Cincinnati Bearcats Shouldn't Be Criticized for BCS' Flaws

How can you say a team from a BCS conference that finishes 11-2 does not deserve a BCS bid?  Well, this is what a lot of naysayers have been saying about the Cincinnati Bearcats.  The Champions of the Big East have been proving skeptics wrong for a while now, and it looks like the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1 against Virginia Tech will provide another platform to make a national statement.

Like it or not, this Bearcat team is probably the best team that you have never seen. Too many people want to focus on Cincy's two losses instead of their 11 wins.

Oklahoma fans will tell anyone that Cincy played the Sooners tougher than any team has in Norman all year.  The score was 28-20 in the third quarter before OU pulled away, and Cincy also lost their starting QB to a broken leg.  In the loss to Connecticut, Cincy was down 17-16 entering the fourth quarter until four turnovers sealed the win for the Huskies.

That was then, and this is now!

So why do other teams get passes into the BCS?  The answer is reputation.  Ohio State has a record of losing big games recently, but they travel with a lot of fans who spend a lot of money, and they are always on national television as a household name.  Anytime the Buckeyes get close to qualifying for the BCS, they will be selected.

USC has a history of playing on the national stage, and despite the Pac-10 being bad, the Trojans are respected because they have proven that they can beat any team in the country.

Is it fair that Boise State was shut out of the BCS? Well, yes and no.  Yes, because if you are comparing the performance of their WAC counterpart Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl last year, the BCS officials don't want to see a duplicate performance.  No, because any team that goes undefeated deserves a shot if they can back it up with who they have beaten during the season.

The BCS system is flawed because the only way there will be no controversy is if there are only two undefeated teams that are No. 1 and No. 2 that play for the title.  Anytime there are multiple undefeated or one-loss teams, there will almost certainly be a debate about who is No. 1.  A playoff format would be the answer to this problem because then nobody would be able to argue who is the real champion.

Cincy can be lumped into a group of one-loss and two-loss teams. Although OU and Florida are probably the cream of the crop, in a playoff anything can happen.

Until the system is changed, Cincy deserves the same opportunity that Louisville and West Virginia has received in previous years.  They have done pretty well, I might add.

Cincy is not the bad guy here.  All they have done is take care of their business by winning the Big East and beating the teams that they should have.  Should we punish their hard work because you don't agree with the BCS system?

Remember this fact—there are a lot of teams that make regular BCS appearances that were new to the BCS just like Cincy was at one time.  They had to learn what it took to get there and to remain there, so give Cincy a chance to prove themselves before you rush to judgment.

The NFL scouts must think Cincy is good as well, stating that they have two CBs, a safety, two defensive linemen, an offensive lineman, a WR, and a punter that all have a chance to be drafted in this year's NFL draft.

Good teams that win a lot of games usually have multiple players drafted into the NFL. So you tell me if you think Cincy is good or not.