BCS Rankings 2011: Is LSU at No. 1 in First BCS Poll a Mistake?

Well, the polls are in, the numbers are crunched and the TV reveal show is over. 

What we're left with is a reminder of the idiocy in the methodology for determining a champion in college football, and the first BCS standings of 2011.

And at the top, we’ve already got some disparity between the human polls and the final standings once the computer rankings are calculated.

LSU finds itself atop the standings, ahead of Alabama by the slimmest of margins, while Oklahoma, which is first in the USA today poll, slid all the way to third.

More surprising perhaps than Oklahoma’s slide is the rise of the Sooner’s rival Oklahoma State to fourth in the standings.

Right or Wrong?

So here’s the question: Did the system get it right?

The answer: LSU is as good as any.

The Tigers’ resume is impressive, with victories over a veritable Who’s Who of the Top 25.  Alabama fans may disagree, but it doesn’t matter because they are basically 1 and 1a in the poll and unlike the rest of college football, that debate will resolve itself on the field in an epic battle November 5 at LSU.

But the Tigers also have a tough match against fellow BCS top-10 Arkansas to close the regular season, then, should they come through unscathed, the SEC championship game.

Bedlam For the Ages, Then Left Out Anyway?

Oklahoma, which started the season at number one in both polls slipped over the last few weeks in the Harris Poll (whose voters have a pitifully low football acumen and whose inclusion in the BCS calculation is criminally stupid) to number three behind the two SEC powers.

The good news for the Sooners and Cowboys is the aforementioned battle between the Tigers and Alabama will allow them to move up a spot. The other good news is (assuming both stay unbeaten) the winner of the Bedlam game will gain a bunch of style and algorithm points.

And since the Big 12 doesn’t have a title game, it’s a pretty good bet one of those two finish undefeated.

The bad news is, should LSU beat ‘Bama, and then lose to Arkansas or lose in the SEC Championship, one of the one-loss SEC teams which didn’t win its conference title may end up leapfrogging a Big 12 team for the title game.

The Best Two Teams May Be Nos. 5 and 6

I get a kick out of the insanity of college football pundits who perennially say “no way Team X loses another game this season” even though they invariably do.

So that brings us to the Broncos and Badgers which found themselves in the Nos. 5 and 6 slots when the standings were unveiled. These two teams, which may be the most complete on both sides of the ball in the nation, are left to hope for cannibalization at the top.

Either of these teams has a legitimate shot to beat any of the four teams in front of them in the polls, and the fact that there are so many good teams this season only makes the BCS/No-Playoff pill so tough to swallow.

How’s This Scenario For You:

Oklahoma wins out, it’s in the title game.

Georgia wins the SEC East and LSU takes the SEC West. Georgia barely beats LSU in the SEC championship game, but the Tigers, on strength of schedule in the computer rankings still gets into the national championship game.

Boise State wins out, and is out of the title game, while a team that lost to a team the Broncos beat handily on the road, gets in.

Unlikely? Probably so. Possible? Absolutely.

And the fact that it’s even possible illustrates the absolutely insulting stupidity which college football’s champion is determined.

Die, BCS. Die.