3.5 Questions

 

Will the BCS fail the FBS community once again?

 

October usually kills the hopes and dreams of many teams, but not this year.  Of course this can change on Halloween, but the Bowl Championship Series system is looking vulnerable once again.

 

Seven teams remain unbeaten after eight weeks.  Alabama, Boise State, Cincinnati, Florida, Iowa, TCU and Texas.  Only six can finish the season unbeaten since Bama and Florida would have to play each other in the SEC Championship game if they finish the regular season undefeated.  What will happen if six teams did go undefeated?

 

The truth is not much would happen.   Of course four teams would technically get cheated out of chance to play for a championship, but the college presidents and the NCAA don’t really care about these teams. They’ll continue arguing the BCS works well by getting the top two teams in the title game, and all is else is just an unfortunate consequence.  If integrity is a value that universities teach, give them a big, fat F on this assignment.

 

The likely scenario is three teams, maybe four end up undefeated.  Being left out would definitely be an injustice for the teams and the communities that support these teams. 

 

Is Iowa really good, or just opportunistic? 

 

Iowa’s a fundamentally sound team which makes them a strong team.  Statistically, the Hawkeyes are 18^th in total defense in the FBS, 6^th in turnover margin, 3^rd in yards penalized and 46^th in 3^rd down conversion percentage.  Offensively, the Hawkeyes are 87^th which is not good, but their road schedule thus far -  Pa St, Wisky and Mich St might have had an impact on this stat.  OSU will present a huge challenge at the Shoe on Nov 14^th, but don’t be surprised to see the Hawkeyes run the table.

 

Is the SEC official conspiracy real?

 

In the radio and TV world, there has been a lot of chatter around the SEC’s officiating, especially for Florida and Alabama games.  Accusations are flying around the airwaves about the SEC rigging conference play to make sure Bama and Florida make the SEC title game, and subsequently secure a national championship bid and a second BCS bowl bid. 

 

These accusations are nonsense.  First of all, referees make mistakes in big games.  It happens.  You cannot just isolate Florida and Bama games.  Second, the SEC would likely get a team in the title game and another BCS bowl slot without fixing the system.  The top two teams in the SEC are usually two of the top five teams in the country anyway.  Finally, Bama and Florida can likely survive a loss and still make the title game. 

 

I just don’t buy into the officiating conspiracy garbage being thrown around the media.  Unless theses two teams completely collapse, they’ll play for the conference championship and the winner gets a ticket to Pasadena to play for the championship.  End of discussion.