BCS Rankings Chaos: Oklahoma State Upset Proves BCS Is Absurd

Oklahoma State’s 37-31 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones last night is more than enough ammo for BCS haters to bash the system once again.

Oh boy, this really is my favorite time of the year, and not because of the holidays, the weather or that delicious smorgasbord that I’ll encounter Thursday. It’s because of college football and the havoc the BCS creates.

I have to admit—while most people complain non-stop about the BCS, I like to just sit back and watch how this thing turns out. It’s like a roller coaster that changes every time I get on it. There are ups and downs, but you never ride the same track to get to your destination.

There are loops like the Oklahoma Sooners losing to the Texas Tech Raiders earlier this year. And then there are the corkscrews that make your stomach turn and give you a rush all at the same time, like Oklahoma State last night.

Up until now, the BCS has surprisingly worked out just about every year. Besides an undefeated Auburn Tigers team being left out in 2004 and the controversy that surrounded the USC Trojans and LSU Tigers in 2003, the BCS has always seemed to find a way to match up the two best teams in the national championship.

Well, that was then and right now, this thing is a mess. I’m not so sure the BCS can pull another Houdini. There’s one (legit) undefeated team left, and there are nine one-loss teams that are ready to plead their case.

Let’s think like an expert for a minute and trim that down, though. I’m going to put the Boise State Broncos, Stanford Cardinal, Virginia Tech Hokies, Clemson Tigers and Oklahoma State Cowboys on the outside looking in.

I’m putting Oklahoma State there for losing to an unranked team in Week 12, Boise State because of their schedule, Stanford because they won’t win the Pac-12 and just lost to Oregon and Clemson and Virginia Tech because the ACC doesn’t get the respect the other big-time conferences receive.

So that leaves us with the LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Oregon Ducks, Oklahoma Sooners and Arkansas Razorbacks. A lot of people are forgetting about Arkansas, which is foolish, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Alabama and Oregon both lost to LSU. That’s pretty good for your resume, but many fans have already stated that they’re not interested in seeing a rematch. I can’t help but think ratings would suffer if there’s a rematch involved, but that’s my two cents.

As for the Oklahoma Sooners, they lost to the same team that Oklahoma State beat 66-6. Losing to Texas Tech is not so good for your resume, and with the Cowboys losing last night, Oklahoma's chances of getting to the national championship are getting slimmer.

And finally, Arkansas experienced a beatdown earlier this year by Alabama, but they’re playing good football right now and have a chance to knock off the No. 1 team in the land Friday. Should the Razorbacks pull off that upset, there would be a three-way tie in the SEC West, and even more chaos would ensue.

That is the worst-case scenario for the BCS. If LSU loses, all hell will break loose and the end of the BCS could be forming right before our eyes. BCS haters rejoice, and the rest of the college football world look at each other, scratching their heads and wondering what’s next.

So how do you fix this? How does this all play out to where everyone is satisfied with the end result? That’s a very good question, and I’m going to do my best to answer that.

First of all, LSU has to stay undefeated. LSU has to win out so you have a team that hasn’t lost a game in the national championship to garner attention and interest from casual college football fans. That’s one slot.

As for the other...this is going to get a little trickier. I think Oklahoma lost their chances with Oklahoma State being upset last night. It’s not fair, but that’s the world that the BCS has created.

Those BCS lovers have to hope that somehow, someway USC upsets Oregon today. All of this sets up a rematch with LSU and Alabama, and the BCS can squeeze by once again. But then again, that’s a lot to ask for, right?