[Husker] BCS - Am I alone?

[Rod Wellman]

I agree 100% and will add this:

Everyone who lobbies for a playoff does so with the argument that it  
will "decide it on the field".  That's just a bunch of malarky.   
After the NFL "playoff" system is over, can you really say the best  
team made it through and won the Super Bowl?  How often does the  
"dark horse" win as opposed to what most consider the best team?   
What about the College World Series or the NCAA tournament?  I like  
those events, because of the atmosphere around them...but I don't  
think they really decide the issue.  Just about the only recent  
college football team that would have most definitely made it through  
a playoff is the '95 NU.  Other than that team, there hasn't been ANY  
national championship team that you could say with more than 60%  
certainty that they would have made it through an 8 team playoff.  No  
way.  Especially in this day and age of parity. Things like injuries,  
where the games are played, who is playing "hot" at the moment,  
illness (remember the B12 championship game against Texas?) and other  
oddities make it so that a college football playoff never really  
"crowns" the true champ or best team.  I don't follow DII or the  
other college divisions much, but I'll bet those that do would find  
that some team other than the #1 ranked team wins the playoff a vast  
majority of the time. Our current system where one or two teams make  
their way through a precarious season and then duke it out at the  
end, I think, does a much better job.  Can we tweak the BCS formula  
to make sure that we are picking the best 2 teams?  Maybe.  Can we  
even expand to allow 4 teams a shot?  Maybe.  In that case, I think  
the conference championship games should be eliminated.  But the  
current system isn't doing a bad job of deciding the MNC.  However, I  
WOULD like to see the time between the last game of the year and the  
MNC game shortened a bit because a 4 or 5 week layoff can really mess  
a team up.

BTW, didn't Blackledge make a rather eloquent argument against a  
playoff during the OU game?  You sure don't see many announcer-types  
do that.  And I really wish the Herbstreits, Mays, and all the other  
talking head schmucks who are calling for one would just give it a  
rest.  If it changes, it will be because those idiots single handedly  
changed public opinion with their non-stop crusade.

Rod W.

On Dec 5, 2006, at 11:56 AM, Skylar Dodds wrote:

> Hello Husker Fans,
>
> This is obviously a hot topic and I'm very opinionated, but does
> anyone else out there feel this way?  Sorry it's so long, I hope you
> have time to read the whole thing.
>
> I don't usually start threads like this, but I'm tired of hearing on
> the radio how, "Everybody wants a playoff system."  And since I don't
> have my own radio show, this is one of my few venues to vent. Enjoy.
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> I like the BCS because it makes College Football better than any other
> sport IMHO and it really boils down to 1 reason, every game is live or
> die.
>
> In every other sports, losses by themselves are typically treated as,
> "Oh well". When the Indy Colts lost their first game of the season,
> the response was, "Good, we can put that behind us. It was bound to
> happen sooner or later".
>
> The other day, KU lost to unranked Depaul. Do you think that loss hurt
> KUs championship hopes really all that much? Do you think KU would
> have lost had their championship hopes depended on it? Probably not,
> or at least would have dramatically decreased the probability.
>
> I am not against a playoff.  I don't think that a BCS-type system is
> good for other sports.  I just think it's a refreshing change to see a
> team have to scratch, claw, fight, push, shove and bleed to make it to
> the top and call themselves champions.
>
> If you think about it, the concept of a playoff is pretty much "Win or
> go home". Isn't that almost what the BCS is? IMO, if you really want
> an argument for why you belong in the championship game to prove that
> you are the best team in the country, then the answer is simple,
> "Don't lose". It's not complicated. It's difficult, sure. It's not
> complicated.
>
> Another hidden benefit of the BCS is that it forces teams to play more
> difficult schedules. If you don't, you can hurt your chances at making
> it to the title game. If your goal is to make the top 8 (for arguments
> sake), maybe you line up a bunch of patsies and obliterate them and
> assume your undefeated team will get you in the Top 8.
>
> Look at Wisconsin or Louisville. 11-1 but behind LSU at 10-2. Do you
> think the AD's look at that? I do. 11-1 and NOBODY outside of their
> states are talking about them in the Championship game. The reason is
> simple, they loaded up on patsies and that's what they get.
>
> Does the BCS need tweeking? Ya, probably. Maybe a play-in game is the
> answer, I don't know. But I just hope the day doesn't come where a 2-3
> loss team can win a championship in college football, because if they
> do, that cheapens it for me.
>
> The beauty of winning the CF MNC is because you know you earned it.
> You know you played as close to a perfect season as you can. It takes
> SO much to come together to win a championship and it's truly special
> when it does. Let's not water that down.
>
> Besides, you know Notre Dumb will always be in the Top 8 regardless of
> record, do you really want them to have a shot at winning it all?
>
> -- 
> Go Skers,
>  Skylar                            mailto:Sklarbodds at cox.net
>
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Rod Wellman
Sioux City, Ia.