BCS Rankings: Alabama Staying Above Stanford and Boise State Is Ridiculous

In 1999, a college football system was put into place to match the two best teams in the country so there would no longer be any dispute about who was truly No. 1.  It's called the Bowl Championship Series, and while it has been a vast improvement over the old system, this system stinks too. 

Don't believe me?  Just ask Stanford and Boise State. 

The Cardinal, who play in the Pac-12, have dominated the conference for the last two years and are undefeated this season.  The Broncos, who play in a much weaker conference (the Mountain West), are also undefeated and have dominated their conference for half a decade. 

Yet, these two teams, who are both seeking a berth in the national title game, saw a one-loss team stay above them in the latest BCS rankings.

That team is Alabama, who plays in the murderer's row of the SEC.  The Crimson Tide were ranked No. 2 in the country, were undefeated heading into their showdown with top-ranked LSU and then lost to the Tigers. 

However, instead of falling below the remaining unbeaten teams in the country, Alabama only fell one spot to No. 3, leaving No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 Boise State almost no shot at reaching the title game.

In order for either team to see the national title game, they must both win out and hope for No. 2 Oklahoma State AND one-loss Alabama to lose.

While I am an SEC guy, I know unfairness when I see it! 

I believe the two best teams in the country by far are Alabama and LSU, but there is no way a one-loss team deserves to play for a national title over a team that went perfect for the season. Much less a team that is not going to win its conference, let alone its division. 

Can the BCS really justify having a national champion that finished second in its division and didn't even play for its conference title? The answer is absolutely not.

The cold hard reality is that Alabama had its shot against LSU at home in Tuscaloosa and lost.

End of story.

Why should Alabama be given another shot if Oklahoma State slips up somewhere?  The answer is: If Stanford and/or Boise State remain unbeaten, it shouldn't.

The Tide's computer ranking is .883 after the LSU loss, while the Cardinal's ranking is .874 and the Broncos' ranking is .847.

Alabama still has a game against Auburn, and if it wins that, it will secure its place and have almost no chance of getting jumped by either Stanford or Boise in the final rankings.

Stanford still has to play No. 7 Oregon, Notre Dame and likely UCLA in the PAC-12 Championship game, since USC is ineligible.  Boise State only has one tough test left against TCU. With weak schedules and strong, quality wins under the Tide's belt against Arkansas and Penn State, it will be difficult for either team to vault over the Tide.

We all know this is not the first mess the BCS has presented us. It screams for a playoff system. 

Let's get it done, college football—the fans and players deserve fairness!