Tuesday, December 4, 2007

BCS questions? We have answers

By By Ralph D. Russo - Associated Press College Football Writer

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The Bowl Championship Series is set and as always there are some things that just don't add up. You've got questions and we've got answers:

Q: Why did LSU make it to the title game over those other two-loss teams?

A: The Southeastern Conference is the toughest league in the nation - though the margin isn't quite as great as the folks down South want to believe - and the Tigers get bonus points for winning it. Also, that 48-7 win against Virginia Tech still looks good three months later.

Q: Why did Kansas get an at-large bid and not Big 12 rival Missouri?

A: First off, the rules are one at-large bid per conference. Secondly, after the championship game is set, it's not about putting the best teams in the other games. It's about drawing TV viewers and tourists for bowl organizers. Neither Kansas nor Missouri are ratings grabbers. But the Jayhawks figure to travel better so they go to the Orange Bowl and the Tigers, who beat KU and were a win away from the title game, go to the Cotton Bowl. It's not fair, but it's within the rules.

Q: Was it fair Georgia got jumped by LSU in the final standings?

A: Yes. The rules say a team doesn't have to win its conference to play in the championship game. It's a good rule to protect against extraordinary circumstances. Maybe a team goes 11-1 with some great nonconference victories but loses the league to a team with three losses. This was NOT an extraordinary circumstance. LSU and Georgia had the same amount of losses and the Bulldogs got pounded by the Tennessee team the Tigers beat for the SEC title.

Q: Did Hawaii deserve to get in?

A: Sure. The undefeated Warriors needed to finish in the top 12 and they came in 10th. They did what was asked of them. And beyond that, it's good to have Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia just for the curiosity factor. We'll find out once and for all if Colt Brennan and crew can hang with the big boys.

Q: Does Hawaii deserve to be playing in the national championship game?

A: Please. The Warriors' nonconference schedule was pitiful (it doesn't matter if it's not their fault), and the Western Athletic Conference just isn't good enough to justify Hawaii playing for a title. Washington, one of the worst teams in the Pac-10, beat Boise State, the second-best team in the WAC, and nearly beat Hawaii.

Q: Aside from LSU and Ohio State, which team benefited most from Saturday's shake-up?

A: Illinois. The only way the Illini, who had a great turnaround season from 2-10 to 9-3, were getting into the BCS was if Ohio State ended up in the title game and the Rose Bowl was left looking for a Big Ten team. Congratulations, Ron Zook. Have fun against Southern California.

Q: Aside from Missouri, which team suffered the most from Saturday's results?

A: Arizona State. Washington cost the Sun Devils and the Pac-10 millions by not being able to put away Hawaii. If the Warriors lose, Arizona State gets in. The Warriors didn't and now the Sun Devils aren't even playing on New Year's Day. Hello, Holiday Bowl.

Comments

okjhok (anonymous) says...

Looks about right to me. I'd be interested to know where this cat is from, and where he found evidence that KU travels better than MU

December 4, 2007 at 5:16 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

hawkfan20 (anonymous) says...

KU brought 20,000 fans to the Ft. Worth Bowl 2 days before Christmas. Mizzou brought about 5-7,000 fans to the Independence Bowl and wherever they were last year (El Paso maybe?).

December 4, 2007 at 7:12 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

okjhok (anonymous) says...

I don't know where you got your figures, but if they're accurate, that's pretty significant.

December 4, 2007 at 7:45 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

This article points out basically all of the flaws of the BCS in the answers to the simple questions. They're right, its not about providing the matchups of the best teams, as the casual observer would believe. It's all about generating revenue. Sooner or later this gravy train will come to an end. Only then will we have a playoff and a true national champion.

The lower divisions do it (I-AA, II and III, as well as NAIA) and these are players with aspirations that are more academic than athletic. Very few of them are stopping off in college on their way to the pros, so its in their best interests to get a degree while its free. So the constant excuse that it would take players away from class too much is an outright lie. You can still play your regular season games.

Any statement that the regular season doesn't mean as much if there is a playoff is a lie. In Division II if you play in a strong conference you may slide into the playoffs with a couple of conference losses. If you are in a weak conference, you had better be either undefeated or have one loss. Three losses in conference ends your playoff hopes. Getting upset by a bad team (i.e. USC getting beaten by Stanford, Michigan losing to App. St.) cripples your playoff chances unless you can get the auto bid.

I'm glad KU is in the BCS, but the problem is that now the national media gets even more fodder against us because they can argue that we were less deserving than MU since they beat both us and Illinois and were ranked higher. That's something that could play in the minds of potential recruits, who may still see us as an undeserving flash in the pan. The money is nice, though.

December 4, 2007 at 8:41 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayhawkinMaryland (anonymous) says...

If KU wins the Orange Bowl then I think it'll defuse a bit of the fodder against us not deserving to be there.

December 4, 2007 at 9:10 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Migady (anonymous) says...

KU made the Orange Bowl because between KU and Mizzu, only KU fans had enough money to travel to Florida. The farthest a Missouri fan has ever traveled to a game was Arrowhead.

Enjoy Dallas Tigers... I'll be on the beach!

December 4, 2007 at 9:21 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

babyjayhawkfan (anonymous) says...

