My favorite Oklahoma grad, BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock, decided to publish an op-ed in the USA Today publication today. Guess what he was doing. "Yet again, college football's BCS works." He can say that, but his points are stupid. Let's break down his column.
First, you can find the column here: Bill Hancock BCS Op-Ed USA Today
If you don't want to click that link, don't fret because I'm going to go through the entire column right now. I just can't stand this guy. Or Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany. What did Mr. Delany say yesterday about Boise State and TCU wanting an opportunity to play for a national championship? Here's what he said: "Michigan State feels left out because in order to accommodate you (Boise State and TCU), we've capped them." Delany is referring to the rule that a maximum of two schools can represent a conference in the BCS, but what Delany is essentially saying is, "Stop whining because I have a third team that's worthy of the BCS while you're not and we included you anyway."
Anyway, Bill Hancock...
Here's what he wrote, and I'm going to take a break in between some parts to give my take. My take will be in bold.
Yet again, college football's BCS works
By Bill Hancock
We've been called communists, a cartel, crooks — and worse — but that's malarkey. And I'm proud to stand up and point out why college football is so popular and why our system works so well.
College football was one weekend away from Boise State participating in the BCS National Championship Game because of what happened on the playing field — not in a chatroom, a boardroom or a newsroom. Me: No, Mr. Hancock, you are wrong. Yes Boise State was oh so close because of what happened on the playing field, but on the field for other schools, not what they did. Boise State was very impressive, fun to watch, but don't say because what they accomplished is the reason why they were so close. The real reason is what happened on the playing field across the country. Don't lie and say Boise State played their way into that position. No, teams like Ohio State, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, etc. played their way out of that position and you had no choice, absolutely no choice but to move Boise up. We know that if it were up to you, you would have kept all of those one-loss teams ahead of the Broncos. Okay, continue. The BCS rankings are based on how a team plays between the white lines, and the results speak for themselves. If the BCS were corrupt, how could a missed field goal in the Boise State-Nevada game and a 24-point comeback by Auburn over Alabama have made such a difference?
As USA TODAY reported shortly after Boise State lost its first game and TCU decided to join the Big East, "It's been a bad 72 hours for BCS bashers."
The purpose of the BCS is to match the nation's top two teams in a championship bowl game while creating a series of other exciting matchups. It's nothing more than that. This season, that means the No. 1 Auburn Tigers vs. the No. 2 Oregon Ducks.
Okay, so the BCS "worked" because we had two AQ schools that went undefeated. Guess what, I'm still not convinced that Oregon is the No. 2 team in the country. Anyway, that's just me. Continue.
If this were the shady system that some people claim, how could Boise State have been only inches away? Boise State was NOT inches away. They would have been left out of the championship game regardless whether they beat Nevada or not. And if the system were designed to shut out schools from the so-called non-power conferences, how could TCU — undefeated and No. 3 in the BCS rankings — play in the granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl? TCU is playing in the Rose Bowl because Boise State fell "inches" short. Otherwise, you, sir, and your BCS cartel would have left an undefeated TCU team out of the BCS completely.
The abuse from the critics is balderdash. Way to use a scholarly term. The fact is the BCS accomplishes its mission with a stunningly popular national championship game. It regularly draws more viewers than the NCAA Final Four, the World Series, the NBA Championships and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And it does this while maintaining college football's wonderful regular season and also by preserving America's unique multiday bowl tradition that rewards student-athletes with a celebratory bowl-game week. Okay, I'm not going to lie, I love the bowl games. Yes, the national championship game is "stunningly popular" and you say it draws more viewers than the NCAA Final Four, the World Series, the NBA Championships and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Uh, so which one does it not draw more viewers than: the Super Bowl. So this implies that the Super Bowl is No.1 and the BCS championship is No. 2. Duh, it's football. Of course America is going to watch a football game over the aforementioned. America does not watch your BCS title game because of the perfect matchup. America will watch a Lions-Buccaneers Super Bowl ahead of the other championships you mentioned.
As this season proves, outstanding teams can play in BCS bowls, including the national championship game, no matter what conference they're in. For much of this season, Boise State and TCU earned the ranking of No. 3 and No. 4. That can't happen in a rigged system.
