BCS Bowl Projections: Why LSU vs. Alabama Is Still the Right Choice

For all the debate in the country that is going on about which one-loss team should face LSU in the BCS championship game, you'd think that there was actually some controversy about it. The crazy thing is that if you look at the rules, then there's actually no controversy whatsoever. 

The top two teams in the final BCS standings shall play in the National Championship Game.

According to the very first rule, there's one rule that's clear. No. 1 plays No. 2. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. What else is there to be discussed. 

In logic there is a type of fallacy known as the straw man. It is an argument where someone tries to erect an artificial argument, an easier one, that a person erects to prevent from arguing the actual argument. 

Why do I bring this up? Because there are a lot of straw men arguments being erected in the debate over who should play in the national championship game. 

These arguments include the likes of "Do we want to see another rematch?" Well, it doesn't matter what game you want two see. The game is between the top two teams in the final BCS standings, not the matchup that you think would be the most interesting. 

Another straw man is "If there's a rematch, then the regular season means nothing." Again, it's between the top two teams in the final BCS standings. 

Some will point to Michigan and Ohio State as a precedent. That's another straw man. If it was wrong then, it's wrong now. 

Who should play for the national championship? The top-ranked team in the nation should play the second-ranked team in the nation. Part of that ranking is based on human polls—two-thirds of it. The other third is based on the computer polls. 

Voters need to worry about one thing when they sit down and that's ranking the teams, No. 1 through 25 They are not voting for a national championship game; they are ranking the teams they feel are the top 25 in the nation. 

In the AP, that comes with explicit instructions.

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• Base your vote on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation.

• Avoid regional bias, for or against. Your local team does not deserve any special handling when it comes to your ballot.

• Pay attention to head-to-head results.

• Don't hesitate to make significant changes in your ballot from week to week. There's no rule against jumping the 16th-ranked team over the eighth-ranked team, if No.16 is coming off a big victory and No.8 just lost 52-6 to a so-so team.

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I underlined the portion that I think is important for voters to remember. Regional bias needs to be avoided for or against. Not voting for a team based on their conference is just as prohibited as voting for them based on conference. 

Why are Alabama and LSU the right national championship finalists? It's not difficult—they are the top two ranked teams in the nation. That's what the game is meant to be about. 

As far as my personal preferences, I'd like to see LSU win the championship, and the fact is that Alabama represents the biggest threat to that. So I am arguing against what I'd like to argue, however instinctual honesty prevails upon me to do so.

Pollsters, you need to remember your job is to rank the teams, not vote for a championship game and have the same integrity.