Author: Chris Nelson
The 2007 college football season proves more than any previous season that college football needs a playoff. After last weekend’s fiasco—one of many this season—Ohio State and LSU will be facing each other in the BCS title game for the national championship.
The BCS selection system, based on the Harris Interactive Poll, Coaches’ Poll and computer statistics calculations, has been scrutinized for years. There have been several incidents where the BCS clearly failed college football teams and fans. In 2001-2002, the Nebraska Cornhuskers found themselves playing for the national title despite not winning the Big 12 and being ranked fourth in the AP and Coaches’ Polls (the Oregonians on campus will remember this travesty). In 2004-2005, the Auburn Tigers went through the SEC—the toughest conference in college football—undefeated and finished their season undefeated, but they did not play in the BCS title game. There have been other BCS controversies and, although the selection process has been criticized for years, the 2007 season demonstrates definitely that the BCS system is completely inadequate.
A recent ESPNation poll asked fans if the nation’s best two teams were playing in this year’s title game and an overwhelming 67 percent of respondents voted “no.” A case can certainly be made that neither team deserves the chance to compete for the national title. Ohio State has played a very weak schedule. Their only impressive win came over number 21 Wisconsin at home on November 3. The Wisconsin victory made the Buckeyes the nation’s top ranked team, but their time at the top was short-lived. The very next week the Buckeyes lost at home to a slightly above-average Illinois team, who has now, thanks to Mizzou and West Virgina, snuck into the Rose Bowl. Some people defend Ohio State by pointing out that they were Big Ten champions, but the conference is not the powerhouse it once was and it is probably the second weakest BCS conference, after the ACC. Ohio State’s season, although consistent, provides a fan with precious little in terms of moments that show the Buckeyes are an appropriate BCS number one.
The argument for LSU is no stronger than the argument for the Buckeyes. True, LSU won college football’s historically strongest conference, the SEC, but the Tigers simply threw away to many chances this season to be playing for the title. LSU’s loss to Kentucky in October is looking worse and worse and, quite frankly, their loss to Arkansas is inexcusable. LSU was ranked number one when they lost to Kentucky, and the Tigers managed, with a little help, to claw their way back to the top spot in time to face Arkansas at home on November 23. LSU just needed to get the job done at home to earn their trip to New Orleans, but the Tigers failed to get it done. A loss at home, in November, to Arkansas, when a BCS title shot is on the line, is unforgivable. This loss ought to have kept LSU from playing for the National Championship.
Despite these arguments against them, both Ohio State and LSU will be playing for the national title on January 7. The coaches for Virginia Tech, Georgia, Oklahoma and USC have all taken to the airwaves to explain why their team should be playing in the title game, but to no avail. Of these teams, the best argument has to be for Oklahoma. Oklahoma won the Big 12 conference on Saturday by defeating the nation’s number one ranked team. Their two losses both occurred at the hands of bowl eligible teams and key Oklahoma players were unable to play in both of the team’s losses. Moreover, it can be easily argued that the Big 12, with three top eight teams, and eight bowl eligible teams, is this year’s strongest conference. Of all the teams on the outside looking in, Oklahoma certainly has the best case for inclusion.
However, in this BCS mess, Georgia is the team fans have to pity. The Bulldogs went into the weekend as another one of the impressive two-loss teams and ranked number four overall in the BCS standings. Georgia, because they did not qualify for the SEC title game, had the weekend off. After number one Mizzou and number two West Virgina lost, Coach Richt and his team expected to move up to number two in the standings. However, despite the losses of the number one and two teams, Georgia managed to move down in the BCS rankings to number five overall.
Georgia doesn’t play and moves down. Ohio State doesn’t play and moves up. Where is the logic in that? For the past six weeks, the Dawgs have been destroying their opponents and, quite frankly, looking like the best college football team in the nation. But thanks to BCS mathematics, the Dawgs will be taking on Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, a team they will probably crush, rather than playing for a National Championship. What is unique about this season is that it lacks two standout teams. No team has a rock-solid claim to the national title game and there are about eight teams who can make a pretty valid argument. There is no reason to assume the parity trend won’t continue or that this year is simply an anomaly. Like 2001 and 2004 before it, the 2007 National Champion will probably be publicly challenged by one of the left-out teams, and this year, such a challenge is all the more valid.
The BCS lacks a fair method to deal with all the contingencies the 2007 season offers, and a new system is needed—a better system which does not invalidate the regular season, but still offers a legitimate champion. Anybody up for a four-team playoff?
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