The BCS blunder and how it diminishes post season play...

[OUinFLA]

My fishing bud is a Gator fan and today we had a discussion regarding bowl games.

He said, I hope we beat Bama and get to play in the MNC this year, otherwise, it will be a meaningless bowl game and we will probably lose.

"What's your reasoning?", I asked.

"Well, we (UF) have 5-7 seniors, and maybe 6-7 juniors who could very well head to the NFL in this years draft. If they are not playing for the MNC, then I suspect their heads will be in the "I don't want to get hurt" mode for a bowl game that really doesn't mean much." (Sound familier?)

I said, I thought that I had witnessed the same thing with OU being in bowl games other than the MNC.

We then agreed that the players had more incentive to play well in their bowl game back in the pre-BCS days. Back when most of the meaningful final ranking games occured on New Year's eve and New Year's day.

Your team could very well be playing in a New Year's eve game and knowing that 2 or 3 teams ranked ahead of you were playing the next day. If you gave it your best and won, and those teams ahead of you lost the next day you could win the #1 ranking for the end of the year. This provided motivation for all players to play their best as the season was still on the line.

With the current situation, we know which two teams will be in the MNC game weeks ahead of the actual title game. This virtually eleminates teams ranked 3-10 of even having a chance of jumping to #1, regardless of how well they play in whatever bowl they are slotted in.

I can remember years when OU was playing in the Orange Bowl on New Year's day night and the outcome of two or three games played earlier that day had a tremendous effect on the position OU found themselves in that night. I can also remember teams that played earlier in the day played lights out, hoping that the #1 team who was playing in the Orange Bowl later that night might stumble and catipult their team into the final #1 ranking for the year.

The more I think about it, I miss the good old days and the bowl games that meant something. I as a fan now get to see 20 or so bowls that don't mean much, with players who are protecting themselves and not giving their all to win.

I think Im the loser in the BCS format.

[goingoneight]

Even when we're on the far outside looking in, we can still agree the system sucks.

[olevetonahill]

Good dayum Post Bill
never thot of that
But it do make sense :cool:

[OUHOMER]

I never thought of it but your right, i dont watch near as many bowl games like i used to because they dont mean anything.
Very good point, I know of 2 bowl games i will watch, which ever OU is in and the MNC game. Others only if they peak my interest and i make time for them.

i used to watch all the major bowl games, but haven't in a couple years

[Leroy Lizard]

We then agreed that the players had more incentive to play well in their bowl game back in the pre-BCS days. Back when most of the meaningful final ranking games occured on New Year's eve and New Year's day.

Yep, but fans just can never be satisfied. The more changes we make to "perfect" the sytem, the more it begins to resemble the NFL.

You can never go back. Whatever future changes we make will be permanent. Over time, there will be no real difference between college football and the NFL.

What is ruining college football is the average fan's inability to appreciate the spirit of the game for what it is.

[ouduckhunter]

Great post! I never looked at it that way either! Very astute of you!

[ndpruitt03]

There need to be less bowls or a playoff system. One of those 2 things would not only help the bowl season but the regular season as well.

[Leroy Lizard]

No need for a playoff. Just raise the fee requirement for a bowl game by about 50%.

[yermom]

fee requirement?

i don't know, winning your game then waiting around for other teams to lose kinda blows. especially if you are undefeated

imagine how 2002 or 2004 might have turned out

in 2002 Ohio State goes and murders Washington State, while we likely get slaughtered by Miami and you have two undefeated teams, Miami had the higher ranking, so they probably get both votes

2004 you have OU, USC and Auburn, all going to different games most likely. with USC getting to play Michigan again

so OU and Auburn probably both go 13-0 and just get to watch USC win because they started the season ranked higher

[IronSooner]

Have a playoff and the players have tremendous incentive to play every game. They directly impact their fate: coast and you lose, play hard and maybe you win. Other games don't matter.

I don't understand how every other level of football in the US can have a playoff except Div 1A of the NCAA. Stupid.

I'll watch OU's bowl, and maybe parts of some of the early ones if I'm really hard up for something to watch. I likely won't care about any of the BCS games, and if UT is in the MNC, I'm not watching.

[ndpruitt03]

Have a playoff and the players have tremendous incentive to play every game. They directly impact their fate: coast and you lose, play hard and maybe you win. Other games don't matter.

