College Football: How Many BCS Brass Does It Take to Screw Up the Gridiron?

One of my favorite stories as a child was Dr. Seuss' "The Sneeches". In this classic there are 2 castes of sneeches, one sanctimonious group blessed with stars on their bellies and another, sadly deprived of this physiological ornament. A traveling con man shows up one day and demonstrates his machine that will put stars on the bellies of all sneeches.  The star-bellied sneeches do not like this civil rights action and turn to the con man who unveils his machine that will remove their stars. A mass confusion ensues whereupon the sneeches remove and replace their stars at random while the con man walks off with his pockets full of money.  Who knew that Dr. Seuss knew so much about the BCS?

Today, ESPN.com announced that the Obama administration is not going to pursue legal action against the BCS, denting the hopes of those who would like to see fairness in college football.  We've heard the tired arguments about the superiority of the BCS system in comparison to what we had before, but is it the best thing out there? We went from a frozen burrito to a fast food burrito, sure. But have you ever had a full Mexican meal at an authentic restaurant? A playoff would offer us the closest thing to our proverbial Mexican meal and the BCS commissioners know it. Their pockets are so full of money though, that the integrity of the game is the last thing they care about. 

Following are seven reasons spanning the last three-and-a-half seasons why the BCS has to go. 

January 2009: BCS Sugar Bowl

In January 2009 an overmatched Utah team strolled into the BCS Sugar Bowl and promptly walloped a solid Alabama squad.  After the game Alabama fans were heard to say that their team didn't really want to be in the Sugar Bowl—they deserved a shot at the National Championship.  I couldn't agree with you more.  But so did Utah. 

The BCS has spawned a half a season of lethargic, apathetic football from those eliminated from consideration.  When Alabama lost to Florida in the SEC Championship the starch went out of an otherwise phenomenal team.  Alabama would have been ranked high enough to play in a tournament and therefore would have had another shot at Florida, thus eliminating the argument that they had nothing left to play for.  Utah's argument was that they were at least as good as the one loss Oklahoma team that ended up losing to Florida in the National Championship.  So did we just discover that the BCS shafted both of the teams that played in the Sugar Bowl?  Yep.

The Utah Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, subsequently took the case to the Supreme Court, obviously precipitating only one major change.  Utah went to the Pac-12.  We haven't heard a whole lot from Shurtleff lately.

January 2010: BCS Fiesta Bowl

In 2010 both Boise State and TCU went undefeated and carried the hope of the Non-AQs with them.  The debate had raged all year. Who was better, Cincinnati or TCU?  Florida or Boise State?  When they both qualified for a BCS Bowl, it was the quintessential opportunity to take a chunk out of the BCS and change the world. 

It was also an opportunity for the BCS to prove that they had gotten it right; to prove their superiority. So what did the BCS do? They tucked their tail and fled. Pitting BSU and TCU together was the most deplorably cowardly act in the nefarious history of deplorably cowardly acts committed by the BCS.  TCU and BSU might have played each other in a playoff but at least one of them would have had a chance at the National Championship. 

This was oddly reminiscent of the second grade bully who went around picking fights with everyone...until someone stepped up to knock his block off and he ran away crying.

November 2011: LSU vs Alabama

This week LSU and Alabama will throw down in the most anticipated match-up all year.  The pundits are already calling for a rematch and the game hasn't even happened yet.  This is the same recycled argument from the Florida/Alabama game in 2008. Should a one-loss team play for the National Championship? Absolutely—as part of a playoff.

Every December Since the Dawn of Time: The One Loss Argument

Can you convince me that Oklahoma is not the best team in the country? What about Oregon?  Clemson? Nebraska?  Oregon has gotten better this year, as good teams generally do, and what if they beat Stanford?  Does that mean that Stanford is not the best? Maybe. But they deserve a chance to correct what went wrong and prove they can hang. Same for LSU and Alabama.  Oklahoma and Oklahoma St, too. Would Wisconsin have lost to Ohio State one week after losing to Michigan State if their hopes for the crystal football were still alive? They at least deserved a shot to prove otherwise.

Every December: The Undefeated Argument

Boise State has done everything the BCS has asked them to do-level anybody in their way. And they do it, year after year. Minus a hard fought loss to Nevada last year, BSU would have the longest winning streak in the universe, so why are they still doubted?  Oh yeah, the strength of schedule thing.  I know a way that we can eliminate that argument. That's right. A playoff!  At the end of the year if you believe that BSU's schedule is weak then seed them low and watch them mow through their bracket. What about Houston? They haven't played anybody. Yet. In a tournament format they would at least be given the chance to succeed or be exposed as frauds.  Last year TCU might have been the best team in the land, yet Auburn hoisted the trophy. We will never know who the true champion is until the BCS is gone.

1896: Plessy vs Ferguson

Yeah, I went there. In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal as long as "separate" was "equal."  In 1954 it was repealed because the government realized that "separate" is inherently NEVER "equal". The BCS teams continue to separate themselves from the rest of college football as the BCS brass sagely nod their heads and say: "See? We told you we were better."  With all that money being filtered their way they had better be superior.  As long as the BCS survives the chasm will continue to widen as the talent gets funneled wherever the money goes.

March: Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

In mid-March every year, families gather around the dinner table to lovingly fill out their brackets for March Madness.  These families will grow closer as they stand in front of the television screaming profanity at the referees, players and coaches. Trash talk permeates offices, schools and homes as palpable excitement sweeps the world. Teams such as Virginia Commonwealth, James Madison and Richmond are given the opportunity to prove their mettle on an enormous stage. Football is being robbed of that fairness and excitement. If the ubiquity of March Madness were added to the intrinsic popularity of the gridiron, it might become the world's most popular sport.