Like it or not, BCS is fair

I know what a lot of you might be thinking after reading that title. “The BCS is the very epitome of unfairness!” How dare a Utah fan of all people call the BCS fair?

Let me explain my reasoning.

There is an elitist culture in college football when it comes to the BCS. The haves and have-nots. The SEC is deemed strongest conference every year before the first snap in the fall. Certain geographic regions gain more attention and respect than others. Heisman hopefuls are selected before a single stat sheet is filled in.

The #1 argument against the BCS is that by selecting just 2 teams at season’s end based on what their BCS poll rank is, you run the risk of leaving an equally deserving team out of the conversation.

Let’s use the ’08-’09 season as an example.

Hindsight is 20/20. Utah finished the regular season undefeated and ranked #6 in the country. Like 2004, I was just excited that the Utes were able to play in a BCS bowl game. Before the selection of the teams, I ran over the possible opponents Utah could have faced, Texas, Alabama, and Ohio State. In all honesty, I didn’t have a lot of confidence doing a mental run down of each matchup. When Utah and Alabama were matched up for the Sugar Bowl, I thought, “Well, it was a great season. Let’s hope Utah can somehow pull this off.”

It wasn’t until AFTER Utah showed what they were capable of, beating Alabama senseless, that I started hollering for a chance at the title. But would Utah have deserved it in all reality? No.

True, they were the only remaining team in Division 1 without a loss. True, the Utes handled the same Alabama team that future champion Florida needed a come from behind victory to beat. But also true, is that Utah’s pathway through the season was much more pleasant.

I am a firm believer that anything can happen in college football on any given day. Appalachian State beat Michigan. James Madison beat Virginia Tech. These things happen. Does that mean because a team is capable of beating another team, that they are deserving of a chance at the national title? No, at least not the way the setup stands.

The bottom line is this: There are 2 spots only in the national championship game. There will be teams left out.

A team that has faced more overall talent in their field of competition throughout the year, (and anyone who follows college football recruiting knows where the most talented players flock) is more deserving of a spot in the title game than a team that destroyed and tore through teams with half the talent.

This isn’t to say that the more deserving team is necessarily more talented. For example, I think that TCU could hold its own against Auburn and come out victorious 70% of the time. However, the hardest opponents on TCU’s schedule were Oregon State and Utah, and Utah didn’t even show up for that game.

TCU showed that they were talented enough to beat BCS powerhouse Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, but they also didn’t have to play the same strenuous schedule as Auburn did.

In the end, the real solution to the problem is, of course, a tournament and playoff system. You wouldn’t even have to get rid of the BCS bowls or their sponsors.

You can still have all the crappy 6-6 consolation prize teams play in their “Jack’s construction in Eastern Mississippi and the surrounding area.com” bowl games all in one day or week, but reserve the Cotton Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and the Orange Bowl for the 8 top teams selected to the tournament. You can play those games the same week as the lower tier bowls currently start, the week before Christmas.

The 4 winners then play in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl as the semifinals the week after Christmas. Then, you can hold the National Championship game on New Years Day like it should be.

2010: A Year in Review

What a year 2010 turned out to be in sports. From the Alabama Crimson Tide winning the national championship to the Giants winning the World Series.

2010 saw Tiger Woods’ first full calendar year without notching a single victory, neither in majors nor non-major events.

2010 was host to both the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the World Cup in South Africa. Surprisingly, South Africa seemed to handle the role better with seemingly less to work with. Really, the only negative throughout the World Cup were those Vuvuzelas (they haunt my dreams).

2010 was the year of the media. Endless talk of where LeBron James would play the ’10-’11 season and beyond hijacked every sports radio station, column, channel, etc. until finally, it built up to “the Decision”, a poorly thought out plan by the LeBron James group to publicly announce his contract plans live on ESPN.

“The Decision” badly backfired when James chose against returning to Cleveland, where he was drafted 6 years ago, and left to play in Miami with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. The backlash was instant in Cleveland and soon even the media, which profited greatly from “the Decision” threw James under the bus, calling his actions classless, selfish, and pretty much all the things the audience was wanting to hear.

Nearing the end of the year, and with the season under way, many of the media are forgiving of James and are more focussed on his play on the court.

2010 was a shaky shaky year for college football. It started with expansion rumors out of the Big East and the Big 10. The Big 10 fired first, inviting Big 12 member Nebraska into their ranks. Nebraska accepted the invite. The PAC-10, not to be outdone, fired next. They invited Colorado, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M. Colorado was the only school to accept. They later invited the University of Utah, who gladly accepted.

BYU, being passed over and no longer sharing a conference tie with rival Utah, left for far greener pastures as an Independent in Division 1A football, and far browner pastures in everything else, joining the West Coast Conference in all other sports.

