some people claim that if you don't win your conference, you shouldn't be able to play for the championship. But if your conference is the toughest in college football and the BCS just lines up the top two teams, then there's nothing standing in the way for Ohio State vs. Michigan for the championship unless USC's marketing is really the key.
For instance, there are only eight teams in the nation that have one or less losses. Three of these teams, Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin, are members of the Big 10. Prior to their narrow loss to Ohio State, the University of Michigan had given Wisconsin its only loss of the year. They were also the first team to give Notre Dame a loss this year and they did it at ND while the club was playing well. USC hasn't beaten any one-loss clubs, but they have beaten a 10-2 Arkansas, 9-3 Nebraska, 8-3 California as well as Notre Dame.
It seems to me that bias for USC or against Michigan/Big Ten is messing up this year's BCS Championship. Sure, Michigan lost to Ohio State, but on the road in Columbus. Who knows if that game was played in Michigan, would Big Blue have won. We should at least get the chance to see what would happen if the powerhouses played on a neutral field, but the BCS rankings at this juncture of the season won't let us. Our only hope to see the true National Championship Game is to hope the USC loses to UCLA in the final week and the BCS raises Michigan back to Number 2.
1 comment:
Hear, hear! But then again, ask most folks around these parts, and it's the other Big Blue who should be playing OSU for the championship. You know, the only other undefeated team in the nation?
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