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Dick Harmon: BCS again holds NCAA hostage
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Either team in isolation would have easily made a BCS bowl and likewise both should go now. The current BCS system pits mid-major teams against each other unlike the NCAAB system that allows you to root for other mid-majors.
The playoffs need to come soon and not just an 8 team playoff or the mid-majors will get left out again.
If "our" Las Vegas Bowl takes the conference's #3 team over the #2 team, our conference has no leg to stand on when wondering why we don't have an auto-bid into BCS bowls.
LV Bowl... take TCU this year, it's the ONLY right thing to do.
Anyway, give us a playoff and we won't have to read and write comments like this anymore.
Go Utes!
If Utah fans are upset that their season is over but have to wait another 2 weeks, during which time they may get leap-frogged, they can remedy this. Schedule another game so your season ends a week later with the other major-conference teams. And do what it takes to add a conference championship game. The championship game is what vaulted Florida to the national title game a few years ago and may do the same thing again this year.
A lot depends right now on the Pac Ten and whether two teams or one go to a BCS game. If both Oregon State and USC win out, both will go. If either loses one of their remaining games, that team likely will not go, although if Oregon State loses to Oregon and USC to UCLA, Oregon State still goes to the Rose Bowl.
NO OTHER WAY TO REALLY SATISFY THE REAL NEED TO DETERMINE A TRUE NATIONAL CHAMPION!!!
IT IS A JOKE IT ISNT IN PLACE NOW-
BCS - It's not about equity or fairness; it's not about competition and championships. IT'S ABOUT MONEY!!!
Yes, the Utes.
The Utes had Texas on their schedule for this year a few years ago. With an upset of the Longhorns and Texas in the National title hunt, the Utes would be right there.
Instead, we cancelled on them because "we had to make room" for TCU. Which was bogus. It didn't make sense because we then scheduled Weber State a few weeks later. Then last year we added Michigan to the schedule for the 12th game. Make room for TCU was a big excuse. I don't know if it was Chris Hill or Urban Meyer who nixed the game, but they are surely regretting that decision now.
What a shame! Oh...what could have been?
Great season though...GO UTES!
First, like most advocates of the so-called Big Six conferences, you have chosen to completely misrepresent the Mountain West Conference position. We don't complain about strength of schedule, we complain about the automatic assumption that all these so-called Big Six conference champions have a stronger schedule than the MWC champion. It has not been true in the Big East for years and this year, it isn't true in the ACC or Pac Ten either. Outside of the Big 12 and the SEC, what conference champion in one of the other four is going to emerge with three wins over ranked opponents? If OSU beats Oregon today, the MWC champion will also have a victory over the PAC Ten champion--not really surprising as the MWC pretty much owned the PAC Ten this year.
Second, this Utah fan and all others I know, don't feel the BCS is holding us hostage. It is the other MWC teams wanting to know whether they will be playing in Las Vegas or San Diego or Fort Worth or Albuquerque. And I don't blame them. These bowls don't want to select teams until Utah is formally in the Fiesta or Sugar bowl.
The MWC plays in the same division as all the BCS teams but struggles with the cash.
Get rid of the BCS!
No way would Utah if playing in the Pac 10 have 2 BCS appearances in the last 5 years. That is a great accomplishment.
The current set up of the BCS greatly favors the likes of Boise St, Utah and even BYU
Good luck on getting them to schedule that again!
Nice. Pretty good article.
Maybe the Utes or Boise couldn't hold up in the SEC, ACC, or big 10 over a season-- but I like their chances against the PAC-10 and definitely over the Big East!!
No way should a Big East school get an automatic bid. That is a JOKE!!! The top 3 MWC teams would dominate the Big east. If the Utes were in the Big east, they would probably have 5 BCS appearances in 5 years.
It's got to be a 16 team playoff
Me, me, me, give me, give me, give me--and get out of my way--I want...end of discussion!
Texas
Oklahoma
Florida
USC
Utah
Texas Tech
Penn St.
Boise St.
Ohio St.
Georgia
Oklahoma St.
Missouri
TCU
Ball St.
Cincinati
This group represents the top 16 teams as ranked by the BCS.
2 thoughts:
No matter who picks or who gets picked, someone gets left out.
Anything would be better than what we have now.
At least in olden days, Utah might be playing for national championship.
Solution? Strengthen the conference. Drop the deadwood. Only the strong survive.
The MWC was formed by dropping some of the deadwood. It's time to do it again.
Solution: Wisdom/judgment says cull out the deadwood again. Add Boise State and a couple of other natural, profitable, strong nearby rivalries. Get creative, think, sharpen the pencils.
Ever been to a football game at Boise State? Easy freeway drive. Magnificent capital city. Beautiful modern airport. Major airlines and direct flights from SLC and across the country. Great stadium and athletic facilities. Indoor football facility a mirror image of BYUs.
BSU has full women's and men's programs,competetive in each. The last time BYU BB ventured into Boise they lost to the Broncos and Dick Harmon changed the subject and sour-graped it bigtime, moaning about Boise State's new BCS money pressbox.
Swallow some pride, drop the deadwood, invite new blood. Beat the BCS at its game.
The NCAA should organize a 16 team playoff today. Ignore all the bowls and set up the rules. If the BCS doesn't like it they can stay out.
If the NCAA won't do it someone else should. Call it the College Football National Championship. Invite each conference to send one team. Someone should do it just to get it started. Even if every conference sent their last place team at least it would be underway. Eventually every conference would send their 1st place team.
