This time of year brings all of us college football fans together around the proverbial campfire we call the BCS ranking system. Everyone comes out with their expert opinions and reasons why the undefeated teams are undeserving of any credit. Joe Schmo says Michigan should be number 1 because their SOS is 10 and blah, blah, blah. Tom, ####, and Harry say West Virginia has a better shot at the championship game because their schedule was supposed to be good. Peter, Paul, and Mary say Ohio State doesn’t deserve to be punished for their loss late in the season. You know it’s just not fair to lose early and have a chance to climb back up the polls, right over teams that don’t lose. Here’s an idea, Jim Bob over here thinks Florida is a top team even though they have three losses because Jim Bob said so at the beginning of the year.
All in all I feel sorry for you people who actually believe the BCS has any merit what so ever. The people who have stood to make the make the most cash off of these “amateur” athletes have got you all fooled. Don’t you see? They come up with a system called a “computer”, and a “ranking system.” As the season progresses the necessary changes are made within the system and in the computers to ensure the most financially viable match-up is the one we get for the NC game. How else would you explain Florida jumping over Michigan at the end of last season? How else would you explain any of the other ridiculous match-ups the computers have spit out since the system was introduced? These cowards at the top can then hide behind the “computer” and count the millions of dollars they rake in. Rather ingenious if you ask me. So, good luck with your rankings and all this other baloney. It’s a freaking conspiracy if you ask me.
not to keep kicking a dead horse but!!! flashback!!! oregon wins the pac=-10 is #2 in nation!!! who plays for the title??? miami and nebraska.....talk about baloney ona sandwich????
I like the way you think. I got a cabin and some land in Montana. You bring the guns and we can start a militia.
I believe the consensus is that if Kansas wins out, they will be in the big game. If that happens, then the networks and NCAA will lose out financially.
I am going to be watching Kansas' next games very closely. I have a feeling that they may just suffer a controversial loss due to some questionable officiating.
The thing is that the "money" matchup is already in place. If things work themselves out the way they probably should, then all will be right in the world of the fat-cats.
Great conspiracy theory! One of the better ones I've heard- and not completely out of the realm of possibility, either. If KU wins out and doesn't make it, we'll know why...
I'm sorry to say that I think there's more truth in this than not...
It makes make think of the talking heads on ESPN spinning up the various teams. Wonder if these are original thoughts? After observing for a period of time, I'm beginning to doubt that some of these "experts" have ever had an original thought.
I know there are dissenters, there always are, but an eight team playoff is just so logical. Sure, the ninth team and so on would whine, but at least we could shut-up eight teams and their followers. Yes the hottest team at the time would win out. I think the bean counters would find more beans this way...
A playoff is ideal. The BCS (as originally conceived) was a step in the right direction. Now, all the "tweaks" that we were told were there to assure the best matchup, aren't tweaks. They are essentially a slow rollback to the "good ole days." For the first few years, it was too complicated. Too complicated? For whom? Oh, some sports writer who felt that his unquestioned authority on college football was being usurped by a horrible, unbiased machine.
So (around 2001) let's take margin out of the equation. Has that curbed scoring? No. Why? Because what was taken from margin of victory was added to human polls. Humans, not the computers, are programmed to be impressed by margin of victory. So you still had the component, but it was just tranferred to a different part of the equation.
Last edited by btroup1 on November 14th at 10:28 AM.
The there's SOS. What do we make of teams who back out of games and have to be replaced by McNeese State and Wofford? Well let's take that out, and spread it to the voters and the computers.
But the sportswriters feel that their opinion has more merit than that of people who coach the games, or those horrible unbiased computer machines. By God we're gonna write our columns about this BS (Haha I took out the C I'm such a clever and poignant writer), and as soon as it leaves my typewriter, it'll be in tomorrow's newspapers where 1100 people will read about it nationwide. So out go the writers, in comes the Harris poll. After all, we need to be assured that 2/3 of this formula will be totally based on our biases, personal agendas, and propping up the "big 6" aristocracy.
Finally, we need the conferences on board. Add another game for the title, and roll back to the days of conference tie ins. The ACC rep goes to the Orange Bowl, the Big 10 to the Rose Bowl, etc. And so we'll have our cute little exhibition games whilst somehow convincing the public that the system has become more inclusive and unbiased. Brilliant! Sorry for the length. I guess I could have just blogged this.
Your theory would explain the mysterious technical difficulties that caused the non-review of the obvious Illini fumble on their first drive last week.
kelly - what year was that again? I know it was a Harrington qb'd squad, I just can't remember if it was the same year I saw them play (and beat on a last second field goal) UCLA at the Rose Bowl. I remember Foster was out for some grade issues, and I think Paus was out for getting drunk a lot. Either way I remember it being a great game no matter the year.
