The BCS is a joke

[Wookies Cruel Circus]

I'll open by saying I think a playoff of some sort should be worked out. (Though not this "one-game playoff after the bowls" crap they're saying now... last thing we need is ANOTHER week of college ball, esp. up against the NFL playoffs.) I think it couldn't hurt to have a rule that says you must win your conference to get into the BCS game (though, the 3 conferences that won't have a championship game get an edge w/o that tough final game, and b-ball has no such rule.)

That said, I do believe the two best teams will be playing this year. Oklahoma is simply the best team in the country. Look at what they did ALL YEAR. Heck, just look what they did to Texas, the #6 team! They had a bad game at a bad time. But, reshuffle the schedule and if this game happened in October, no one complains that OK come out #1. The BCS computers actually did their job properly this year; it is the human voters who pussed out and didn't jump LSU over USC, or leave OK #1, like they should have. The comps fixed the pollsters' mistake.
The BCS takes the season as a whole into consideration, as it should. The polls put an enormously undo amount of focus on the game that was just played. If you're looking for a true champion, week 3 should be as important as week 12.

And, as much as I love the NCAA Tourney, and I do, the "best" team doesn't always win it. That doesn't mean it isn't a great event.

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Is there any other major sporting event that chooses it's champion this way though? The pussiness of the human polls does not mean much now but perhaps USC wins and LSU wins in January. Couldn't this cause a chaos in the whole system and possibly force the ncaa to crown them co champions?

I have been against the whole ranking system ever since it shit on my in 93 and looking at other sports, a playoff system seems to fit.

But yes as you say OK does deserve to staty no. 1 for what they've done all year and the humans would've left them there if they didn't get dismantled so hardcore in the big XII championship.

[Wookies Cruel Circus]

Well, I'm not sure how big an umbrella you're using for "major," but tennis uses computer rankings. (Actually, so does squash, but I know that's definitely not major...) But, what's really f-ed up about it is that major football, the biggest sport, is the only college sport who's championship isn't even actually under the purview of the NCAA itself. The whole BCS system falls outside official NCAA channels!

If LSU and USC win, LSU should be placed 1st I'd say, unless USC absolutely dismantles Michigan. But, no matter what the polls say, the "official" champion as far as the BCS (NCAA) is concerned is the winner of the Sugar Bowl.

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The whole BCS system falls outside official NCAA channels!

This I did not know. That's fucked up.

As for tennis the rankings are computer generated but they play several tournaments throughout the year and you get monetary winnings based on how you finish in those tournaments (as well as major awards like trophies and bullshit) There is no crowned champion for the year based on those computer rankings is there?

[Wookies Cruel Circus]

I believe there is, yes.
But, without a doubt, the Majors are still more important in people's minds.
(But, you could think of the Majors as similar to conference titles, Bowl games, or rivalry trophies.) Everyone doesn't play everyone else an equal number of times, if at all, or play the same tourneys, so the rankings are the great equalizer, like the BCS.

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So what this boils down to is we are going to be stuck with some sort of BCS system for a while...

[Wookies Cruel Circus]

Yeah, it looks that way.
Though, they'll probably tinker with it again. Maybe put the margin of victory back into it?
They're already negotiating for the next BCS, which starts in 2005-6.

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My outlook is around 2005 there will be more pillaging and realignment of conferences. Thus more championship games added to the lineup. Of course it's wishful thinking on my part and that usually means that nothing will actually happen and everything will remain in it's current shitty state.

[Wookies Cruel Circus]

Well, you'll have the SEC and Big 12, plus the new ACC game. I guess it's possible that the MAC gets included if they have another good year like this one, but I wouldn't count on it.
The Big East probably will never have a championship game, b/c they need 4 MORE teams to get there, and there just aren't four more decent northeast programs out there right now.
The Big Ten says they don't want one, but if they have to, they could probably snag Pitt (ND?) and get it.
The Pac-10 could get to 12, though there aren't obvious additions for them to make. (Utah and BYU? Fresno?)

I think you'll see them add another BCS bowl, thus 2 more at-large bids, and lower the bar for automatic inclusion for non-BCS from #6 to #8 or 10.

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The Big Ten says they don't want one, but if they have to, they could probably snag Pitt (ND?) and get it.

This is what I want. Big Ten courted ND back in the 90s and they now say they won't court them that ND has to come to them. The Big east is a pile of shit for football now. Once the BCS decides what's going to happen in the future (and I don't think that will include an automatic bcs bid to the Big East champ.), I think ND will have no choice but to jump in a conference. Pitt will have to consider abandoning ship too.

I would much rather see my fighting Irish go 5-7 while in the Big Ten than as an independent. As an independent it's all or nothing for Notre Dame once they lose one (or two) games their season is over. That's just me.

Of course it's all driven by the almighty dollar and ND doesnt want to have to share their bowl revenues with a conference but guess what, I haven't seen them go to very many bowl games lately so it's a moot point.

I tell my fellow ND fan family that independence soon will be a thing of the past and these oldhead traditionalists look at me like I'm an alien.