BCS Rankings: Boise State Glitch Proves Again That the BCS Has To Go

For those of you who don't know, it was revealed a few days ago that a glitch in the BCS rankings system accidentally swapped Boise State and LSU in the final BCS rankings, placing Boise State at No. 11 and LSU at No. 10.

While the switch in the rankings had no eventual effect on the outcome of the bowl matchups, the flaw once again gave rise to a number of outspoken comments against the much-maligned BCS rankings system, some of which came from Boise State president Dr. Bob Kustra himself.

In his letter, Kustra makes two very good points that could both play a large role in the downfall of the BCS:

1. Who knows how many of these mistakes have been made? If a small slip like this could happen between Boise State and LSU, how could the postseason destinies of other teams be affected should they slide one spot in the wrong (or right) direction? This is a big one, because it opens the door for investigation into past rankings, and potentially into future rankings as well.

2. The BCS system rewards teams from automatic qualifying conferences who have played mediocre seasons with big ticket bowl games, while non-AQ schools are treated like "second-class citizens."

Kustra has a major point here. Take a look at the BCS bowls. Of the 10 teams playing in them, two of them are ranked below Boise State (No. 13 Virginia Tech—Orange Bowl, and unranked University of Connecticut—Fiesta Bowl). It doesn't seem fair for other teams to get shafted in BCS bowl placement because of their conference.

A lot of people have been pushing for a modified playoff system to take the place of the BCS bowls as a postseason alternative, and these points may be what the argument needs to get the final push. If the BCS system continues to create high ticket bowls that feature matchups that include low or unranked teams, it will become clear that the BCS has to go.