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In BCS, the 'C' is silent
By Jim Caple
Special to Page 2Figuring out how the Bowl Championship Series rankings work is a bit like diagramming Cal's touchdown run through the Stanford band.
|  | | Santana Moss and No. 2 Miami won't play in the Orange Bowl -- even though they beat Florida State. |
Only NCAA accountants and CalTech hackers have the proper mathematical know-how to fully understand the system. However, the BCS factors in the AP and coaches polls, eight computer rankings (including something called the Dunkel Index), strength of schedule and, for all I know, Chris Weinke's age in dog years.
And after all that was plugged into the slide rule and the white puff of smoke emerged from Lee Corso's ears this weekend, the final ranking had Oklahoma on top followed by Florida State, Miami and Washington. Apparently, Andy Katzenmoyer was running the program this week, because like Eminem's popularity, it's a curious order.
I've got no problem with the undefeated Sooners being ranked first. But how is it that Florida State is ahead of Miami despite losing to the Hurricanes? But lest the Miami fans think themselves cheated, how is it the Hurricanes are ranked ahead of Washington despite losing to the Huskies?
Finishing behind Miami is a cruel twist for the Huskies, who are used to this sort of thing. They shared the national championship with the Hurricanes after the 1991 season when the two both went undefeated and played in different bowl games. The BCS was started in part to ensure such teams meet for the national championship, but as this season demonstrates, the system can no more guarantee a clear championship pairing than a college degree guarantees a player attended class.
The essential problem to the BCS is as glaring as a bowl representative's sportcoat. No matter how many different polls you use, no matter how many computer systems you employ, you're still arriving at what is nothing more than an opinion. Is Oklahoma better than Florida State? Is Florida State better than Washington? You might as well ask an art history major whether Monet is better than Renoir, an English major whether Faulkner is superior to Hemingway or a frat boy whether MGD is better than Budweiser.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not calling for that tired old chestnut, a national championship playoff. We need more bowl games and a longer, more drawn-out bowl season like we need a longer Orange Bowl halftime show.
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The system can no
more guarantee a clear championship pairing than a college degree guarantees a player
attended class. |
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No, I was content with the old pre-BCS system and so is most everyone I talk to.
The BCS hasn't established a clear national champion -- if Florida State beats Oklahoma, Miami beats Florida and Washington beats Purdue, then who should be ranked No. 1? -- but it has diminished the appeal of the other bowl games. New Year's Day used to be the best day of college football not involving a UCLA song girl. Now, thanks to the BCS, the New Year's schedule is as bloated and stretched out as training table for the Nebraska offensive line.
It isn't just a matter of fans not caring as much about the bowl games as they used to, they can't even figure out when they're being played anymore. The Rose, Fiesta and Cotton Bowls are on New Year's Day, but the Sugar Bowl is the day after that and the Orange Bowl the day after that. It's like a Ken Burns miniseries, only with marching tubas instead of banjo music.
The old system didn't necessarily lead to a definitive champion every year, but more times than not, it was clear to everyone by their fifth Tylenol on New Year's Day which team was best. Sure, schools finishing second or third in the polls always groused they were gypped, but big deal. They complain under the BCS system as well.
The beauty of the bowl system is you don't need to crown a "true" national champion for most teams to be happy. Half the teams come home winners and feeling good about themselves, with the possible exception of the teams in the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl (bet that looks good on a souvenir T-shirt).
Take Oregon State, ranked fifth by the BCS. The Beavers don't have any national title hopes but they're 10-1, going to the Fiesta Bowl and their fans are about as excited as people living in Corvallis can be.
Jim Caple of the Seattle Union Record is a regular contributor to Page 2. He also writes a weekly "Off Base" column for ESPN.com's baseball page.
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