It's about time that writers stop pretending that any arguments against the BCS can possibly remain original or novel. We all know choosing two teams out of 120 (or even about 70 BCS-conference programs) is generally impossible after 12 games against completely different teams. We know that deciding the participants of a national title on opinion is anathema to sport.
We know that too much money is made by the interested parties to allow change based on anything but money. However, we also know, that before the BCS, not two, but one team was selected for a national title throne, purely based on opinion.
Max Lerner once put it, "Always remember that when you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil."
This year, though, the BCS got to hit off a tee, and predictably knocked selections out of the park. Basically, everything just made sense. The best two teams in college football, both unblemished, will play each other for the national title in a game that would never have happened before the BCS. Three other BCS bowls involve what are probably the next five best teams and another that recovered from a rough September to go 9-0 in conference play.
So college football fans will disregard the "evil" and enjoy what should be a fantastic BCS Bowl season anyway. Who could blame them?
But that doesn't mean that those same fans won't also wish something horrendous had undermined and embarrassed the BCS once and for all. After all, at some point, that bowl system and all its tradition gave way to the money-printing machine that is the BCS, as slight a competitive improvement as it was. There is precedent for a profitable status quo's overthrow, and fans have to be conflicted.
So here's a BCS bowl rundown, why each game is awesome, what could have possibly made it better, and what, conversely, could have made the BCS look stupid. You know, so you can weigh the short term positive against the long-term and unmet potential of BCS chaos.
BCS Title Game: Oregon vs. Auburn
What's awesome — Everything. Everyone knows that these two teams should be playing each other. Auburn is obviously explosive, especially recently, and especially with the game on the line: in its last three contests, it outscored SEC foes Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina 77-16 in the second half. Oregon, meanwhile, rarely needed a good second half. Two teams all year kept the final margin of defeat to the Ducks under 17. Oregon's dynamic, unique attack that averages over 49 points and 534 yards per game, Cam Newton's ownership of the big moment, the intrigue of watching two teams that have never met and who had no common opponents, and you have everything you could ask for. Oh, and if you like your games with controversy, maybe a villain ... yeah.
What would have been more awesome — If we could raise college greats from the dead, return the living ones to form, and watch Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno take turns as captains picking teams from the pool. Seriously, there isn't much you can do to fix this game in theory, other than to promise us Oregon's prolific offense isn't inflated by any shortcomings in Pac-10 defenses and is destined to be ordinary against the Tigers D. And promise Auburn's six wins by one score or less, or its penchant for giving up serious points early in games, aren't serious character flaws. But Oregon's offense is just flat-out dangerous in any language, and that Auburn's late season and late game dominance says more about this teams than early turbulence. I think.
What would have been more awesomely awful for the BCS — Alabama knocks off Auburn, and the SEC possibly out of the title game. Cal finds a way to sneak another field goal onto the board against Oregon. Basically, anything derailing this game would have been glorious for anyone rooting for anarchy. Neither gets in? Awesome. One-loss Auburn or Oregon joins Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Stanford with serious cases as the best team in the country despite one slip-up. Better yet, watch the system put just one of those teams with comparable resumes against undefeated-yet-relatively-untested TCU. Or have Boise State's kicker not have two fatal system crashes and watch TCU face Boise State for a national title. See if anyone is screaming for at least a four- or eight-team playoff then? Also, Boise State, Ohio State/Wisconsin/Michigan State, and TCU could have resulted in five undefeated teams. That would have been delightful.
Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. TCU
What's awesome — TCU, after being siphoned off to play at the kiddie table against Boise State last year, gets to test itself against a legit top-five power. Wisconsin has dropped 70 or more three times, twice on Big Ten teams, and averaged more points than Auburn. If TCU wins this game, the argument that the lesser-conference successes deserve a seat at the table gets stronger, making for a great storyline.