Whether we are deserving or not, I think there are certain factors recruits will take into account. We played, by far, the worst 3 quarters all year against MU, when they were virtually flawless. From the looks of the scoreboard at one point, I thought I would have to crawl out of the stadium (I did not leave early!) However, we scored 3 tds in the 4th and made it a 6 point game, not to mention 2 missed FGs and 2 TOs in the redzone (20pts.) As bad as we looked at times, we lost the game by 8 points to the number 4 team in the country! MU, on the other hand, played at OU and loses by 10. MU players, fans, etc basically said they were the better team v. OU, they were leading in the 4th and OU basically got lucky. They made claims they had improved so much since the game in Norman and the outcome would be different if they played again. Well they were right, OU beat them by 21pts! So if I were a recruit, I would look at the fact MU lost to the same team 2x's in 1 season and the 2nd go around was worse than the 1st. Unfortunately for us, we did not get a second chance to play MU again. I should also mention MU was not even favored to win the game sitting at the #1 spot in the nation v. the #9 team! Regardless, we still have 1 more HUGE game to go and you can bet recruits will be watching so hopefully our guys show up ready to take the Hokies down!

December 4, 2007 at 9:55 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

halogenlamps (anonymous) says...

I tell you what, I think the in-season polls are absolutely worthless if, at the end of the season, the polls can be manipulated in a way that would be impossible earlier in the season, even under the same set of win-loss circumstances. Why do we even bother having polls during the season if a two loss LSU team can leap-frog three one loss teams who did not even play, and end up being number two? I think LSU in the title game is a bunch of bull, and the BCS better be standing on its last leg.

December 4, 2007 at 10:22 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Johann Ross) says...

Here's a question I wish someone would answer...

How much will KU make from the Orange bowl appearance after we split with the big 12, and after our share of the winnings of other bowl-bound Big 12 schools?

December 4, 2007 at 11:33 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

BCS bowls are worth about 17 million. I think the Big XII splits revenue with about half going to the participating team and the other half going into a pot for the conference to split 11 ways.

Quick math.

Orange = 17 mil (Kansas)
Fiesta = 17 mil (Oklahoma)
Cotton = 3 mil (Missouri)
Insight.com = 1.2 mil (Oklahoma St.)
Gator = 2.25 mil (Texas Tech)
Independence = 1.1 mil (Colorado)
Alamo = 2.2 mil (Texas A&M)
Holiday = 2.2 mil (Texas)

That comes to 28.95 mil for the games we aren't in. Divided by 11 that's 2.63 million.

We also get half of the money from the 17 million Orange payout, so that's 8.5 more.

A cool 11.13 million dollars will make its way to Lawrence as a result. Basically, the difference between that and the Cotton Bowl (where we end up if we don't get BCS) is 5.73 million dollars (a trip to Dallas nets 5.4 million, because you get two slices of half of the BCS net, but take the smaller Cotton half payment.

I have to double check on bowl payouts, but I'm pretty sure that's right. If I am incorrect, somebody please fix it.

December 4, 2007 at 12:14 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

I realized a mistake already. The divided payout should be 14.475 million, half of the total, so that comes to 1.31 million for that, or 9.81 total when combined with our half of our game.

The difference between Orange and Cotton is 6.36 million (9.81 vs. 3.45).

December 4, 2007 at 12:33 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

My only beef is that it should be Oklahoma and LSU in the BCS Title game ...

the Browneyes are going to get pounded!!!

December 4, 2007 at 12:36 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

apeoples410 (anonymous) says...

I can certainly see why MU fans are disappointed and outraged at KU's selection to the Orange Bowl. I would have been disappointed and shocked if MU would have been chosen over KU as MU not only has 2 losses, but the most recent loss was by 21 points. KU's only loss of the season was by 8 points in a border showdown. Instead of the blame and outrage being directed at KU for being selected over MU, maybe the focus should be on the BCS committee which only allows 2 teams from each conference in BCS games. It seems to me that OU, MU and KU are all more deserving of BCS games than Illinois and West Virginia, probably even Hawaii. Regardless of how I think it should be the games are set and now it's time for the Big 12 teams to prove that this conference is stronger than the rest of the country thinks. Good luck to all Big 12 teams, even Missouri!

December 4, 2007 at 2:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

dan_mp (anonymous) says...

I don't think Hawaii loosing to Washington cost ASU a BCS bid. It was the Rose Bowl picking Illinois. They aren't obligated to take a Big Ten team. They could have easily picked West Virginia or Hawaii themselves. Then the Fiesta could have picked ASU. No other bowl would have selected Illinois. The Rose Bowl just caved to all the recent hype they received from beating OSU.

December 4, 2007 at 5:24 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

BCRavenJHawkfan (anonymous) says...

I have heard so much of this BCS rationalization I could vomit. Everything from the SEC is a stronger conference to the regular season is the playoffs.
Here is another version to consider:
1. Until the major conferences schedule significant games between each other the stronger conference is only subjective thought, it's why they play the game.
2. LSU may have been "undefeated in regulation play" but they lost to an unranked and low ranked team (as did OSU at the time).
3. Hawaii is not the only school scheduling soft nonconference opponents, any school with a record does it.
4. Schools like Hawaii would not be passed over if their conference was part of the BCS fraternity.
5. The time of the year a school suffers a loss has too much importance.

December 4, 2007 at 5:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )