Tuesday, November 13, 2012
BCS: The Poll Obviously Doesn't Matter At All
I read an article this morning about bowl projections. What seemed strange to me was that after the number one and number two spots, the remainder of the BCS rankings don't matter at all. For example, there are a total of five BCS Bowls, one of which is the national title game of course. One would think that the other four BCS Bowls would be match-ups of the remaining Top 10 schools. After all, these are the premier bowls. But that's not the case at all. For one thing, in these projections, the BCS at large selections don't have to go by rank at all. A perfect example of this is the Fiesta Bowl. They are predicted to have two 'at large' selections in Oklahoma and Texas A&M. The Sooners are currently ranked 12th in the BCS. Nebraska, Louisville, and Clemson are also out of the Top 10 but slated for a BCS Bowl. I realize the conference bowl contracts have a lot to do with this, but it leaves Top 10 teams like Georgia, Florida, LSU and South Carolina on the outside looking in as for as the BCS is concerned. I understand these are merely projections and there are important games to be played that can shake all of this up, but my point is that the BCS poll isn't used after the top two teams. At least that is the way it seems to me. Am I missing something here?
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4 comments:
That is absolutely correct! Unfortunate, but correct. The BCS pits #1 vs #2, but after the title, the rankings only determine who is eligible, and that is the top 16. Also, of course you know only 2 teams per conference can go, so if Fiesta chooses A&M, then with SEC champ in Sugar, that is all the SEC teams that can get a bid. The rest are left out.
Part of what you said UGAJeff is correct, and part is incorrect.
First, the blog post is correct, as you told him properly. The BCS is a poll which only exists up until it currently pits the 2-team BCS National Championship Title Game. Then, that poll ends on December 1, 2012 after The SEC Championship Game. The teams are ranked and the top 2 play each other.
And, that is where the rest of what you said is incorrect UGAJeff. The SEC can send 1 team, the winner of The SEC Championship Game 4pm Dec 1 at the Georgia Dome, to the BCS 2-team nc title game play-off. The SEC ALSO gets a representative in another BCS Bowl. Who that would be, is up to those BCS Bowls themselves. It could be the loser of The SEC Championship Game, but by no means has to be.
After all, there are 6 SEC teams in the BCS Top 9 right now, and all 6 of those teams are eligible for ANY BCS Bowl Game. Any speculation right now that The SEC gets only 1 BCS Bowl bid, or who that one or 2 SEC teams are who could be playing in a BCS Bowl, should wait until after the 4pm Dec 1 SEC Championship Game to speak about such speculation.
The point of this blog, you both have hit the nail on the head. The BCS only pits a 2-team play-off game, ONLY, currently. That is changing to a 4-team play-off; but, not for 2012.
The "BCS Bowl bids" are for weanie schools to brag about. There is absolutely NO MEANING WHATSOEVER to ANY team going to ANY BCS Bowl - other than ONLY the Title Game.
If you are not in the title game 2-team Play-Off, the BCS bowls have zero meaning whatsoever, except for the huge pay-off; but to revenue sharing conferences like The SEC, even then the $ 20 million pay-out really only means about another $ 1 million or so for the teams involved in that BCS Bowl, by SEC revenue sharing.
It's all pretty confusing.
The bottom line is that if you are not in the title game, brag all you want about BCS bowl bid, it means nothing to anyone except for that extra million. Some schools actually can pocket the whole revenue for their team. Or most of the revenue from a BCS bowl bid to a team. That doesn't mean anything to me as an UGA fan in The SEC. Extra million is great; but, the BCS bowl bid ? Means nothing really.
They pit all kinds of HORRIBLE OPPONENTS with each other, so contorted all this is. It was far-better in the old days when we had 4 Major Bowls and those bid to get # 1 playing # 4 and # 2 playing # 5 or so, and sometimes # 2 played # 6. At least the games were great games with great teams.
Now, you might see # 3 play # 16.
# 4 might play # 16.
It's just pitiful. It has RUINED the whole entire bowl process. And, they threw away strength of schedule and how many teams you beat in that one final fatal BCS Poll Rankings who were in that top 10 then. They just threw that away.
The SEC has 2 teams, UGA and Alabama, the winner of which would have beat # 5 and # 7 if AL wins, or would have beat # 4 and # 6 if UGA wins. That would have been a huge bump-up in points.
The way they have just buggered it now, this blog is correct.
ONLY DETERMINE 2-TEAM PLAY-OFF ONLY
The rest of the bowls BCS bowls included HAS ZERO MEANING signifying nothing, and could be match-ups of great mismatch.
2007, UGA for example played as the # 2 team in the United States of America in EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY POLL, a team who finished # 19 in the AP Poll. How is that any good ? UGA had quite a run at the end of 2007, as you recall and should have played a team who finished in the top 10 anyway. Instead, again, we got # 19 Hawaii, a complete and utter mis-match.
There are MANY other examples. Take 2002, for example. In every single solitary poll 2002 a 13-1 UGA played a 5-Loss Flawed State in a "bcs bowl match-up." It sucked. Again, 2002, you might recall the jobbing we took in these crudola "bcs bowl match-ups" outside the 2-team play-off.
5-Loss FSU we got bcs bowl bid and supposed to be happy about playing 5-Loss FSU when we ended up # 3 at 13-1. There was no way that a 13-1 team should be playing a "bcs bowl bid" 5-Loss Florida State. Florida State should not have even been ranked in the top 25 in 2002, and only was because the ACC sucked more that season than any and FSU was the ACC representative.
This crudola that the top team from each conference should earn an automatic "bcs bowl bid" is junk.
I hate the BCS and everything it has done to college football - the only sport and only at this 1-level that a champion is not determining by playing each other.
5-Loss FSU vs 13-1 UGA 2002
# 19 Hawaii vs # 2 UGA 2007
BS
The bcs will do it to UGA again now 2012, if they have half a chance.
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