TCU left for the Big East, and the top half of the WAC in football shifted over to the Mountain West Conference, to fill the holes left by the power trio that had, for nearly a decade, ruled the top of the conference.

Cam Newton burst onto the scene, dominating all in his way to winning the Heisman trophy and leading the Auburn Tigers into the national championship game. Looming over his accomplishments, however, were allegations that he was involved in a pay for play scheme with his father and an agent. Cam was ruled eligible for lack of evidence that he knew anything about the scheme. Let’s hope 5 years from now that we don’t have another Reggie Bush situation.

2010 was the year of the pitcher in the MLB. Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee, and numerous others were in the spotlight this season. The Giants’ pitching staff received praise all season and they showed why. Solid pitching and late season play from Rookie Buster Posey led the Giants into the playoffs and hot bats at perfect times in the World Series sealed the deal for them.

The Lakers won their 2nd straight title, beating the Celtics and avenging their 2008 defeat in the finals to that nearly identical Celtics team.

Jimmie Johnson won his 5th straight Sprint Chase for the Cup title in a row (first ever to do so).

The UConn women’s basketball team broke the once thought impossible win streak record of 88 wins, set by the UCLA men’s basketball team under coach John Wooden. The lady Huskies’ record ended at 90 games.

All in all, a very crazy year. Can’t wait to see what 2011 brings.

Reggie Bush Jr.

Hands down, he was the most electrifying player on the football field all season. He lead his team to the national championship game and had the ability to take any game on his shoulders and make magic happen. He required a spy on defense every play to ensure he didn’t run all over your defense.

I am of course referring to Cam Newton.

You thought I meant Reggie Bush? Interestingly enough, in 3 years time, I think these two explosive campus legends will be inseparable in the minds of college football fans. Just as the name Barry Bonds is tied to Roger Clemens, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa.

Why?

Because those men have all admitted to or have been accused of cheating in baseball through steroid use.

Reggie Bush’s final year at USC ’05-’06 was surrounded by rumors that he had accepted money under the table from agents.

That season, Reggie Bush also received an overwhelming majority of the Heisman voters’ 1st place ballots.

After 3 years of Bush playing in the NFL, the NCAA concluded their investigation into whether or not Reggie Bush and the USC athletic director, football program, and coaching staff were in compliance with NCAA standards regarding player eligibility. They deemed USC out of compliance and made an example out of the them by revoking post season eligibility for 2 seasons. USC also forfeited 30 scholarships over that two season span.

After these bans and sanctions were placed, Reggie Bush returned his Heisman Trophy to the Heisman Trust and made mention, during the accompanying press conference, that he was returning the Heisman and apologized for covering for his family, referring to the money scandal.

Well, all signs point to that same situation repeating itself.

Cam Newton will go in the late first round or early second round of the NFL draft (I could see Miami taking a chance on a mobile quarterback with an arm to fit their system). After the NCAA concludes its investigation on the Newtons, Mississippi State, and Auburn, we will once again be dealing with a Heisman Trophy winner with his skeletons dug up and on display. Maybe even a tainted 2011 national championship will enter the conversation.

Will Cam get up to the podium and return his Heisman in 2013, after the NCAA places sanctions on Auburn like those USC received (including return of its national championship), and apologize for covering for his Father Cecil Newton’s attempts to solicit a bribe?

I hope not. But I see it coming people.

Cam…Cam…Cam

If you watch the sporting news, especially in regards to college football, there’s a huge story right now involving Auburn starting QB Cam Newton.

Newton started his collegiate career as a backup QB for Florida, as a freshman, in ’07. Due to injury, he used a red shirt year in ’08.

After transferring to play for Blinn Junior College, Cam was one of the highest recruited players in the country, Mississippi State and Auburn being the 2 most active schools in his recruitment.

He landed at Auburn and has been putting up ridiculous numbers this season.

Well, recently, Mississippi State has reported to the NCAA that a man, claiming to represent Newton, communicated to their recruiting office that he could ensure a signature on a national letter of intent from Newton to play for Miss. St if they were willing to pay $200,000.00.

Newton and his father have denied these claims.

To make matters worse, since that story broke, accounts of misbehavior from Newton while at Florida have surfaced. Allegedly, Newton was caught for cheating 3 times, including one when he added his name to another student’s paper without that student’s knowledge.

The worst part for Cam and his father just recently came to light, though.

ESPN’s Joe Schad reported that the compliance department at Mississippi State has separate recordings of phone conversations with both Cam Newton and his father admitting Cam’s decision would be monetarily based.

Newton’s father said that Cam’s commitment would be based on “more than just a scholarship”. Cam reportedly called in upset stating that he was very sorry that he couldn’t sign with Mississippi State but the “money was too much”.

Auburn is denying all allegations that they paid Newton or his father for his commitment and stand firm in stating that Cam Newton is eligible to play for Auburn.

