Now I'm sure we all know enough about the BCS to know that it's not perfect, and for the record nothing else has been either. I am not a BCS hater, but I do have some issues with it:

The Rankings:

 1) Ohio State -

2) Michigan

3) USC

4) West Virginia

5) Auburn

6) Florida

7) Texas

8) Louisville

9) Notre Dame

10) California

Notice that Cal is in there but there seems to be a certain SEC team who is missing, a team who humiliated Cal in the opening week of the season and a team who has the exact same record as Cal. That's right Tennessee is not in the top ten, which is fine with me (for the record they are #11) because they did lose to Florida at home, and the win at Georgia isn't as impressive as it looked when it happened. However it's not like the Cal game was a toss up, Tennessee dominated Cal in every aspect of football, but somehow a computer is saying that Cal is a better team.

The Big East

The Big East conference I still can't take seriously, even though it seems there actually are some legit teams, and no not just Louisville and West Virginia. Rutgers and Pitt are having good seasons as well. However the non-league schedule is absurd and I think that is why I can't take them seriously I saw West Virginia struggle with Eastern Carolina. I know that Slaton is probably going to win the Heisman next year, but how can you accuaratley judge a team when their schedule consists of weekly cupcakes? I am looking forward to seeing the West Virginia Louisville game though. I think Louisville deserves to be ranked higher since they beat Miami, granted not the Miami of old days but still more impressive then any win West Virginia has, which brings me my next point.

The ACC

What the hell is going on there? Not one ACC team in the top ten. Clemson (#12 BCS) is getting all the attention, and after dismantling Georgia Tech this weekend, that is understandable. But what about Boston College (#17 BCS), a win over Clemson and leading the Atlantic Division of the ACC. However you want to talk about a cup cake non conference schedule (Central Michigan, BYU, Maine, and Buffalo) how are you supposed to take these guys seriously, what happened to the days where BC played Notre Dame every year, wouldn't that be a great game to watch now.  Unlike West Virginia, Boston College does have wins over Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Florida State. This brings me to my main point....

Conference Championship Games

This is my main question about the BCS, what impact do these games have on the standings. Since only two teams per conference are eligible for a BCS game, and the winner of the championship game automatically gets a bid, who gets the other one? For example, If Florida and Tennesee both win out, Florida will advance to play the SEC West Champion, most likley Arkansas, by virtue of the Gators 21-20 win against UT. Now if Florida loses this game, they will have 2 losses on the season to Tennessee's 1 loss. And with the polls seeming to follow a "what have you done for me latley" pattern Florida's loss will no doubt push them down the polls, but will they fall past Tennessee and their one loss. Probably not, I'm hoping they do, mainly because I'm a Tennesee fan but also because I want to see the BCS fail in every way possible so that there is no way it will be used ever again. The same Scenario could be used in the ACC if BC and Clemson win out, and actually is more likley in this conference seeing how Clemson is already ranked ahead of BC.  If BC makes the championship game and loses, I would imagine that Clemson would get the second bid, that is if they even invite two ACC teams.

So help me out, what are alternatives how do we fix this mess that is college football ranking system, Basketball has it's tournament, Which I realize is unrealistic for football but there has to be a better way.   

Like most college hoop fans, I disagree with the commitee's decision to make the University of Tennessee a number 2 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Clearly the way they ended the season, losing four of six including a dissapointing loss to South Carolina (who they swept during the regular season) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, does not warrant the Vols to be a top eight team in the country. However, the fact the commitee voted them to be a number two seed is not their fault. I guarantee hopes of a number two seed dissapeared in Knoxville around March 1 after a home loss to Kentucky, and the second loss in three games.

So while I will conceed that their is no conceivable way Tennessee deserves their seed, I will not be cheering against them. I have read various articles since the seedings came out hoping the Vols go down in the first round. The reasoning for all this sudden hatred for UT? People seem to think that since they are an undeserving second seed, they no longer deserve to be in tournament. That is ridiculous, the Vols are still a solid basketball team.  Don't forget the Vols swept Florida(a 3 seed), won at Kentucky (an 8 seed) for the first time in eight years, won at Texas ( a 2 seed) and played a very close game with Memphis ( a 1 seed)  eventually losing. They also won the SEC East, and finished second overall (behind LSU), not to mention they have the National Coach of the Year in Bruce Pearl (sporting news, CBS Sportsline).

The key to their sucess will be Sophomore guard Chris Lofton (Sporting News 2nd Team All-American), who is capable of shooting the lights out at anytime. If Lofton gets hot not only will he score but he opens the door for players like Major Wingate, and C.J. Watson to score down low. 

Now on to my first round picks:

Atlanta

1 Duke over 16 Southern - No questions

9 NC Wilmington over 8 George Washington- I thought they were overrated all year

12 Texas A&M over 5 Syracuse- GMac put on quite a show at MSG, but too many close games in too short a span spells doom for the Orange.

4 LSU over 13 Iona - LSU is a darkhorse despite 4 seed

6 West Virginia over 11 Southern Illinois- Great Cheerleaders for Silluki's but too much scoring from WVU

3 Iowa over 14 Northwestern State -  Iowa is playing solid basketball right now

7 California over 10 NC State -  Normally I'd take ACC over Pac-10 any day but NC State has looked awful late in the season

2 Texas over 15 Penn- Texas dominates

Oakland

1 Memphis over 16 #### Roberts- Memphis is too good

8 Arkansas over 9 Bucknell- No Magical run for the Bison this year, Hogs win a tight one

5 Pitt over 12 Kent State- Kent State could scare the panthers but Pitt will prevail

4 Kansas over 13 Bradley- MVC has shown talent, but Kansas is playing as good as anyone right now

11 San Diego State over 6 Indiana- Mike Davis will get a job somewhere else sooner than he hoped

3 Gonzaga over 14 Xavier- The Zags have been shakey latley but Morrison will lead them to a win

10 Alabama over 7 Marquette - Marquette has some big wins, but I think the Tide will roll

2 UCLA over 15 Belmont- UCLA is also playing great ball at the right time of the year.

Washington DC

1 UConn over 16 Albany- Rudy #### needs to play better for the Huskies to win it all but they should win easy to start.

9 UAB over 8 Kentucky- UAB's pressure will force Kentucky into an early hole they can't get out of

5 Washington over 12 Utah State- Washington will win big

4 Illinois over 13 Airforce- Airforce shouldn't be there anyway, enjoy one and done

6 Michigan State over 11 George Mason- Spartans got a great draw neither team playing great MSU has too much talent for GMU to hang,  this win should give them a lot of confidence

3 UNC over 14 Murray State- Hansborough has a huge game

10 Seton Hall over 7 Witchita State- Seton Hall played in the Big East all year, playing such a tough scedule they never take a night off

2 Tennessee over 15 Winthrop- Vols will send a message to nay sayers (myself included)

Minneapolis

1 Villanova over 16 monmouth/hamton- No prediction for play in game because who cares, will be interesting to see how Ray plays though this will tell us a lot about how far 'nova can go

9 Wisconsin over 8 Arizona- Pick'em

5 Nevada over 12 Montana- Tough match up for montana

4 Boston College over 13 Pacific- Pacific could put a scare into the Eagles, but BC is playing well and plays so hard at both ends that Pacific will not be able to get into their sets

11 Wisconsin-Millaukee over 6 Oklahoma- No Bruce Pearl but still a good a ball club

3 Florida over 14 South Alabama- Florida is another team peaking in March

7 Georgetown over 10 Northern Iowa- Georgetown is capable of playing with anyone (they beat duke) the Hoya's are another team capable of going very deep in the tourney

2 Ohio State over 15 Davidson-  Buckeyes roll