BCS Debate

Alabama and Texas get to play in a national title game. For TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State, the math doesn’t quite add up but they still get a spot in a BCS bowl.

The quirky, imperfect method of choosing a national champion succeeded Sunday in matching top-ranked Alabama against No. 2 Texas in the BCS championship — a Jan. 7 game between undefeated teams that will bring together Heisman Trophy hopefuls Colt McCoy of the Longhorns and Mark Ingram of the Crimson Tide.

And, of course, it also produced plenty for the little guys to get upset about.

TCU (No. 4 BCS, No. 3 AP), Cincinnati (No. 3 BCS, No. 4 AP) and No. 6 Boise State also finished undefeated. All three were included in the BCS, but none will play for the title — a predictable result that will renew the annual debate about college football’s way of determining the best team in the land.

“It’s a fair question,” said BCS executive director Bill Hancock. “The fact is that the charge of the BCS is to match 1 and 2 in the bowl system. It’s a limited charge. It’s what the BCS is designed to do. Based on the season’s play, we’re confident we’ve matched 1 and 2.”

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Tags: alabama, BCS, bowl, championship, debate, football, Texas

Florida football coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday that offensive coordinator Dan Mullen will stay on to coach in the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 8 against Oklahoma, despite taking the head coaching job at Mississippi State last week.
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Tags: BCS, bowl, bowls, championship, florida, football, Oklahoma, Picks, s

Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray will have surgery to repair a partial rupture of his left hamstring tendon and will not play in the FedEx BCS National Championship Game against the Florida Gators on Jan. 8.

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Tags: BCS, bowl, bowls, championship, debate, florida, Oklahoma

I will post my BCS Bowl picks in the coming week. Until then here is Pete Fiutak’s take on them.

“Now that the slate is set, we break down each of the five BCS bowls:

BCS Championship Game: Oklahoma vs. Florida

This might not quite be Texas vs. USC at the end of the 2006 season, but it’s not far off. If nothing else, the speed and athleticism on both sides will be breathtaking. Putting the whole Texas debate aside, this is the matchup that everyone really wants, at least outside of Austin, with the potential to be among the best BCS games ever if the two teams play up to their capabilities. At the very least the month-long pregame analysis will be a blast. The record-setting Oklahoma offense vs. a Florida attack that’s better than anything Steve Spurrier ever put together. Athletes galore on both defenses, questions about the toughness of OU, the secondary of Florida, and the head coaches with mega-watt star power will be among the main topics. Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops will each look to go from elite to another level of legendary with a second national title for the résumé, the Heisman debate will be settled a game too late, and the reputation of the two power conferences will be at stake. It was a down year for the SEC, but a win by Florida would make everything seem fine as the league would take home its third straight national title. For Oklahoma, a win would end the ugly slide of bad performances in BCS games, making amends for past sins against West Virginia, Boise State, USC and LSU.
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Tags: BCS, bowl, bowls, championship, florida, Oklahoma, Rankings, Standings

The suspense is over. After a much-debated Heisman horse race and a long season of Saturdays on the field, Florida’s Tim Tebow, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy of Texas were suited up in jacket and tie at the Nokia Theatre. But it was Bradford’s big Saturday night. 

 
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Tags: BCS, bowl, debate, heisman

Based on the responses on yesterday’s blog, you obviously have a lot of questions/criticisms about the BCS and its selection process. You’re not going to like all of the information and answers I’m about to share with you but here, as a public service, are five burning questions and some (hopefully) candid answers about what I affectionately call “The Bowl Bidness.”

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Tags: BCS, bowl, bowls, championship, Standings

The bowls are out….check them out. Bowls

Tags: alabama, BCS, bowl, bowls, florida, missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, usc

As expected, the final BCS standings had Oklahoma at No. 1 and Florida at No. 2 — the reverse order of their rankings in the Associated Press poll — setting up the first meeting between these storied programs.

Florida (12-1) has averaged 49 points a game in the nine games since its only lost. Oklahoma (12-1) became the first team since 1919 to score 60-plus in five straight games.

Other teams had their chances this season, and also finished with one loss: Texas, Southern California, Alabama, Texas Tech and Penn State.

Of them, Texas had the best argument for why it should’ve been playing for the title. The Longhorns finished in a three-way tie in the nation’s toughest division — the Big 12 South — but were denied a spot in the title game because of the tiebreaker, which looks to the BCS standings.

Instead, Texas finished third in the BCS and AP rankings and will play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Tags: BCS, bowl, bowls, championship, florida, Oklahoma, Rankings, Standings

With Florida and Oklahoma winning last night they both have all but locked up their spot in the BCS Championship. But both will not be 100% until tonight when the BCS Standings come out.

Yesterday I went 1-1 +2 units. Bringing me to 13-2-1 +37 unit for the regular season.

Check here later tonight for the latest BCS Standings and BCS Bowls.

Tags: BCS, bowl, championship, florida, Oklahoma, Picks, Standings

In the hair-splitting universe of the Bowl Championship Series and college polls in general, Oklahoma deserves to be ranked ahead of Texas for No.2 (behind unbeaten Alabama) by the length of a couple of links on a first-down chain.

The most obvious argument that supports Texas’ claim to No.2 – and to be positioned to play Missouri for the Big12 title Saturday and possibly challenge ‘Bama in the national championship game – is the simple fact that the Longhorns beat the Sooners, 45-35, on Oct.11. Both Big12 rivals finished the regular season 11-1.

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Tags: BCS, bowl, championship, Rankings, Standings