Rigged? Somehow Oklahoma gets every benefit from the BCS. Too bad they can't rig the actual games so Oklahoma could win one. Sorry for that, I shouldn't have said that. But honestly don't lie to America and say Boise State and TCU earned the ranking of No. 3 and No. 4. New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley had Boise State at No. 16 on his ballot. It's obvious they are trying to keep the Broncos out. I'm having trouble finding it again now, but there are numerous columns about the BCS miscue it had where the Colley Matrix computer was wrong and Boise State should have been No. 10 in the BCS instead of No. 11 and Alabama and Nebraska should have been switched as well, but one column stated it correctly: If the humans weren't biased a.k.a. if Locksley didn't vote Boise insanely low, Boise State would have been No. 10 anyway without the computer glitch. But it's a known fact that every person involved in the BCS would love to keep Boise State and TCU below every one-loss team if only public perception would allow it.
Commies? A cartel? Give me a break. The BCS is a voluntary arrangement that benefits every university in the NCAA's Bowl Subdivision. It has provided all schools with more revenue and more access to the major bowl games than ever before.
All schools with more revenue? So that's why once Boise State loses ONE game, it's automatically a bad football team. Boise State still fit the guidelines for a non-AQ to be included in the BCS. They're as good a one-loss football team I've seen in my life. And I know Stanford got the automatic-BCS bid by being ranked No. 4, which why are the Cardinal ahead of Wisconsin, but aside from that, if Wisconsin was No. 4 and Stanford was No. 5, I guarantee you Boise State would have sent more fans to the Orange Bowl than Stanford will.
Why not a playoff?
Sure, I understand that many football fans want an NFL-style playoff instead. I know that they want to fill out a bracket, and that they want to watch more college football in December. They want their favorite team to have a slot in that bracket. But the desire for a different postseason format doesn't justify the false attacks against the BCS event. And as the person who used to manage the NCAA Final Four, I know that what works for one sport doesn't work so easily for a different sport.
College football has the best regular season of any sport, and the lack of a playoff is one big reason why. Millions of football fans this year tuned in to watch the season-opening game between Boise State and Virginia Tech because there was so much on the line —starting early in September. If there were a playoff, the Alabama-Auburn game wouldn't have been as important nationally, or as dramatic.
Don't jump to the conclusion that Gene Chizik would have benched Cam Newton down 24-0 and said well let's save him for the playoffs. And "starting early in September." About that, yes it's a big game I watched it, but look at what happened to Virginia Tech. Is it so great to end a team's season in week one? After that huge emotional letdown by the Hokies they didn't show up against James Madison. If they weren't so "down" that their championship dreams are worthless straight from week one, they would have dominated JMU and would be considered one of the top one-loss teams today AND I guarantee you that the BCS would have done everything possible to have a one-loss Virginia Tech be ranked ahead of one-loss Boise State despite the head-to-head result.
A playoff also would mean the end of America's bowl tradition as we know it. As Rick Baker, president of the Cotton Bowl, said, "A playoff system would ruin the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic."
Why? Why would bowls be ruined? Bowls are ALREADY a consolation prize.
'Toast of the town'
Under the current system, 70 schools and hordes of fans arrive days before the big game and immediately become the toast of the town. Fans and families plan vacations around bowl week. Student-athletes are celebrated as the players get to see places and do things they otherwise never could do. No wonder a poll of student-athletes taken by ESPN the Magazine earlier this year showed that 77% of players would prefer a career with three bowl games to a career with one playoff game.
A playoff, on the other hand, would be limited to a small number of schools, and it would turn their celebratory week into a series of one-day business trips because the teams would arrive the day before the game and leave right afterward. If they won, they'd need to get ready for next week's game. That's not a bowl party — that's another game on the schedule. For the schools that don't make a playoff, their bowl games would fade away. Sadly, so too would a great American tradition.
If ever a season showed that the BCS is fair and that it works, it's this season. And it happened while maintaining the thrilling regular season in which every game counts.
Bill Hancock, former director of the NCAA Final Four, is executive director of the Bowl Championship Series.
Keep dreaming and keep stuffing your wallet, sir. Maybe you should invest in some earplugs because no matter what you say, the public will never agree with you and will never stop it's complaints. I'll send you some headache medicine for Christmas.
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