Let’s face it: the BCS is a piece of garbage. It encourages unsportsmanlike behavior, and there really seems to be too much of it these days, by forcing teams to boost scores to maintain high poll positions. It encourages corruption by allowing poll voters to make dramatic changes at the last minute, bowing to political pressure. It has resulted in generally weaker bowl matchups. And worst of all, it denies us the chance to settle the championship issue on the field.
Auburn, which will face two-loss ninth-ranked Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, is the first team to go undefeated in the SEC and be denied a title shot. They beat three top ten teams and a good Tennessee team twice. Auburn would actually be better off under the pre-BCS system because there would at least be a chance to share the title.
California led Texas in the BCS and was poised for a well-deserved shot at the Rose Bowl until, at the very last minute, on the last night of college football, on a night Cal faced tough competition in Southern Miss after a long trip across the country: Some voters elevated Texas above Cal. This came after two weeks of politicking by Texas coach Matt Brown. There were even reports of some ballots being sent out in Texas before the games were over.
California passed up a very late and meaningless touchdown opportunity, and that move likely had an impact on their drop in the polls. There is no longer any room for sportsmanship when a BCS bowl is on the line. A team that competes to position itself in the BCS has no choice but to crush its opponents.
The ties the major bowls now have to conference championships have resulted in an 8-3 Pittsburgh team playing undefeated Utah in the Fiesta Bowl, and Virginia Tech meeting undefeated Auburn in the Orange with two losses. Meanwhile, a Cal loss faces Texas Tech 7-4 in the Holiday Bowl. Are these the best possible matchups that could have been put together?
I don’t think the creators of BCS imagined what we have now. I really think it was an attempt to have something better. But it’s time to admit that the system is a failure and move on. The old system is better than the one we have now. A playoff system is highly feasible, since it already exists in every sport except major college football, and would make even more money than the current bowl system. The argument that it would take too much time away from players’ schoolwork is nonsense. Will we ever know the true details of the collusion between college presidents, bowls and any number of games to deny us an honest playoff system? I doubt it. But it’s shameful that NCAA member college presidents allow such a system to exist, one that encourages corruption and poor sportsmanship.