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Sports
ENLARGE
Fourth? Really? Fourth?
Congratulations Coach Chris Petersen and the Boise State Broncos. You've just completed your second undefeated season in four years — and third unbeaten regular-season run in that same span — but once again, you're only the fourth best team in the country.
How do we know? Because the BCS, and apparently the most gullible sports writers in the country, say so.
Anyone expecting to find “Boise State” listed as the No. 2 team in the country when the final BCS and AP Top 25 polls were released Friday were certainly disappointed.
Surprised? No.
But disappointed? Absolutely.
As the only undefeated Division I college football team other than “national champion” Alabama, Boise State deserved — at the very least — to the second spot in the final rankings. Not that the Broncos or any other team playing outside the BCS conferences aren't used to such slights by now.
For years we've been told over and over again that the Bowl Championship Series is better for college football than an actual national championship playoff system, despite the fact it's the only level of NCAA football — or any team sport, for that matter — without one.
And, once again, I'm here to tell you it's a fraud.
Of course, college football fans have known this for years.
Nearly two-thirds of fans (63 percent) polled in December said the BCS should be scrapped for a playoff system.
But the fans don't get a say.
If ever there was a case to be made for a college football playoff system, it was the season we just watched. No less than five teams — Alabama, Boise State, Cincinnati, Texas and TCU — finished the regular season undefeated.
Anyone who's watched the BCS at work since its inception could tell you which two were going to be playing in Pasadena Thursday night, without even looking at any criteria in debating who deserved the shot.
Alabama and Texas got the nod simply because they are members of BCS conferences, an exclusive club created to discriminate against non-members from the get-go.
And that's why this sham needs to be exposed and then tossed aside.
Sure, the SEC and the Big 12 are two of the deepest and toughest conferences in the country. Although, I'm not among the believers that those two are the tops year in and year out. Taking a quick look at how those conferences fared in the bowl games (SEC 6-4, Big 12 4-4) in comparison to the Western Athletic Conference (2-2) and Mountain West Conference (4-1) doesn't exactly equate to domination.
And even if you give the Big 12 and SEC the nod at the top conferences, that certainly doesn't mean their champion is better than the champion of the WAC or MWC.
But the BCS says so.
Think about this:
WAC champ Boise State went 13-0 in 2006 and the BCS “graciously” gave them a shot at perennial powerhouse Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Result? Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42.
MWC champ Utah went 13-0 in 2008 and instead of getting a shot at the national crown, they were sent to the Sugar Bowl to face Alabama. Result? Utah 31, Alabama 17.
And so with “mid-majors” TCU and Boise State once again unbeaten in 2009, what did the BCS do? They pitted the two teams against each other, which meant whichever team won wouldn't get the credibility of beating a BCS Conference power. Don't forget, too, that we just watched the two teams meet last year in the Poinsettia Bowl (a 17-16 win by TCU).
The Poinsettia Bowl. That's what Boise State got last year for their second unbeaten regular season in three years.
Utah's manhandling of Nick Saban's Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl capped the second undefeated season for the Utes since 2004, when the team was coached by Urban Meyer. But Utah's 12-0 run and win over Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl didn't earn Meyer any mention in terms of national title talk. No, he had to pull up stakes and head to an SEC program for that kind of consideration.
So let's at least be honest about it.
It's all about money. Those who are raking it in want to keep things the way they are. From the BCS Conferences to the bowl game committees, to the TV networks, to the coaches on the field, it's all about keeping the cash cow alive and sharing it with as few as necessary.
The expected payout from each BCS bowl game — whether the Fiesta, Orange, Rose, Sugar or national championship — was reportedly $17 million to be split between the participating teams and their conferences.
No such numbers are yet known on what ABC and FOX hauled in for their broadcast of the games, but they're clearly not doing so on a pro-bono basis.
And, in case you missed the story we ran earlier this week, the coaches certainly had something at stake. While the players played for pride, the coaches played for dough — or at least more of it.
Texas' Mack Brown, college football's top paid coach at $5 million per year, stood to make a $450,000 bonus for winning the national title. Saban, who makes $3.9 million per year, did reportedly earn $200,000 for beating the Longhorns Thursday, on top of the $200,000 he will be paid for reaching the title game.
What's not to love, if you're a BCS member?
Actually, it's the same sort of story we've seen from the folks in Washington D.C., which is why I won't hold my breath for any congressional interaction on behalf of the non-BCS member conferences anytime soon.
And that's why it's so disappointing to see the BCS not give the Boise State's and Utah's of the college football world their due, but even more discouraging to see the sportswriters who cover it simply follow suit.
