The Bowl Championship Series is nothing more than a beauty contest, one Woody Hayes would be proud of.In 1973, Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes were selected to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. League athletic directors voted, 6-4, in favor of sending Ohio State to Pasadena over Michigan after the teams tied, 10-10, in the game to decide the Rose Bowl participant.
There was controversy then and there is controversy now. The BCS has spoken, and it's Ohio State and Louisiana State in the title game.
This decision has been greeted by boos in many corners, cheers in others. A sampling from around the country:
Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: After the final whistle of the regular season, nobody should have a gripe — nobody.
Thayer Evans, New York Times: Was LSU the best two-loss team in the land? Many, including Georgia's Mark Richt, say no.
Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: The BCS dirt doesn't come out in the wash.
Terry Frei, Denver Post: The BCS computers got it right. Ohio State vs. LSU was the best of all possible choices.
Stewart Mandel, SI.com: An unappealing BCS slate should prompt change.
Bart Wright, Greenville News: If you want drama, unseen turns in the road, emotional intersections and triumph and tragedy, the BCS provides that and more.
Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com: Chaos doesn't legitimize ignorance or stupidity.
Charles Elmore, Palm Beach Post: The BCS can't adjust to ways the game has changed.
John Henderson, Denver Post: Make it five out of eight seasons the BCS has left people screaming for change.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Three staffers analyze the BCS.
National Championship Issue: Even different versions of the BCS bring about the same result.
2 comments:
What's funny is all these teams that whine about being left out could have done something about it, like not losing too many games. This is true of Va Tech(recover the onside kick folks), Georgia(South Carolina? You lost to South Carolina?), and USC(Stanford?)
What's really funny is people like you who buy into the Sham known as the BCS.
Ohio State and LSU have no better argument that at least 4 other teams for being in the MNC game.
What's even a greater Sham is what went on after the BCS, the Media, and Bowls, decided on LSU and OSU.
The Rose Bowl could have chosen a Georgia team ranked 4th. They could have chosen a Missouri team ranked 7th but, no they chose a 3 loss Illinois team. The Sugar Bowl could have chosen Missouri or a one loss Kansas team to meet Georgia but, no they chose Hawaii who has a strength of schedule rank of below 100.
Why you might, (or might not) ask because, we can't have anyone saying that the Rose Bowl or, the Sugar Bowl really had the best two teams playing each other.
Do OSU and LSU deserve to play for the MNC? Maybe but, I promise you this, both feel better playing each other than they would playing Georgia, Oklahoma, USC and, probably Missouri and Florida.
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