Maybe the MWC should start it's own post season tournament and call it the National Championship. We can invite each conference to send a team. We then declare the winner the national champion. The BCS winner would be called the popular vote champion.
It's either that, or BYU needs to go independent so they can strengthen their schedule themselves.
Neither are easy options, but if the BCS won't change, and there's no reason to believe it will, those are the two best options as I see them.
Besides Utah was very lucky this year to be undefeated. BYU was respected until thier defense disappeared and they stunk against TCU.
Neither program really acts like a top 10 program on a consistent basis. BSU's schedule is even weaker than BYU's. They might get lucky in one bowl game but they do not have consistently good play against good apponents like most top 10 teams.
Let's get a playoff system for crying out loud.
When are the Wasatch Front folks going to get a grip and realize that BYU doesn't get respect or any love this year because they simply aren't good this year, and it has nothing to do with the ridiculous MT Ielevision Network.
Perhaps the lack of national television coverage is a blessing in disguise as ESPN or the other networks would be analyzing how really bad the Cougars played this year. They beat winless Washington and its weak sister UCLA. I love BYU and Utah, but I'm realistic enough to admit my Cougars aren't the world beaters this year that some hopelessly loyal fans think they are.
As to Boise State, until TCU or Utah or BYU or somebody in the MWC can beat them once, let alone on a regular basis, the Bronco own the MCW.
No more Gary Crowton excuses, please. At least Kyle Whittingham had the integrity to say "They drilled us" after getting drilled by BSU.
You're analysis of strength of schedule is very faulty. All year MWC fans on this board have mocked the ACC who admittedly is having a terrible year but even with a terrible year SOS comparisons to MWC are striking.
I will list ACC and MWC teams ranked according to Sagarin Strength of Schedule:
1-Virginia
2-Duke
3-Wake Forest
4-NC State
9-Miami
11-Va Tech
13-N.Carolina
15-Clemson
36-Maryland
39-Boston College
42-Ga.Tech
50-FloridaSt
54-New Mexico
59-Colorado St
64-San Diego St
72-UNLV
73-Wyoming
74-Utah
80-TCU
81-Air Force
91-BYU
You will notice:
Half of the ten toughest schedules were ACC teams.
EVERY ACC team had a tougher schedule than ANY MWC team.
(Actually the ACC numbers will improve after todays games, Clemson and GeorgiaTech have defeated SEC rivals and Florida St is playing as I type vs soon to be National Champ Florida)
ACC SoS is so overwhelming greater than MWC as to be literally ridiculous.
I did not compare BigEast or Pac10 (both of which I think are totally crummy) but I doubt it is mathematically possible to have a weaker strength of schedule than the MountainWest.
It is a farce to let Utah into a BCS Bowl.
When is someone going to do something?
Get all of the lower tier bowls together, and plan a 16 team playoff. The 15 playoff games could be "bowl" games. Invite all the teams to play December 1. Either they accept, go to the BCS, or decline and sit home, with no other bowl openings.
Let the BCS invite their bowl teams, and the 16 others play it off.
If you have a playoff, show the BCS that college football can live without them, and call the champion the undisputed champion, regardless of what the BCS does, eventually, they will want inclusion.
Utah, BSU, Hawaii have never "busted" the BCS.
They are just the designated "lap dogs", allowed to enter the clubhouse on a special "pass". They feel good that year, but have never accomplished anything. No NC, no #1 ranking. Just folded to the unjust system to keep the BCS in power. The Utes could take a stand against the BCS this year, but they won't. Not enough courage on the hill to speak out agains the system.
Now go ahead Utah, BCS says sit, roll over... now beg.... Good little puppy.
Now, go away.
If you follow the Ute's example, maybe you too will be able to make it to the BCS someday. Until then, go UTES!
Most Ute fans love the current BCS system. It's too bad that BYU and Boise haven't quite figured it out yet.
"Ever been to a football game at Boise State?"
Sure, My Little Ponies playing on the Smurf turf. Mullets, a stadium and atmosphere put together in the kids department in Walmart.
BSU needs to get serious, then others will take them serious.
Boise State is better than Utah because of statistics?
BSU played SJ State, La Tech, NM State, Hawaii, USU, Idaho, (impressed yet), barely beat Nevada, beat a completely decimated Fresno. If there was a high school team willing, BSU would have put them on the schedule!
And to SOS, Sagarin is known for being east coast biased. Utah beat 3 ranked teams. They deserve to be in a bcs bowl.
Bark, bark. bark, BCS bark bark.
Ruff, bark, $$, bark, ruff.
Growwwwwwlllllll, ruff.
1) The champions of each conference get an automatic entry (11 teams) and the other 9 teams get an entry based on overall records alone.
2) Seeding will be based on overall record.
3) Ties between teams with the same record will be broken by their opponents' cumulative overall records (strength of schedule), or their head-to-head result if applicable.
4) If the tie is not broken by either #2 or #3, then a decision will be made by a NCAA committee.
5) Seeds 1-12 have byes the first week.
6) Weeks (rounds) 1-4 will be played in November.
7) The next 20 teams not in the playoff will play in traditional bowl games (10) in December.
8) The final bowl game in December (or Jan 1) will be the playoff Championship game.
*Note this system would work best if 1)the conferences were realigned to have 12 conferences of 10 teams each, but that will never happen, and 2) if the regular season ended the last Saturday of October meaning a 10 or 11 game regular season as opposed to 12 (or 13 for conferences with Championship games).
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