Last edited by sportthink on November 15th at 6:41 AM.
CBoy - somebody is bound to get hosed no matter what the outcome. I just can't figure out who doesn't want a playoff and why not. It seems so simple of a fix, except for some unexplainable phenomenon.
old - last year about this time I went on and on about boycotting the NC game if michigan and ohio state met. I sparked some great discussion. Norcalfella has some awesome ideas on his personal website he writes for. Montana or Idaho works for me!
"how else would you explain florida jumping michigan at the end of the year" this is one of the clowns that wanted a rematch between the overrates. if it was up to him and his fellow yankee clowns, we would have had OSU vs UM in last years NC and the winner would have gone down in their pee brained minds as the best team of all time! instead, what we had was a double exposure. but even in the face of reality, he thinks it was a freaking conspiracy? this guy needs professional help to deal with his denial and projections...
Tiger - If you took the time to read all the comments you'd see that you have no idea what you're talking about. That is the exact opposite of my opinion. How about checking my archives and getting your facts right before you make yourself look like a fool. And I do think you meant pea brained mind, not pee brained. But, I guess if you meant pee brained that paints an altogether different picture.
Last edited by sportthink on November 15th at 6:39 AM.
Computers only make up 1/3rd of the vote. If you want to put together a 'conspiracy theory' you should be questioning the human voters that make up 2/3rds of the poll. Most of these voters are members of the 'good ol boy' network, and have HUGE biases towards traditional powerhouses. Why do you think LSU, Oregon, and Oklahoma, get the human vote over Kansas, Missouri, and West Virginia? Kansas is #2 in the computer rankings, and Oklahoma is 7th. Put an Oklahoma or LSU jersey next to Kansas, Missouri, and West Virginia's results this year, and I'm sure we would have a different human vote right now. Biases of human voters run very deep. A computer merely looks at the results of a team THIS year, without any creedence based upon history of said team(s).
Nostradomus is correct I believe. The computers are only a portion of the BCS rankings. The funny thing is that you'd think a bunch of computers being fed the sames stats and numbers would all come out with the same number, but they don't. Infact some computers are out of wack enough that they have a system to exclude the computers with the funkiest numbers. Maybe the outcomes are different, because the data entered into the comps are skewed. Skewed is a hated word when looking at how the BCS ranks teams btw.
OK, I can buy that. But the BCS is what we have so we have to run with it. Interesting theory though.the year was 2001 when Oregon lost out to Nebraska and Miami
ST- Pretty good blog, and it's as valid a point as any out there. I don't knw for sure but if it's a financial set system , they would not have jumped over Michigan, I think. They have lot's a moolah and they travel pretty good.
Ohio State travels very well. Maybe you are right.
Dwindy - The eight team playoff is perfect. Everyone else still gets to play in the same bowl system. They can even set regions up (thanks norcalfella) and play the playoffs in a bowl type setting to maximize attendance and advertisement of the companies that sponsor the bowls. I just think this dissention ends up being good in some way to the higher ups.
Last edited by sportthink on November 15th at 3:14 AM.
btroup - I agree with just about all of what you say, the "computers" are really the people that ultimately make the decision (and the culmination of voting and ranking throughout the season) of what makes up those 1 and 2 teams at the end of the season.
Swamp - That may be true. Having the same teams in the NC back to back years does not promote the overall sport as much as having different teams in every year...
Last edited by sportthink on November 15th at 6:38 AM.
I understand economics, I sell Ford's for a living so I do believe in the bowls. But, why is it good for the now former 1-AA to have a playoff system for decades now, but the system is not good enough for the 1-A programs? It would give a chance not only for the few good 1 loss teams, but would be fair to the unbeaten smaller schools as well. To go undefeated is pretty durn good no matter which team it is.
The only one who doesn't want a playoff are the bowls who line university pockets with money so they will never vote for one. If enough teams from conferences that don't get an automatic BCS berth start screaming, maybe, just maybe, we'll get a national championship decided on the field instead of by some New York Post sportswriter or the former headcoach of (place name of BCS automatic bid school here)
Published sports column contributor, but I'm about the 560th ranked blogger on this site. I'll keep most of my posts sports related. My sense of humor exists to amuse myself. This has happened by default because I rarely seem to amuse anyone else. I'm ashamed that my favorite professional sports teams are from the city of San Francisco.
Favorite sports listed from favorite to least favorite: duck-duck-
goose, red-light green-light, freeze tag, marco polo, and hop-scotch.
