Before I even begin, I don’t want to hear it. College football designed a championship system with the sole purpose of placating the sports talk radio and TV world, to give people lots of things to talk about. Furthermore, they drew up a system that purposely leaves out, statistically, the 3rd or 4th best conference (Mountain West Conference) because the teams in it have tiny fan bases. This ignores the fact that Utah finished last year beating Alabama in New Orleans and BYU smoked an (admittedly bad) Oklahoma in Fort Worth. The Mountain West can play. This is why TCU gets so much love right here. Without further ado, here are how I think the bowls should pan out.
* Notable assumptions: Texas beats Nebraska for the Big 12 championship, Alabama beats Florida for the SEC championship, Georgia Tech beats Clemson for the ACC Championship.
1. BCS National Championship Game: TCU vs Winner of National Semi-Final (SEC Championship Game.)
Rationale: TCU is faster than six cheetahs on Red Bull driving Saleen S7s. I saw Texas play in Laramie, Wyoming, and TCU will run all over them. I’ve seen TCU play a lot, because I get the Mountain West Channel. They make fast teams look like they are playing in slow motion. This is a team that deserves to play for a national title. TCU’s big wins are Virginia, who was unexpectedly disappointing, and Clemson, who will play for the ACC championship. And they have beaten three times more ranked teams than Texas (who beat Oklahoma, who isn’t even ranked anymore.) In any event, TCU will finish the year ranked higher than Boise State and garner the minor-conference at-large bid for finishing in the top 12. I will assume Alabama/Florida’s pedigrees are such that they needn’t be defended.
2. Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Pac-10 Winner (probably Oregon.) The Buckeyes are already in. Oregon is playing well after a big road win in Tucson and will make a formidable Rose Bowl opponent if they can get by the Beavers in one of the best rivalries in college football. This is a traditional Big Ten-Pact 10 matchup.
3. Fiesta Bowl: Usually Big 12 Winner vs. At Large. This game should be Texas vs. Cincinnati or Pittsburgh. The Fiesta Bowl loves Pittsburgh, and the winner of their game this year will have earned the right to beat a generally unimpressive but still undefeated Texas squad.
4. Sugar Bowl: Usually SEC Champ vs. At-Large. I would put Florida and Boise State in here. Boise State can’t get BCS conference teams to play them, and they beat Oregon, the probable Pac-10 champ. They can’t do anything more to get in, and they play exciting football. It’s simple, really: If they beat Florida, they permanently establish themselves as a deserving top-five power. If they lose, it’s back to winning the WAC and praying for respect each year.
5. Orange Bowl: Usually ACC vs. At-Large. The BCS gets ugly here. The feasible remaining teams are Iowa, loser of Pitt/Cincy, Oklahoma State, and surprisingly, 10-2 Utah, if they beat BYU this week. Should Cincinnati lose, they will have one loss but they have a tiny fan base, especially compared to Iowa or OK State. Penn State would be in here, but Iowa beat them at home and they lack wins (yes, any wins) against ranked teams. Thus, I think Iowa will appear in this game. But one should consider the following wild cards:
– T. Boone Pickens is an Oklahoma State alumnus.
– The BCS loves LSU and USC.
– 1/8 people in the United States with any college degree holds one of them on Penn State letterhead.
– Cincinnati will be the only remaining at-large one loss team, even if they lose to Pittsburgh.
Clearly, crazy things should happen. If you come away from this with one thing, it should be that TCU deserves to play for the National Championship.
Filed under: The On-Deck Circle
