Another Looming Controversy. The BCS...again
by: baseball18
I can see it now. The Missouri Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers charging out of their respective tunnels about to play for the 2008 National Championship, capping the most pivotal season yet in explaining why college football needs a playoff system.
While upon first glance, readers may scoff at this prediction. It is all too possible. And no, please don't misunderstand me. I do not, in any way shape or form, believe these two squads will be the nation's best this year, but they have some of the most potential to work the system--the BCS.
While it seems that every media outlet and publication has their own unique rankings in the preseason, there is certainly a general consensus on who the five or six best teams coming into the 2008 season will be. Even if you are like me and think that preseason rankings are essentially a joke, you realize that certain teams should be better than others (no Michigan jokes please).
This season, it seems like in no particular order the group looks like this: Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, and, as always, USC. Of course, others will throw a handful of other teams in the mix, but by and large, these look to be the at the top of the charts.
Here's the problem. 4 out of these 5 teams will play each other. USC and Ohio State square off early on in the season, while Florida and Georgia will slug it out in Jacksonville midway through. That is, of course, on top of playing the rest of their conference schedules, which, with the exception of Ohio State and the weak Big 10, will be no cake walk.
As a college football fan, it's great to see the intersectional rivalry re-visited with the OSU-USC matchup, and Florida-Georgia never disappoints. In terms of title game ramifications, however, these games get a little more dicey. Of course, in the SEC there is never a gimme-game. The winner of the biggest cocktail party of the year in Jacksonville is still likely to drop a game along the line against the likes of Tennessee, Auburn, South Carolina and the rest. The same goes for USC, who always plays a tough schedule in and out of the Pac-10, even if they come out on top against OSU. The Buckeyes might be the lone exception with a pretty weak slate of conference games now that Michigan is looking to have a down year. Even Oklahoma, while they don't have any of these other top five teams on their schedule, have Texas, last year's surprise in Kansas, and offensive juggernaut Texas Tech, albeit all at home.
Enter the likes of Missouri, who misses Oklahoma in Big 12 play; West Virginia, who only needs to navigate through a weak Big East and a "gauntlet" of non-conference games against Villanova, ECU, and Marshall; and Clemson, who misses Virginia Tech in conference and only has one out of conference test playing Alabama at a neutral site. All of these teams are solid, but even if they are good enough to be considered contenders--we won't know because of their weaker schedules.
I guess our one hope should be that Missouri is forced to prove themselves in the Big 12 title game aginst Oklahoma; and Clemson has to face off with Va. Tech in Tampa for the ACC Championship Game; or West Virginia loses a game in the Big East that they aren't supposed to--as usual. But, it doesn't always work out that way.
The BCS works in one situation--when there are only two teams at the end of the year who are undefeated or only have one loss. There is always this possibility, but I see this year as having more than ample opportunity for college football to see four or five one-loss teams at the end of the year. My biggest fear is that two teams who haven't proven themselves, like a possible Mizzou or West Virginia, will play for the national championship, leaving the best teams, like UGA or USC or, dare I say it, Ohio State, at home watching from their couches.
School presidents, league commissioners...God? Please let the teams prove it on the field. Let the best teams play each other to see who's the best. I know the argument--but the BCS makes all the regular season games count, and makes it more fun to watch, etc. Well, I'd be willing to bet that Florida-Georgia and Ohio State-USC would still be plenty fun to take in. I don't think the kids are going to give any less effort if there are playoffs at the end of the year. Just a hunch.
