OPINION: BCS - The Debate Continues
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 10, 2011 11:23 PM
The debate rages on about the Bowl Championship Series system and one has wonder if it will ever end.
Can you imagine how Oklahoma State felt getting kicked in the gut?
What about K-State?
And who would have thought that Virginia Tech, which looked absolutely dreadful in the ACC championship game, would get an at-large BCS bid? Much less Michigan?
OSU head coach Mike Gundy said it best, "it is what it is," when his team was shut out of the national championship game.
Truth be told, the BCS is a mess.
It's understandable why LSU and Alabama are meeting for the national championship. Statistically, the Tigers and Crimson Tide are the two best teams in the country. But Bama dropped a three-point decision in overtime -- at home, no less -- to LSU nearly a month ago.
You had your chance Bama, now step aside.
OSU had one bad loss, but more victories against top 25 BCS teams than Bama and it won the Big 12 outright. K-State played steady throughout the season and finished ranked ahead of Michigan and Virginia Tech in the final BCS standings.
The Cowboys are headed to the Fiesta Bowl.
The BCS thumbed its collective nose at K-State.
See the problem here?
John Currie, athletics director at K-State, said the BCS needs to pick a philosophy and stick with it. He proposed the title game be filled through the BCS system, with all the other bowls picking whoever they prefer as in the old days.
Good thought, John.
One problem, though.
The bottom line is revenue for the conferences, the cities that play host to the bowl games and the good old NCAA, which says in its popular TV commercial that it uses the money to fund championships in 88 different sports. Cities that are historical and have something to offer fans, particularly a nightlife, are going to lure the high-profile teams.
A "plus-one" system has merit.
Eliminate the automatic qualifying berth, tweak the voting and upgrade the criteria used by the computers -- or turn them off. Seed the top four teams through the BCS with the two survivors playing for the national championship at the highest remaining seed.
Place the next eight teams in the four major bowls.
Fill the remaining slots with the conference bowl tie-ins.
The money still flows.
And maybe ... just maybe ... parody will finally be created that will end all this jaw-flapping, lip pouting and crying over who gets a "fair" chance to play for the national championship as well as a bigger payday for its school and conference.
Or will it?