And the BCS Still Sucks

When I played high school sports, I heard coaches throw around the cliche to "Play against the names on the back of their jerseys, not the front" whenever we played somebody that had a history steeped in success. In other words, just because they were good in the past, doesn't mean we couldn't beat them this year. 

Well apparently, Bowl Championship Series (BCS) officials think the name on the front of your shirt--not who won the most games--dictates who should get to play for and win championships. Undoubtedly, there will be journalists, fans, sports administrators, coaches, and players everywhere giving lip service to the reality that the BCS just sucks, it doesn't get the best teams playing in championships, and most of all, it's unjust. Suddenly, Barack Obama's "change" and "yes we can" rhetoric seems relevant to college football, and I--along with several deservedly righteous Utah Utes players--are about to start marching against the establishment. If the BCS were a political issue, the word "crises" would be appropriate. 

I just can't take it anymore; let the chanting begin: We need a playoff! We need a playoff!" 

It is a crime that this Utah team will not get their chance against Texas or Oklahoma or USC or Florida to play for a national championship. (The real one, with a trophy, not the moral victory one, from winning all your games.)

Never mind that this is the second time (the first was in 2004) that Utah went undefeated and won a BCS game without any shot whatsoever of playing for the national title. Never mind that Boise State also did it in 2005. This year, we're talking about a team that beat Michigan, Oregon State, Colorado State, TCU, BYU, and Alabama. Even if strength of schedule was a good reason to leave a team out of the BCS Championship--and it's not--this Utah team did NOT play a weak schedule. 

But the point is it doesn't matter. As it stands, unless you from the BCS six conferences or you are Notre Dame, you will never get a shot at the National Championship. 

When you look up the word "unjust" in the dictionary, you might find a description of a system in which, at the beginning of a season, several teams have no chance whatsoever to come out on top no matter what they do. They are disqualified without a foul. Eliminated before losing a game. In other words, the BCS. I am a Notre Dame fan, one of those that benefit from the current system. And yet, when my team is not in the mix--as it hasn't been for several years--I seriously cheer for the biggest screwup possible. This year, I needed Utah to win, and they did.

But they didn't just win over their worthy opponents from the mighty, mighty Southeastern Conference (SEC). They sacked Alabama QB Jonathan Wilson eight times. Eight. The Utes had seven more first downs than Alabama. They led 21-0 after the first quarter. The final score showed a two-touchdown win but what it didn't show was that Utah almost doubled the Crimson Tide in yards gained (349 to 208). Utah also won the turnover battle (3 for Alabama, one for Utah). 

Remember Alabama is a team that the University of Florida squeaked by with a late touchdown in the fourth. I don't think anyone is suggesting that Utah would definitely come out on top against Florida or Oklahoma, but what I am saying is that they deserve to take the field. They earned it. All for naught though, really, with the BCS, other than their own pride and bragging rights. 

When will all this madness end?