On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone wants to be Irish. However, that could soon change if the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) does not modify its method for awarding the top five bowl games.
It’s safe to say that the BCS, a system that uses a combination of votes, a complex computer formula, and some mysterious man controlling ropes and pulleys to ensure a clear college football National Champion, is flawed.
This year, more than ever, Rogaine has seen its stock skyrocket. Sports fans are increasingly going bald after pulling out their hair and scratching their heads trying to figure out why the system has LSU and Ohio State playing for the National Championship, why the only unbeaten team, Hawaii, is not ranked at least number two, why Kansas got a game instead of Mizzou, and why exactly three-loss Illinois is playing in the Rose Bowl instead of Georgia.
There are some answers like: Hawaii comes from a weak conference, Mizzou suffers from having to play a conference championship, and the Rose Bowl wants to keep its traditional PAC-10 v. Big Ten matchup. But somehow, in this season of political speeches, all that sounds like spin. It’s like asking for a New York Strip, being served a No Name, and then adamantly told by the waiter it’s really what you want—sure you get something to eat, but it’s just not right.
So how can athletic programs across the country solve the problem? Simple. Ditch the conference system. That’s what Notre Dame has done.
While the 3-9 Fighting Irish couldn’t seem to trip over a win this year, its athletic department has made getting the elusive “W” and a bowl game as easy as possible by cutting out the conference middle man.
Without a conference allegiance, Notre Dame can pad its schedules, dodge a conference championship game (and a potential loss), hoard its revenues when others have to split theirs between conference members, and sneak around rules that prohibit more than two teams from the same conference from going to a BCS game (see Wisconsin last year). And the BCS makes a concession for this. According to its official website, “Notre Dame will automatically qualify for a BCS bowl if it is in the top eight of the final BCS Standings.”
That means if Mizzou was Notre Dame, its end of season rank of six would automatically be enough to play in a BCS game. That doesn’t seem right considering Mizzou had to play an additional conference championship game against a top 10 team. But I guess that doesn’t matter. Mizzou is not Notre Dame. And when you’re Notre Dame, you don’t have to worry about petty things like conference championships.
With a BCS system that rewards a team like the Fighting Irish for cutting corners, it’s quite possible other big name teams will begin a mass exodus from conferences all around the country in order to capture Notre Dame’s pot-o-gold. Those teams will soon be asking “Touchdown Jesus” to give them the “luck o’ the Irish,” red beards, and little green suits on every day, not just St. Patty’s.
It’s safe to say that the BCS, a system that uses a combination of votes, a complex computer formula, and some mysterious man controlling ropes and pulleys to ensure a clear college football National Champion, is flawed.
This year, more than ever, Rogaine has seen its stock skyrocket. Sports fans are increasingly going bald after pulling out their hair and scratching their heads trying to figure out why the system has LSU and Ohio State playing for the National Championship, why the only unbeaten team, Hawaii, is not ranked at least number two, why Kansas got a game instead of Mizzou, and why exactly three-loss Illinois is playing in the Rose Bowl instead of Georgia.
There are some answers like: Hawaii comes from a weak conference, Mizzou suffers from having to play a conference championship, and the Rose Bowl wants to keep its traditional PAC-10 v. Big Ten matchup. But somehow, in this season of political speeches, all that sounds like spin. It’s like asking for a New York Strip, being served a No Name, and then adamantly told by the waiter it’s really what you want—sure you get something to eat, but it’s just not right.
So how can athletic programs across the country solve the problem? Simple. Ditch the conference system. That’s what Notre Dame has done.
While the 3-9 Fighting Irish couldn’t seem to trip over a win this year, its athletic department has made getting the elusive “W” and a bowl game as easy as possible by cutting out the conference middle man.
Without a conference allegiance, Notre Dame can pad its schedules, dodge a conference championship game (and a potential loss), hoard its revenues when others have to split theirs between conference members, and sneak around rules that prohibit more than two teams from the same conference from going to a BCS game (see Wisconsin last year). And the BCS makes a concession for this. According to its official website, “Notre Dame will automatically qualify for a BCS bowl if it is in the top eight of the final BCS Standings.”
That means if Mizzou was Notre Dame, its end of season rank of six would automatically be enough to play in a BCS game. That doesn’t seem right considering Mizzou had to play an additional conference championship game against a top 10 team. But I guess that doesn’t matter. Mizzou is not Notre Dame. And when you’re Notre Dame, you don’t have to worry about petty things like conference championships.
With a BCS system that rewards a team like the Fighting Irish for cutting corners, it’s quite possible other big name teams will begin a mass exodus from conferences all around the country in order to capture Notre Dame’s pot-o-gold. Those teams will soon be asking “Touchdown Jesus” to give them the “luck o’ the Irish,” red beards, and little green suits on every day, not just St. Patty’s.
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