One thing’s for sure. Newton is in a lot of trouble. Maybe not this season, maybe not even for a couple years, but once the NCAA digs up enough evidence, it looks likely that they will determine Newton was ineligible for receiving money to play college football.

With Newton’s past with cheating at Florida, being arrested for knowingly buying a stolen laptop (also while at Florida), it seems that this was to be expected.

The difficulty of all this is that Newton is clearly the best college football player in the nation, and nothing has been proven to make him ineligible yet. Heisman trophy voters are in a sticky situation because with Reggie Bush recently returning his Heisman trophy after NCAA investigations found him to be ineligible his winning year, the last thing they want to do is give the trophy to another candidate that faces a similar fate.

Of course, it’s all rumors and allegations at this point, but given Newton’s past, and the information being reported from trusted sources, it doesn’t look good for Auburn or the Newtons.

5 Things to Remember and 5 to Forget: Week 5

With another week of football behind us, the contenders and pretenders are starting to show.

This week’s version of “5 things to remember and forget” will be devoted to the contenders and pretenders of college football after 5 weeks.

5 Things to Remember

1. Alabama is a legitimate contender. Every week, people who count Alabama out point the finger at their inexperienced defense. Well, Alabama has now beaten a stellar Arkansas passing attack and an explosive Florida rushing attack. They are for real folks so get ready to fill one spot in the national championship with Alabama’s nam

2. Oregon looks amazing. True, it does take them 1 or 2 quarters to get adjusted, but once they do, you cannot stop their offensive speed and productivity. If Ohio State slumps even the slightest degree, look for Oregon to dash, pass, and win their way past them as they did Boise State this week.

3. TCU/Utah come in as the #3 spot because, with 100% confidence, that the winner of the game between TCU and Utah in Salt Lake City, UT on Nov. 6th will win the Mountain West Conference and challenge either Boise State/Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl or against Ohio State/Oregon in the Rose Bowl. And they would win in any of these matchups (except maybe Oregon).

4. Ohio State is great on both sides of the ball. They have beaten Miami (who has shown that they were able to bounce back). But they also struggled a little bit this week against conference foe Illinois, but Terrell Pryor was injured and couldn’t run but could only hand the ball off and throw a little..aka he turned into a normal quarterback… Once that heals,  no problems in Columbus.

5. Boise State rounds off the top 5. This is a good team. No one who is smart will argue that. Sometimes the question of who gets to play in the national championship comes down to not who the best team in the country is, but who deserves to be there. This Boise State team deserves to play in a BCS bowl game.

5 Things to Forget

1. Oklahoma is using smoke and mirrors right now people. That’s now 4 of 5 games played against currently unranked teams winning by one possession. The biggest of the smoke and mirrors so far was this week’s Red River Rivalry game in Dallas against Texas. The last few years, this game held national title weight on it and so the game has come to be viewed as a championship mid-season of sorts. Well, problem is, this year, that game does hot hold anything like that at stake as Texas is a shadow of their former selves.

2. Arizona is a crafty character. They were able to win a big game against Iowa in Tuscon, AZ and it propelled them to the top 15. I think they will soon realize that in order to be one of the best, you have to at least be 2nd best in your own conference, and I think they are 3rd or 4th. We’ll see when they host Oregon State next week.

3. Nevada is an enigma to me right now. They obviously have the fire power to put up impressive numbers, but the teams they’ve put them up on just are not impressive. I am in their corner, however, as I would love to finally see any other team at least challenge Boise State this season so they don’t fall asleep before the season is over.

3. LSU’s offense is awful. The only reason they won their game against Tennessee this last week was that Tennessee apparently can’t count to 11. They had 13 defensive players on the field during the “last” play of the game, that LSU screwed up when they fumbled the snap. The game would have ended and Tennessee would have stolen a game in conference on the road after the shaky start but no, they were bailed out.

4. Michigan…I love these guys. I really do. But they are eventually going to play a great offense. And when that happens, that offense is going to put 70 points on this poor excuse for a defense. I mean, come on guys…your QB rushes for 217 yards and throws for 277 more, accounting for 5 touchdowns and no turnovers, and the game is decided by a touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to win 42-35 against Indiana?! Yikes. Help your QB a little…

5. Oklahoma State is silently 5-0 right now. Oddly enough, they’re also the second highest ranked team in the Big 12 south behind Oklahoma. You know what this fact tells me? Not how good Oklahoma State is, but how bad the Big 12 south really is this year. Oklahoma State had to scrape their last win out against a very mediocre Texas A&M team.

As the season progresses, I’m sure new teams will emerge as dominant or maybe a couple more of the mighty shall fall. No matter what the case may be, remember, Utah State Hey! Aggies all the way! Forget I said that, but its how I feel this weekend.