One more year has passed, and one more season provides us with the BCS deciding college football’s championship fate. Another year, and once again the masses will be told we’re all wrong and that the computers and voters for the system are somehow right. It’s gotten so old that I’m not even sure it’s a question of right or wrong anymore. No, this has become a question on the credibility of those that run the sport.
This weekend’s football will have seemingly no bearing on the national championship picture. We're now likely all exposed to the fact that, no matter what, LSU and Alabama will face off in a rematch from earlier this season; a national championship will be on the line this time. I’m not opposed to a rematch. I’m sure it will be a good game. What I am opposed to is the idiocy that we’ve been told all year every game matters. That’s been the slogan, and yet it’s one that the BCS will once again go against in order to satisfy the money grab that goes with the system.
If the supposed goal of the BCS is to find the best team in college football, then the system is doing the exact opposite of what it should be. Maybe LSU and Alabama really are the best two teams in college football, but the last time I checked, LSU already beat Alabama at Alabama’s place. Maybe the BCS should change its slogan to, “Every game matters… unless you’re the SEC.”
The SEC is likely far and above the best conference in college football. Regardless of that fact, it doesn’t mean that the two best teams in all of college football reside in the SEC. We’ve been force-fed the idea that the collective efforts of teams such as Stanford, Oklahoma State, and until yesterday Houston have no meaning. Besides LSU, Houston was the only unbeaten team left, a moot point now that Houston was taken down by Southern Mississippi. Don’t misconstrue what I’m saying. I don’t actually think Houston was even a top-five team this year. With that said, football is a game that is based on matchups. Somehow, we were supposed to say that Houston is an inferior team to everyone else yet turn around and declare that LSU and Alabama should play one another again even though that matchup was decided in the most important fashion – on the field.
The only thing the SEC championship game has determined is how much BCS money the SEC will receive. A Georgia victory would likely haev given them a spot in a BCS bowl game. Let’s assume for a moment that somehow, a Georgia victory against LSU were to knock LSU out of the top two in the BCS rankings. I don’t think it would happen, but imagine the repercussions. LSU would have played in a conference championship game while Alabama sat at home. Alabama would then go on to play for a national championship over LSU, with the same number of losses as LSU (one), and with that loss having come at home against LSU. Alabama could conceivably win a bet in which it never even had to place any cash on the table to make. They’d have no risk, yet the potential for the entire reward. Yeah, that’s how flawed this system really is.
It’s become an old and tiresome argument, yet it’s one I find myself making every single year. The only people happy are those who have a rooting interest in one of the teams voted into the game, those who run the system, and in this case, supporters of the SEC. How ironic that the SEC supporters who groaned at the prospect of a Big Ten rematch between Ohio State and Michigan are now the same people pining for a rematch between LSU and Alabama. I’m not even sure ironic is a proper word for the situation; hypocritical comes to mind. After all, the BCS turns every last one of us into a hypocrite at some point in time.
The team that has been playing the best football of late, USC, is banned from playing in conference championship or bowl games for NCAA violations by Reggie Bush dating back more than half a decade. Bush is long gone, the punishments hurt him none. Even in giving up his Heisman, we all remember who won the award. Does the fact that Bush took “improper” benefits change that he was voted as the best college football player in 2005? I think not.
While the NCAA is busy policing student-athletes to the fullest extent, it allows a flawed system to determine football’s supposed champion, all in the name of money. A tiresome argument indeed – and yet each year brings a new set of circumstance for us to scratch our heads and wonder, “Why can’t we have a playoff again?” The sad truth is that it may never happen. We might have a better chance of walking on Mars before we see a legitimate champion in college football.
As always after a loss, second-guessing is the norm. While I do believe there are different ways to manage different situations, I have a few thoughts nonetheless.
In grabbing a win in Game 2 of the ALDS, the Rangers seized back some of the momentum that was lost in being the victim of a 2-hitter against rookie pitcher Matt Moore on Friday. James Shields had his changeup working early, but when the Rangers finally waited it out and forced some pitches to be left up in the zone, the offense was back on all cylinders. You'd at least like to see Nelson Cruz put a ball in play with two men on and no outs, but on the whole, the Rangers took advantage of more opportunities than they squandered, and as a result, will open play at Tropicana Field with the series tied instead of being down a much less desirable margin of 2-0 in the series.
The Detroit Tigers truly forced the Rangers to earn home field advantage in the ALDS. While Cleveland briefly flirted with beating Detroit on the season's final day, by the time the 8th inning rolled around, it was clear the Rangers needed a win to wrap up home field, and they did just that with a huge night from Mike Napoli, who once again came through in a big way in front of his old team. For the season, the Rangers have 3 players with 30 or more home runs, and none of them are named Cruz or Hamilton, who had 29 and 25 respectively. If healthy all season, who knows what happens. Take a moment to digest that when considering how truly potent this offense is. They'll need every bit of it in facing the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS.
The Rangers sure picked a great time to get hot. Mitch Moreland has been the only regular who hasn't fully joined into the barrage of offense the team has used to batter teams, including knocking the Angels out of playoff contention on both the division and wild card fronts in the past week. As previously noted, Adrian Beltre has been incredibly hot since returning from the DL in August. Nelson Cruz, who is back in right field after a hamstring injury forced him to miss some time, is finally getting his timing back. Mike Napoli continues to be red hot. Michael Young is consistent as always. Josh Hamilton has quietly had possibly the quietest above-average campaign in baseball. Elvis Andrus has proven to be a very solid hitter who still hasn't reached his ceiling. None of those players even mention the headliner.
In December of 2010, the Texas Rangers failed in an attempt to re-sign Cliff Lee and keep him around for likely the remainder of his career when he chose to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. As a sort of consolation prize, Adrian Beltre was signed in January.
Toronto helped the Texas Rangers out by beating the Angels 3-2 in 10 innings on Monday. This puts the Rangers up a full five games up in the division and drops the magic number to five as well. With only nine games left on the schedule beginning with a series against the Oakland A's, I feel comfortable in saying that the Angels are finished. It's too little, too late. Even if the Angels somehow go, say, 5-1 from now until prior to the final season series against the Rangers, they would need to rely on Texas playing .500 ball or worse for that series to even matter. I won't go as far as saying that the series will be a victory lap of sorts for Texas with the possibility of catching Detroit to snag home field advantage in the ALDS still looming.
What do you say about Tony Romo now? A week after fueling criticism with a sequence that included a fumble and an interception, Romo was the only reason the Cowboys got back into the game against the 49ers. Despite a rib injury that had Jason Garrett rolling with Jon Kitna -- who invoked memories of a 2008 Brad Johnson -- Romo put himself back into the game and willed his team to a win. What made the feat even more impressive was the lack of pass protection Romo continued to receive, taking hit after hit yet zipping the ball across the field. There was no Dez Bryant. Starting running back Felix Jones who, whether by virtue of sheer ineffectiveness or by the shoulder injury sustained during the game (and I'm slightly inclined to go with a combination of both), was a virtual non-factor. In the biggest moment of the game, it wasn't Miles Austin, it wasn't Jason Witten, but Jesse Holley who came up huge. This is and always has been Tony Romo. He's an aggressive quarterback that can make spectacular throws, but unfortunately he sometimes gets overconfident and makes a throw that goes the other way. On the whole, he'll win your team more games than he loses. Even Drew Brees struggled with interceptions last year while trying to will his team to wins.
