Like much of America, I have been consistently amazed by the unique ways in which the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has failed to identify the best team in the country almost every year since its inception during the 1998 season. In 2008, an undefeated Utah team had a legitimate gripe that they were the best team in college football after the Utes trounced an Alabama squad, ranked #1 in the country just weeks prior, 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl. Unfortunately, Americans were deprived of an opportunity to watch Utah take on a one-loss Florida team that beat a previously one-loss Oklahoma team in the “BCS National Championship Game.”
Similarly, following the 2006 season, an undefeated Boise State team beat all-world running back Adrian Peterson and the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl 43-42 in what many consider to be the greatest college football game of all time but were denied a shot to play for the national title. Looking at these examples, one could easily make the mistake of thinking that the BCS system merely discriminates against schools from small conferences, which do not play a schedule tough enough to merit consideration anyway. However, following the 2004 season, an undefeated Auburn team, playing in arguably the toughest conference in the land, the Southeastern Conference, was also denied a chance to play for the national title, once again leaving America wondering who the best team in College Football was for that season.
The foregoing illustrations leave much of the country, myself included, clamoring for a playoff system that would allow the handful of teams with a legitimate claim on the national title to play it out on the field. However, after watching the 2009 college football season to this point, I do not think that a playoff would have made any difference this year.
First, Florida does not have a claim on the national title after failing to show up for the SEC title game last month and suffering a 32-13 defeat at the hands of Alabama. That game effectively served as a semi-final game in any proposed playoff system where #2 Alabama defeated #1 Florida handily.
Next, the previously unbeaten and #3 ranked, Cincinnati Bearcats do not have a strong case that they deserve a chance at the title either. This team was steamrolled, 51-24, by the above mentioned Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. Thus, while the Bearcats would certainly make the argument that having their coach desert them in favor of Notre Dame just weeks before the game explains their poor performance, unless Notre Dame also took their players, a 27 point defeat is a conclusive result, coach or no coach. If not convinced by the size of that defeat, all one has to do is look at how Texas Tech overcame adversity after the firing of their coach mere days before their triumph over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl, and one loses any sympathy for Cincinnati’s plight heading into the Sugar Bowl.
Finally, neither Boise State nor TCU, the previously undefeated participants in last night’s Fiesta Bowl will have much of an argument by week’s end. Obviously, TCU has no gripe after losing last night’s game in what amounted to 60 minutes of football and 30 seconds of offense. Each team managed to put together exactly one offensive drive of note, with Boise State’s effort aided by a fake punt. Both quarterbacks were missing wide open receivers, and despite admirable efforts by both defenses, countless opportunities for big plays were dropped, intercepted, or fumbled away. I do not think that Boise State is in the same position that Utah was a year ago because a seven-point victory over a TCU team playing its worst game of the year is hardly the same as Utah’s double digit victory against an Alabama team that many thought was the best team in the country for much of last year.
Thus, while I understand that Boise State was not given the opportunity to play Florida, a game which would have most closely mirrored Utah’s effort a year ago, the underwhelming nature of their victory in the Fiesta Bowl, a game in which neither team seemingly wanted to win, makes me think that they would not have fun on the field with either Texas or Alabama, the two teams that will play for the national championship later this week. Therefore, I look forward to the opportunity to watch #1 Alabama take on #2 Texas in a game that should crown the true National Champion. For once.
It’s exciting that the Huskers is joining the Big 10. The future promises to be interesting. Wow!