Ok...take this scenario: LSU beats Florida earlier in the year. LSU is at this time probably #2 in the polls. Ole Miss, having lost to Texas Tech and Memphis, beats LSU and wins the SEC West. LSU falls to #9 and wins its next game vs Arkansas and finishes 10-1, ranked #7, yet cannot play in the championship game because of its loss to Ole Miss, yet Ole Miss is only ranked #14 because of its early season losses. Is this fair to keep #7 in the country out of the tournament when Pittsburgh (#12 in the nation, Big East champs, and probably 8-3) and possibly even Ole Miss play in the tournament? You MUST make it FAIR...unlike the current system.
There are teams out there that YOU KNOW will be in the Top 25 year-in and year-out. Arizona and Marshall are not there. Odds are Auburn and USC will be. Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio State etc. will all be there. Schedule them if you want to MAKE SURE. We know that SOS is a HUGE factor in the BCS formula and WE have to MAKE CERTAIN we are not put in this position. I believe that the LSU administration didn't believe we would be in this position (and therefore, it wouldn't matter) until 2004. That's why we scheduled VTech for 2004. And, I do fault LSU A.D. (i.e., Joe Dean) for not building in a big enough "penalty" for backing out - to make sure that they would NEVER back out once we made the visit to Blacksburg. I understand your frustration at Arizona and Marshall. And, I think the pollsters understand and recognizes that LSU has TRIED to upgrade its OOC schedule. Unfortunately, there is no way to put that into a computer. And, WE KNEW the basics of how the computer program worked and didn't schedule accordingly.
Let's worry about the BCS later I agree that the BCS is garbage. I did some research last night to try to understand the system and became even more convinced of this. The seven "proprietary" computer rankings are probably a joke but no one can even tear them apart because "proprietary" menas we can't see how they work. Now how the heck can we have a system in place where about one fourth of the rating determination is based on a methodology that isn't even revealed to the general public. I smell a rat with that and an opportunity for those behind the scenes to manipulate the ratings and no one would no the difference. The "quality win bonus" is crap too. The way I read it, the only way LSU gets a bonus deduction for Georgia in the end is if Georgia winds up in the BCS top ten at the END OF THE season. Does this make any sense, especially given the fact that the SEC is so tough its not likely that more than one team will finish in the top ten in any given year. Also, if we play GA a second time and beat them again, we only get the bonus once. That's ridiculous. On a side note guys, this BCS talk and NC talk is out of control. I am guilty of it too, but we need to focus more on the task at hand. I think this could be a distraction to the team because they can't help but be hearing about it. We have three tough SEC to go. I know its hard not to be euphoric, but this is college football...great teams lose everyday. We are no shoo in. I am sticking to "humble and cautiously optimistic" as my mantra for the rest of the season. Geaux Tigers!
i think it is fair....win and youre in. thats why its important for teams to take care of business. that would keep every game of the year important even with a playoff. i am not a ole miss supporter in any way...but if they win out the rest of the way...they deserve a hell of a lot. in 2001 we were a 3 loss team, but at the end of the season there wasnt anybody we couldnt beat. we were a lot better than #7.
