[NU Sports] Re: Utah and the playoff ... (fwd)

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Well, here I came home thinking that it really doesn't feel like college football season anymore after Monday's game (despite the attempts to hype tomorrow's so-called title game) and we're on to college hoops, the NFL playoffs, etc.

Then I open my inbox and find all these messages.:) I was worried any more B(C)S-MESS posts would seem like me beating a dead horse and dragging on a topic, but it's alive without me, so I think I can post again.:)

Chuck wrote:
> If Utah wants to win a National Championship, join the Big
> 12 or the Pac 10

Sure, because it's so easy to just call up and join these conferences. They had to threaten congressional subpoenas just to get in the B(C)S, have gone 2-0 in B(C)S bowls in the last five years, DOMINATED an Alabama team that was #1 half the season (and one that was giving mighty Florida all it could handle into the final minutes) and went 6-0 against bowl teams.

Really, what more can they honestly do? They've gone out and scheduled tough foes (I know Michigan was down this year, but certainly not when they made the game) for road games because no one comes to Utah. They won all their games and they beat #4 by a healthy margin in a bowl.

> If I were a Utah fan I might feel mistreated, but as an NU
> fan I do not care at all

You should. If we were 12-0 this year, would we have gotten a shot at the title or would they say that the Big Ten is down, we didn't play Penn State and we should really just join the SEC if we want a shot at the title? Yup. We're far closer to Utah's predicament than Texas/USC this year or OSU last year. We have to be perfect to even have a shot and even then, we probably wouldn't get it.

> Life is often not fair.  In the early days, If you wanted

So just lie there and take it then, to paraphrase Coach Knight?

Pointing out how much the B(C)S sucks and calling for change is hardly whining. But trying to defend the current system is close to insanity.:)

As for Mike's post ...
> I'm not so sure the NFL has achieved parity.  There are
> still a lot of
> have-not teams, some of whom (like KC) have had their

I'd say the NFL has come closer than any other sport or league (when Atlanta and Miami can make the leaps they did this year, just about anything is possible :) ).

Interesting how college football seemed to be on the cusp of moving toward parity in the mid-90s with the Kansas States, Northwesterns, etc. of the world.

What ended that? The evil B(C)S. Sure it created a plethora of consolation prize mediocrity bowls (hooray 6-6!) so everyone feels happy and gets a participation trophy. But for those not drinking the Kool-Aid, it was really a powergrab by not just the Big Six conferences, but by their megapowers. Oklahoma, Ohio State, USC, Florida, Texas and LSU have dominated the B(C)S landscape and it's almost impossible to break their grip now.

> Give me a college game between any two teams in the
> division formerly
> known as 1-A over an NFL game between any two NFL teams any
> day!

OK, I give you the GMAC Bowl. Or the Sun Bowl (or is it Viagra Bowl?). Or the Weedwacker Bowl.

I love the college atmosphere and college game ... but I think I'll take any of the four games this weekend in the NFL's elite eight. Even the Cards @ Panthers.

> BTW, the argument that going undefeated in the regular
> season means you're
> a good team seems not to have worked for Ball State.  First

Aaah, but they didn't finish their regular season unbeaten - that conference title game still counts.

And there's a world of difference between playing winning the MAC (which they didn't even do) and winning the Mountain West (topping two top 15 teams), beating the likes of Michigan and Oregon State in the regular season and clobbering #4 Alabama and the mighty SEC in their Sugar Bowl.

Northwestern is in a B(C)S conference, yes, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking we have a chance in this system or anything close to enough of a stake in it to swallow the bull and defend it. You can count the number of schools who truly want the B(C)S on a hand or two at most - unfortunately for fans in general and NU fans in particular, they're the ones in charge.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT