I know more time gets spent on whining about the current BCS system than time gets spent on actually doing something about it, and I hate fueling the fire or spinning the wheels or doing whatever idiom you believe is appropriate, but something needs to be said for the mindless statements made by Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee.
"Well, I don't know enough about the Xs and Os of college football," said Gee, formerly the president at West Virginia, Colorado, Brown and Vanderbilt universities. "I do know, having been both a Southeastern Conference president and a Big Ten president, that it's like murderer's row every week for these schools. We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day.
"So I think until a university runs through that gauntlet that there's some reason to believe that they not be the best teams to [be] in the big ballgame.
"If you put a gun to my head and said, 'What are you going to do about a playoff system [if] the BCS system as it now exists goes away?' I would vote immediately to go back to the bowl system," he said.
"It's not about this incessant drive to have a national championship because I think that's a slippery slope to professionalism. I'm a fan of the bowl system and I think that by and large it's worked very, very well.
"You know, it's a mystery. We were No. 1, then No. 11, then No. 7 and we ended up playing for the national championship. I think I kind of like that mixed-up mystery."
Let's ignore the fact that the only time in the last five years that Boise State or TCU were given a chance to knock off a power school in a big bowl game was in 2007 when the Broncos defeated Bob Stoops, Adrian Peterson and the Oklahoma Sooners 43-42. Over the last two seasons, BSU and TCU have jockeyed for title of best small-conference school and their reward for being two of the best was playing each other back-to-back seasons rather than a "very fine school."
Rather, let's analyze what Gee had to say to see if it merits any validity:
"Well, I don't know enough about the Xs and Os of college football"
Good start.
"I do know, having been both a Southeastern Conference president and a Big Ten president, that it's like murderer's row every week for these schools. We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day."
I can't really argue that, in conference, the SEC and Big Ten is like a murderer's row and the schedule is difficult. And I'm not discrediting it because that's life in those conferences... they don't get to choose that part of the schedule. But you'd think such strong words from a university president should be backed up by the part of the schedule which Ohio State does get to choose, right?
2010:
Home vs Marshall (win 45-7)
Home vs #12 Miami (win 36-24)
Home vs Ohio (win 43-7)
Home vs Eastern Michigan (win 73-20)
2009:
Home vs Navy (win 31-27)
Home vs #3 USC (loss 18-15)
Away at Toledo (win 38-0)
Home vs New Mexico State (win 45-0)
2008:
Home vs Youngstown St. (win 43-0)
Home vs Ohio (win 26-14)
Away at #1 USC (loss 35-3)
Home vs Troy (win 28-10)
2007:
Home vs Youngstown St. (win 38-6)
Home vs Akron (win 20-2)
Away at Washington (win 33-14)
Home vs Kent St. (win 48-3)
Three of those 16 non-conference games over the past four seasons were on the road, granted one was in the same state. And 12 of the 16 games were against Little Sister of the Poor schools. Two of the three games against ranked teams were in their own backyard and two of the three they lost (and by the way, the only win of those was against #12 Miami, who isn't a part of the top 25 anymore).
Meanwhile, Boise State does what they can to get big programs on their non-conference schedule. Sure, they have to to have national title aspirations, but it's also a way for them to prove they belong. This season, they went cross-country to defeat Virginia Tech who was #6 at the time and now stands at #13. They also hosted Oregon State (ranked at the time) and defeated them by double digits. Last season, it was Oregon who they took down 19-8. The year before that, they went to Oregon and took down the #17 Ducks 37-32. Oh, and those Ducks teams have a handful of returning players from those teams who find themselves on top of the country as the end of the regular season nears...not quite the Little Sisters of the Poor there, Gee.
"So I think until a university runs through that gauntlet that there's some reason to believe that they not be the best teams to [be] in the big ballgame."
Translation: "I have never sat down and watched Boise State or TCU play a college football game against anyone." I could read box scores of the Carolina Panthers beating a high school team by 50 every week and think that they were one of the best NFL teams, but if I saw them play the Baltimore Ravens, I'd quickly realize that they're not worthy of a Super Bowl shot. Meanwhile, BSU beats the patsies on their schedule by 50 every week, but when they get a shot at a highly-ranked team, not only do they hang with them, but they defeat them. Sounds worthy of a title shot to me if they take care of business.
"If you put a gun to my head and said, 'What are you going to do about a playoff system [if] the BCS system as it now exists goes away?' I would vote immediately to go back to the bowl system."
Funny, someone who promotes the gauntlet that is the Big 10 and SEC is OK with one winner-take-all game. I'd think being in such a tough, rich conference, you'd leap at the prospect of proving your team is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best college football team in the nation. Yet every year, we hear "Sure, Team A won the National Championship Game, but don't you think undefeated Team B could have given them a run for their money if a playoff system was established?" And somehow, Gee is fine with that.
Let's say an 8-team playoff system was in order. The four remaining undefeated teams (Oregon, Auburn, BSU and TCU) are all in... can't fault them for running through their schedule and punishing teams along the way. The last four slots can be filled in via computer rankings. Almost always, this works out, as teams that have lost along the way can only look back to their own inability to win a certain game,which is a more attractive alternative than undefeated teams with no chance to begin with being left out. Assuming OSU takes care of business against Michigan, they would most likely be in, along with LSU, Wisconsin and Stanford.
E. Gordon Gee gets his way because six of the eight schools are rich and obviously have the best teams, so phasing out the poor schools (BSU, TCU) should be easy. Then, the rich schools can play for their national title with an unequivocal victor. BSU and TCU get their way, because they can keep taking down the college football rich kids until everyone realizes they're just as good as everyone else when they're playing each other for all the marbles. Everybody wins!
"It's not about this incessant drive to have a national championship because I think that's a slippery slope to professionalism. I'm a fan of the bowl system and I think that by and large it's worked very, very well.
"You know, it's a mystery. We were No. 1, then No. 11, then No. 7 and we ended up playing for the national championship. I think I kind of like that mixed-up mystery."
Sure, it's worked well for you Gee. Here are all of the BCS Title Games, by conference:
2010: SEC vs Big 12
2009: SEC vs Big 12
2008: SEC vs Big Ten
2007: SEC vs Big Ten
2006: Big 12 vs Pac 10
2005: Big 12 vs Pac 10
2004: SEC vs Big 12
2003: Big Ten vs Big East
2002: Big 12 vs Big East
2001: Big 12 vs ACC
2000: Big East vs ACC
1999: SEC vs ACC
Appearances- Big 12 (7), SEC (6), Big Ten (3), ACC (3), Big East (3), Pac 10 (2), every other conference combined (0).
As far as that mixed-up mystery you like so much where you were #1 until you lost at home to unranked Illinois 28-21, then fell to #7 and amazingly played for the title because everyone in front of you lost? How'd that work out for you when LSU embarrassed OSU with 31 unanswered points in a 38-24, not-as-close-as-the-score-lets-on drubbing? But, hey, as long as a 1-loss rich school is playing for a championship, everything is right in the world. You dunce.
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