Scheduling a Texas, OU, Nebraska, Michigan, ect. on a yearly basis is easier said than done. While LSU has played home and home series with Notre Dame, Florida State, Nebraska, Ohio State and Miami in the past all of these teams have their own conference affliations and traditional out of conference scheduling agenda to be worked out. Its not like LSU has deliberately fashioned an OOC schedule of patsies like Kansas State has done in recent years. An 8 game slate of SEC foes makes LSU's schedule as tough as anybody's. While some have said that its a down year for the SEC the fact is that its also a down year for the Big 12 compared to the last few years and even this season the top three conferences by far are the SEC, the Big 12 and the Big 10. Any team that wins the SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac 10, ACC and at least this year the Big East deserves the right to play for it all in a playoff system. Maybe instead of the BS ratings it could be base on the Vegas line. Those guys know a lot more than the BS computers or the polls. Look at it like this: Teams like TCU, Bowling Green and Northern Illinois are high in both the polls and the BS ratings. BUT: If TCU or Bowling Green played unrated teams like Auburn, Missouri, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Washington, UCLA or West Virginia who do you think would be the bookies favorite on a neutral field? TCU is rated higher by the BCS than Geogia, Florida or Tennessee. If they were to play no matter where who would you bet on? My whole point is that neither the BS nor the polls rank teams based upon actual stengths and power ratings based upon real or perceived results of head to head competition. Right now only OU and TCU are undefeated and the only one loss teams are LSU, USC, Ohio State, Bowling Green and Northern Illinois. If you throw TCU, BW and NI out of the equation do LSU, USC or Ohio State deserve to be left out of the National Championship race if they all win out just because the BS rates one of them higher than the other two? If OU and USC play in the Sugar Bowl and LSU beats Miami or Florida State in some BS bowl and Ohio State beats Virginia Tech, Texas or Pittsburgh in some BS bowl who the hell can honestly say that the Sugar Bowl winner is truly the best team in college football?
So what you are saying is that a 8-3 team plays and a 10-1 team stays home, and you're saying that is fair? That's why you have a 16 team playoff...so nobody has any complaints. Your undefeated "mid majors" and your 1-loss big schools...all of them have no complaint. They get a chance just like every good team in every other sport...or do you not realize that football is the only NCAA sport that does not have a true championship?
Even NCAA football at every level but the top level has a true national championship playoff. That alone renders any argument that its too tough for the players pointless.
and that's fine...and my scenario will still fix your situation with a 16-team format a team with 3 losses might win the national championship i don't care how good you are folks, a 3-loss team doesn't deserve to be MNC... in 2001 we were probably one of 2 teams in the nation who could have given Miami a game but did we deserve to win the NC...absolutely not... that is what makes college football so special...u must maintain the same level of intensity for EVERY SINGLE GAME the entire year like OU has been doing.
Like I said the other day the BCS stands for Bull Shit. I'm not happy at all about teams backing out on us without giving ample time to find an equal or better replacement. That hurts us in the BCS and it's not our fault. Basketball, baseball has a playoff system in college and probably every sport except football, shows you how stupid the people are that run the NCAA football committee or whatever it is. It makes football look stupid and lousy even though we all love it. I would subtract 1 non-conference game from the season, then have a playoff using the bowls as playoff games.
and that's fine...and my scenario will still fix your situation with a 16-team format a team with 3 losses might win the national championship i don't care how good you are folks, a 3-loss team doesn't deserve to be MNC... so, in my proverbial NC tournament, even if an 8-3 team gets into the tournament, it would likely be a 15 or 16 seed. This being the case, that 8-3 team would have to beat the #1 seed in the first round, possibly the #8 or 9 seed in the second round, probably the #4 seed in the semifinals, and the more than likely the #2 seed in the finals. And you'd have a problem with a team like that winning the national championship? So I guess 12-3 wouldn't be good enough? Bull. Every sport except for division IA football has a true championship. Having 3 losses would NOT cheapen the title given the road a team with 3 losses would have to plow to win it. Let's take a look at how it would match up given the BCS standings of today for an example: 1 Oklahoma vs 16 Miami, OH 8 Michigan vs 9 Georgia 7 Tennesse vs 10 Washington St. 4 LSU vs 13 Florida St 2 USC vs 15 Virginia Tech 5 Texas vs 12 Miami, FL 6 TCU vs 11 Purdue 3 Ohio St. vs 13 Florida Do you think any of these games would generate any interest? If not, what planet are you from? HA! And also, it would be FAIR. No team or fan would have any complaint about how they got screwed by the computers...except for #17...and do you honestly think Miami of Ohio OR Nebraska would beat OU this year?