What could have been more awesome — I'm not sure that this game will be a blowout. TCU has proven to be a very good team by any measure. But you can't discount the possibility. Even if TCU is merely one of the best 10 teams in the land — no small achievement, and if true there is no justification that such a team should be undefeated with zero shot at a title — they could still find Wisconsin too much. Stanford, on the other hand, was impressive all year, going 11-1, and has Andrew Luck, perhaps the best pure quarterback in the country to throw up against Wisconsin's ultra-efficient Scott Tolzien. Oh, and it would have been nice to preserve the Pac-10 vs. Big 10 tradition in Pasadena in the final year before those conferences divorce an element of history and start their honeymoons with new conference championship games.
What could have been more awesomely awful for the BCS — TCU absolutely curb-stomps Wisconsin. Undefeated and having hammered a team that was a Duck-sneeze (or one loss to strangely over-achieving Michigan State) from the BCS title game, the Frogs wonder what they would have had to do to earn respect. (To enhance effect, pretend Wisconsin beat MSU and was odd man out of the BCS title game.) Meanwhile, people complain that they should have played someone. During the next couple months, they call powerful programs looking for a game. They hear a lot of "Uh, uh, uh .. we don't have any weekends that work out." **CLICK**
Sugar Bowl: Arkansas vs. Ohio State
What's awesome — The Big Ten's most explosive playmaker against the best Heisman-less quarterback in the SEC. Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor considered Michigan after a strong push by new coach Rich Rodriguez. That administration put in a spread offense that pushed highly-touted Ryan Mallett to transfer from Michigan to Arkansas just months earlier. Worked out for everyone (except maybe Michigan) as these are possibly the two best teams we haven't mentioned yet, in a potentially thrilling matchup.
What could have been more awesome — It's if Ohio State didn't have a couple of drubbings at the hands of the SEC to its name at BCS games in recent years holding back expectations. That said, Pryor's versatility has led to a different type of bowl team. Last year, the Buckeyes blasted a talented Oregon team in the Rose Bowl. I would be shocked if this resembled LSU or Florida marching over the Buckeyes' relatively vanilla offenses for titles.
What could have been more awesomely awful for the BCS — Ohio State loses an extra game and Michigan State fills in. Just doesn't have the umph with Michigan State instead.
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Stanford
What's awesome — Luck has been mentioned, but this Stanford team is so much more. The Cardinal was 1-11 before Jim Harbaugh took over as coach. In four years, he took a mirror to 1-11. That's no joke. And Virginia Tech has had a nice turnaround of its own after dropping early games to Boise State and James Madison. (Before you take the predictable cheap shots for the JMU loss, let's remember that in the Colonial Athletic Associations the Dukes posted a solid ... eighth-place finish.)
What could have been more awesome — If Virginia Tech hadn't lost to JAMES FREAKING MADISON, we'd be looking at two 11-1 teams going at it, and the ACC wouldn't be the relative afterthought to Stanford's success story.
What could have been more awesomely bad for the BCS — Virginia Tech doesn't loose to JAMES FREAKING MADISON. Maybe they even survive the tight loss to Boise State. Now we have another BCS conference school finish undefeated, and their reward would be the second best team in the Pac-10 (albeit a good one) in a game that probably won't sell out, thanks to Stanford's small alumni base and Miami's apathy.
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Connecticut
What's awesome — Uh, nice contrast between the schools' respective colors? I got nothing. Other than the fact that they quarantined two of the three least deserving teams in one Fiesta.
What could have been more awesome — If someone from the Big East wasn't awful? West Virginia winning the conference might have helped. But let's face it. The Big East is void of any teams that could hope to win any other BCS conference. Or the Mountain West. Or the WAC.
What could have been more awesomely awful for the BCS — If the problem wasn't so easily resolved without addressing our problems with the system. Watch the Big East lose its bid after TCU switches into the conference.
Oh well. It will take more than an uninspiring Big 12 champ playing against a team not even ranked in the BCS to make a case that this isn't one of the most righteous, just matchups the BCS ever created. This was the year where chaos threatened, but justice, at least in the short term, reigned. So enjoy these bowl matchups as extra sweet icing on what should be another tremendous bowl season this year.
Just remember that in the process, no progress was made towards eliminating the need to choose between evils in the long run.
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