Hosed by the BCS

Let’s talk BCS. J, along with Tim Cowlishaw, has pointed out the benefits of our current system, stressing how the old system so often failed miserably. That is true; however what they are forcing on us now is worse in many ways. Because now we are rewarding losers and failing to protect the winners. Let me explain.

Proponents of the current system point out that a playoff system would undermine the best thing about college football, the fact that every game matters so much. Otherwise we would just have the NFL or the NCAA basketball tournament. But what is happening this year is the reverse. By allowing Alabama into the championship game, we’re saying that it doesn’t matter that you lost at home or that you did not win your division or your conference. We like you anyway so you get to play for the championship. Meanwhile, the system fails to protect the winners who have to face the immense pressure every week of trying to win their conference, including a high-stakes conference championship game, and come out on top. LSU has been in elimination mode while Alabama has been playing with house money; no pressure, just sit back and let the other teams knock themselves out trying to win their conference, knowing they’ll sneak in the back door anyway.

My point is that the whole system is undermined by rewarding losers. If you want to stay true to the idea that every game matters in college football, then you should only allow the conference winners into the championship game. Those are the teams that have fought through the circumstances, whatever they were, and came out on top at the end. It is patently unfair to make an LSU face a conference opponent a 2nd time with the caveat being that the first win no longer matters. Lose this one and you’re out of the picture. For the team that lost the first one, they get a mulligan and get the automatic championship if they only split the 2 games. How does that make sense? Winning your conference has to matter and it has to be rewarded, not punished.

LSU is getting the short end of the stick when by virtue of their performance to date; they should be getting all of the advantages. It needs to get fixed and yes it’s personal to me. Under the old system we would play in the Sugar Bowl against another conference champion and that would be that. Alabama would play in the Citrus Bowl and finish in the top 5, but they would not get a 2nd chance, nor do they deserve one. We might win anyway, but I can’t overlook that the BCS is failing us. Not to mention that the rest of the country gets treated to an inter-division rematch for their “national” championship game. Just wrong.

S