I don't understand how every other level of football in the US can have a playoff except Div 1A of the NCAA. Stupid.

I'll watch OU's bowl, and maybe parts of some of the early ones if I'm really hard up for something to watch. I likely won't care about any of the BCS games, and if UT is in the MNC, I'm not watching.

That's about how I am with most bowl years. The post season in college football is the worst of any especially since there have been more and more bowl games the last decade or two. Every year the bowl season gets worse. So many bad teams are in bowl games year after year. The post season should be something you earn not something you can just schedule.

[OUinFLA]

What is ruining college football is the average fan's inability to appreciate the spirit of the game for what it is.


nail on the head.

[Scott D]

What I really don't understand is how playoff advocates can argue that a "playoff" game between an undefeated Oklahoma and a 3 loss Nevada can in any way be any more appealing than the system in place currently?

I mean I guess if you want to make the polls completely irrelevant it would make absolute sense, since it clearly wouldn't matter all that much whether or not you lost 2 or 3 games since a 3 loss team could still be ranked top 5 just like in hoops.

[TUSooner]

***
We then agreed that the players had more incentive to play well in their bowl game back in the pre-BCS days. Back when most of the meaningful final ranking games occured on New Year's eve and New Year's day.

Your team could very well be playing in a New Year's eve game and knowing that 2 or 3 teams ranked ahead of you were playing the next day. If you gave it your best and won, and those teams ahead of you lost the next day you could win the #1 ranking for the end of the year. This provided motivation for all players to play their best as the season was still on the line.

With the current situation, we know which two teams will be in the MNC game weeks ahead of the actual title game. This virtually eliminates teams ranked 3-10 of even having a chance of jumping to #1, regardless of how well they play in whatever bowl they are slotted in....

Great point. I heard Mel Kiper briefly make a similar argument on the radio yesterday. He specifically mentioned how OU had no external motivation vs Boise and WVA. I only caught the tail-end of it.

I'm starting to think that there either needs to be at least an 8-team playoff or we should go back to the pre-BCS days and forget this 2-team playoff. But the BCS-MNC game is probably too lucrative to stop.

OTOH, a lot of bowls are "meaningless" as far as the MNC goes, but they can still be good games. (ND vs OU this year would be interesting.) I think the only teams at real risk of letting down are the very top programs who always start the season thinking they can make the big game, or the newcomers who took a shot and just missed.

That doesn't explain OUr BCS flops though. :O

[TUSooner]

What is ruining college football is the average fan's inability to appreciate the spirit of the game for what it is.
THIS ^^^^
It's why I cringe when someone calls any game "meaningless."

[Leroy Lizard]

fee requirement?

Yes, there is a mandatory amount of money that bowl committees must cough up to host a game. Or, at least it used to be that way.


i don't know, winning your game then waiting around for other teams to lose kinda blows. especially if you are undefeated

imagine how 2002 or 2004 might have turned out

in 2002 Ohio State goes and murders Washington State, while we likely get slaughtered by Miami and you have two undefeated teams, Miami had the higher ranking, so they probably get both votes

2004 you have OU, USC and Auburn, all going to different games most likely. with USC getting to play Michigan again

so OU and Auburn probably both go 13-0 and just get to watch USC win because they started the season ranked higher

Yeah, so what? OU probably had the best team in the country in 1973. They didn't win the national title. Life goes on. I was around 12 at at the time, and I handled it. Why can't fans handle it now?

We're going to ruin the best sport in the world out of our insane desire to stamp out all controversy. Every year we just get more and more spoiled. We tinker and tinker and tinker, yet we are never happy.

The best high school team in Oklahoma could beat the best high school team in New Jersey. Or, maybe not. Maybe the New Jersey team is better. Gee, since we cannot ever settle the matter once and for all, then life is **** and we can't go and why don't we just go blow our brains out?

At one time, it was rare for a #1 to play a #2 in a bowl game. So the football world got into an uproar. "We can't be happy!" So we instituted the BCS, and now we are guaranteed to get our dream matchup. But did that settle anything? NO! We are more unhappy now then we used to be.


I don't understand how every other level of football in the US can have a playoff except Div 1A of the NCAA.

I know you don't understand because you haven't thought about it hard enough. Think real hard. Are there differences between Div 1A and Div 1AA?

Besides, we CAN have a playoff in Div 1A. It isn't physically impossible. It just isn't a good idea in my opinion.