BCS: Don't Trash It, Embrace It

I've recently professed my love for the BCS. So in its ultimate time of need, I’m here to defend it.

First off, I’d like to explain something.

There is only one goal of the BCS Ranking System: to rank the two top teams in the entire nation so that they can play for the national title.

It doesn’t pick those genius matchups like Illinois and Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl.

If you want to complain about the Ohio State and LSU matchup that is almost a month away from now, this isn’t the place. Go find someone who cares.

What we need to address here is simple. There are two things preventing us from seeing the bowl games we want, the first being the ridiculous rule that says one conference cannot have more than two teams in BCS Bowls.

Can I ask why that is?

Is it to prevent one conference from dominating the selection process?

Please.

The BCS just needs to set better rules as far as selecting.

This isn’t just a problem with the BCS Bowls.

Was the Alamo Bowl brave or what? I’m not trying to sound like a conceited Michigan fan, but how did the bowl's officials know Michigan was going to the Capital One Bowl? They made their decision a little too early in the process

If I remember correctly, Michigan beat Penn State, finished higher in the conference standings, and had the same record.

So why on earth would you pick Penn State?

Isn’t the idea to take the highest team in the conference standings?

Apparently not.

So what if a conference were to have three teams in the BCS? Who cares? I think it’s pretty fantastic that the Big 12 has Kansas with one loss, Missouri and Oklahoma with two each, and all three are bowl candidates.

But why in this situation is Missouri, who beat both Kansas and Illinois in the regular season, headed to the Cotton Bowl?

I’ll tell you why.

It’s because some guy sitting in his Rose Bowl Tower decided to keep with the tradition of a Pac-10–Big-Ten bowl.

Then the other guy up in his Orange Bowl Tower said, Hey, I want Kansas.

This brings me to my second point: why are these guys picking who we see in the BCS Bowls?

They don’t care about matchups or who deserves it.

They just want to make money. Who makes them the most dough, which fans travel the best and most importantly…

Who is the biggest name out of the bunch?

Why must it be like this?

The BCS is already there, so why not use it for more than deciding who is number one and who is number two?

This way you aren’t worrying about money-hungry, no-good officials sitting back and selecting teams in the same conference or teams that are more recognizable.  Or using the worst excuse of them all: their fans travel well.

Take the conference winners: Hawaii, Boise State or any other "non-BCS" school that is 12th or higher in the rankings. The at-larges are now decided by the highest BCS ranking.

What are you looking at now?

Virginia Tech and Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri, Southern Cal and Kansas, West Virginia and Hawaii.

Florida and Illinois are in the Capital One Bowl like they should be.

The BCS is always right—but it’s a shame we are only using it to decide who is number one and who is number two.