[Updates below]
The University of Alabama football team won the B.C.S. National Championship* or what I like to refer to as the mythical national championship for N.C.A.A. football. Alabama beat an over rated University of Texas team 37-21 last night without having the opportunity of playing the only other undefeated team in the country, Boise State University.
Alabama is certainly deserving of mention as one of the top teams in the country, but without a playoff system there will always be doubt as to whether or not Alabama is truly the undisputed number one team in America. Especially when Boise State University (W.A.C. champion) was shut out, again, from the alleged national championship game after finishing undefeated and beating another under rated and undefeated Texas Christian University (M.W.C.) team in the Fiesta Bowl 17-10.
There is plenty of arguments in favor of Alabama being the ‘undisputed’ national champion, but without a playoff, there will always be arguments against them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking Alabama, I’m knocking the process of picking a national champion.
My other rant involves the emasculated Big East football conference. After the departure of the University of Miami, Boston College, and Virginia Tech, the Big East became nothing more than a glorified basketball conference that happened to be playing football. Remember that the Big East football conference was formed when Miami was invited and accepted entrance into the conference. Without Miami, the Big East is only a great basketball conference.
So why do they still receive an automatic B.C.S. bid? Big East champion undefeated University of Cincinnati was literally destroyed by the University of Florida. Yes, Florida is most likely the second best team in the nation after Alabama, but they annihilated Cincinnati 54-24.
Face it, the Big East needs to have their bid removed. That or the Western Athletic Conference (W.A.C.) and the Mountain West Conference (M.W.C.) should get automatic bids as well.
Of course all of this can be resolved with a playoff.
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* B.C.S. = Bowl Championship Series. A coalition of Bowl games and American college football conferences that crowns a champion based on arbitrary rankings. Also known as the unofficial national champion of the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
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Update I: Craig James and Kirk Bohls Associated Press votes drop Boise State University to # 4 in the polls? Mr. Craig James voted them # 7 overall. Why?
Go BSU! Though having said that, Alabama would win.
Most likely, but we’ll never know.
Drop the BCS farce, but NO PLAYOFF! Go back to the old bowl alignment system (which, fortunately, is what the university presidents have said will happen if the BCS is ever scrapped).
I’m with Jay. That’s a truly conservative view. I heard on the radio that there is now a PAC to support congressional candidates who favor a bowl playoff system – sign of American decline #3,712.
Alabama is certainly deserving of mention as one of the top teams in the country, but without a playoff system there will always be doubt as to whether or not Alabama is truly the undisputed number one team in America.
I’m for a playoff, and I’d love for teams like Boise State to get a chance. But Alabama is the best football team in the country, and they would whomp Boise State.
ROLL TIDE!
Okay. My suggestion is to return all the bowl games to their traditional alignment, and play them in August.
Then do what division i, ii, and iii college football does. 16 teams. Fun. And money, money, money.
I’m no Bama fan, and love upsets. But Bama would have handled BSU as easily as Florida handled Cincinatti.
And like other posters, I think the playoff idea is overrated.
While Texas’s loss of McCoy was huge, it is pretty clear that the nation’s best team won.
That said, it is far more likely that Texas would have taken Bama if they had had McCoy than BSU would have beaten Bama had it had the opportunity.
There will always be ifs and buts (e.g., would Iowa have gone undefeated and displaced Texas had it not lost its QB for its only two losses — very close games to good teams?)
Congrats to Bama for a well-earned championship.
Boise State would have rolled over the Tide and Bear Bryant!
Scrap the BCS if there is no playoff system.
At least have a 2 + 1, ie, take top two teams after bowls and have a championship.
So revert to the old bowl system and just pick the top two teams.
And we’ll see if the Big East gets ANY real bids after that!
“Craig James voted them # 7 overall”
Somebody needs to lock Craig James up in a closet/shed. Guy’s a jerk.
Boise State would have rolled over the Tide and Bear Bryant!
Quick, someone slap Tito! He’s going into hysterics, defaming the honored memory of the great Bear Bryant.
Tito,
The PAC-10 went 2-5 and got owned my the Mountain West. Are you finally ready to relent on your baseless claim that it is the best conference in the country?
Bama barely held on to beat a QB who had thrown 26 college passes coming into the game and they gave up 50% more yards and points as Nebraska did when they shut down the Colt McCoy version. If McCoy doesn’t get hurt, Texas would have won that game.
Big Tex,
Thanks for the slap.
I think when I started reading the Vox Nova blog the devil overcame me and I lost it when I said that about Bear Bryant.
Thank goodness I was near a Bible and quickly read Revelation. I’m out of it now.
Phew!
Matt G.,
The Pac-10 doesn’t recognize the existence of any conference besides the Big-10, so those scrimmages don’t count.
😉