I realize I'm moving beyond the merely obvious into the totally obvious, but the BCS is going to be an absolute mess this year. It looks right now like Mizzou is going to lose (by the time I get done typing this, it may be over), meaning both of the BCS top 2 will have lost.
Because of the insanely stupid way we do things in college football, that automatically means that the No. 3 team in the BCS, an Ohio State University, will move up and play in the title game. Georgia will likely follow them up, because, well, they're No. 4 right now.
After my finals are over, I'm going to get deeper into something that's really been bothering me. No, it's not the BCS. As flawed as it is, and as much as I want a playoff, there's something worse...
Recruiting rankings.
In a sport that's all about perception--at least in the human polls and "popular" opinion--a random and completely subjective ranking of unproven high school players decides which teams "should" be the best. Actual performance on the field be damned.
This BCS disaster should show us that we need a serious reevaluation of how we decide who plays for the national title. In basketball, we look at resumes. In football, we choose the teams with the fewest losses...unless they play in the WAC.
Now a disclaimer before I do what I'm about to do: I am NOT advocating that KU make the national title game. I cheered for Mizzou last week, as I will for any team that can keep KU from accomplishing anything of significance, because I can't stand that school down the river and never want them to succeed in anything.
However...
Let's do a little rundown comparing the 'beaks and an Ohio State University.
Here is a ranking of KU's wins, from best to worst, along with its loss:
Oklahoma State
Colorado
K-State (look at when the game was played, and where it was played)
Texas A&M
Iowa State
Nebraska
Baylor
Central Michigan
Toledo
Florida International
Southeastern Louisiana
Loss: Mizzou
Same thing now, for an Ohio State University:
Michigan
Wisconsin
Penn State
Michigan State
Purdue
Northwestern
Minnesota
Washington
Akron
Kent State
Youngstown State
Loss: Illinois
So Washington is soo much better than Florida International, and that's the resume difference between KU and that state university in Ohio. Well, yeah. That, and the fact that aOSU has a higher "Rivals Stars" ranking.
Spare me all the arguments about who did or didn't win their division or their conference. The best two teams, by performance, should play for the national title.
So, who should be in the national title game? My votes would go to Georgia and LSU. Two SEC teams in the title game? Dammit. The absurdity continues.
Update: Forgot to mention...the fact that KU will now almost certainly make a BCS bowl and Mizzou will not ought to be proof enough what a joke the BCS is. I thought we got rid of the system based solely on human polls to get rid of politics...and that leaves us with an OU-KU matchup in the Fiesta while Mizzou gets to play at 10 a.m. in the city of $30,000 millionaires (Dallas, for those of you who don't know). Congrats Mizzou!