Brian Hamilton is sports editor at The Union. Contact him via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
Congratulations Coach Chris Petersen and the Boise State Broncos. You've just completed your second undefeated season in four years — and third unbeaten regular-season run in that same span — but once again, you're only the fourth best team in the country.
How do we know? Because the BCS, and apparently the most gullible sports writers in the country, say so.
Anyone expecting to find “Boise State” listed as the No. 2 team in the country when the final BCS and AP Top 25 polls were released Friday were certainly disappointed.
Surprised? No.
But disappointed? Absolutely.
As the only undefeated Division I college football team other than “national champion” Alabama, Boise State deserved — at the very least — to the second spot in the final rankings. Not that the Broncos or any other team playing outside the BCS conferences aren't used to such slights by now.
For years we've been told over and over again that the Bowl Championship Series is better for college football than an actual national championship playoff system, despite the fact it's the only level of NCAA football — or any team sport, for that matter — without one.
And, once again, I'm here to tell you it's a fraud.
Of course, college football fans have known this for years.
Nearly two-thirds of fans (63 percent) polled in December said the BCS should be scrapped for a playoff system.
But the fans don't get a say.
If ever there was a case to be made for a college football playoff system, it was the season we just watched. No less than five teams — Alabama, Boise State, Cincinnati, Texas and TCU — finished the regular season undefeated.
Anyone who's watched the BCS at work since its inception could tell you which two were going to be playing in Pasadena Thursday night, without even looking at any criteria in debating who deserved the shot.
Alabama and Texas got the nod simply because they are members of BCS conferences, an exclusive club created to discriminate against non-members from the get-go.
And that's why this sham needs to be exposed and then tossed aside.
Sure, the SEC and the Big 12 are two of the deepest and toughest conferences in the country. Although, I'm not among the believers that those two are the tops year in and year out. Taking a quick look at how those conferences fared in the bowl games (SEC 6-4, Big 12 4-4) in comparison to the Western Athletic Conference (2-2) and Mountain West Conference (4-1) doesn't exactly equate to domination.
And even if you give the Big 12 and SEC the nod at the top conferences, that certainly doesn't mean their champion is better than the champion of the WAC or MWC.
But the BCS says so.
Think about this:
WAC champ Boise State went 13-0 in 2006 and the BCS “graciously” gave them a shot at perennial powerhouse Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Result? Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42.
MWC champ Utah went 13-0 in 2008 and instead of getting a shot at the national crown, they were sent to the Sugar Bowl to face Alabama. Result? Utah 31, Alabama 17.
And so with “mid-majors” TCU and Boise State once again unbeaten in 2009, what did the BCS do? They pitted the two teams against each other, which meant whichever team won wouldn't get the credibility of beating a BCS Conference power. Don't forget, too, that we just watched the two teams meet last year in the Poinsettia Bowl (a 17-16 win by TCU).
The Poinsettia Bowl. That's what Boise State got last year for their second unbeaten regular season in three years.
Utah's manhandling of Nick Saban's Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl capped the second undefeated season for the Utes since 2004, when the team was coached by Urban Meyer. But Utah's 12-0 run and win over Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl didn't earn Meyer any mention in terms of national title talk. No, he had to pull up stakes and head to an SEC program for that kind of consideration.
So let's at least be honest about it.
It's all about money. Those who are raking it in want to keep things the way they are. From the BCS Conferences to the bowl game committees, to the TV networks, to the coaches on the field, it's all about keeping the cash cow alive and sharing it with as few as necessary.
The expected payout from each BCS bowl game — whether the Fiesta, Orange, Rose, Sugar or national championship — was reportedly $17 million to be split between the participating teams and their conferences.
No such numbers are yet known on what ABC and FOX hauled in for their broadcast of the games, but they're clearly not doing so on a pro-bono basis.
And, in case you missed the story we ran earlier this week, the coaches certainly had something at stake. While the players played for pride, the coaches played for dough — or at least more of it.
Texas' Mack Brown, college football's top paid coach at $5 million per year, stood to make a $450,000 bonus for winning the national title. Saban, who makes $3.9 million per year, did reportedly earn $200,000 for beating the Longhorns Thursday, on top of the $200,000 he will be paid for reaching the title game.
What's not to love, if you're a BCS member?
Actually, it's the same sort of story we've seen from the folks in Washington D.C., which is why I won't hold my breath for any congressional interaction on behalf of the non-BCS member conferences anytime soon.
And that's why it's so disappointing to see the BCS not give the Boise State's and Utah's of the college football world their due, but even more discouraging to see the sportswriters who cover it simply follow suit.
Brian Hamilton is sports editor at The Union. Contact him via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
