Sunday, December 2, 2007

What's Wrong with BCS?

As expected, Ohio State and LSU will be paired in the BCS national title game. But this result was, at best, accepted conventional wisdom; or at worst, a travesty. There are lots of upset people from Athens, Norman, Blacksburg to Los Angeles, not to mention Columbia and Tempe, where two teams were perceived to be robbed of deserved BCS berths.

So what's wrong with the BCS?

In short, everything.

The much revamped standings have reduced the system to a series of beauty pageants late in the season, with the voters changing their minds from week to week. The rules and regulations allow, at the same time, too much ambiguity and constraints, to make everybody unhappy.

So what should we do about it?

I'm glad you asked. The answer is: A lot. And I am not going to get involved in "playoff" talk because that's just a waste of time. What needs to be done -- and can be done -- is bring fixes to a badly flawed system and make it less flawed. If you can't make this pig beautiful by dressing it up, at least you should try to make it into bacon.

Just to whet your appetite: Craig Morton, one of the Harris panelists, voted LSU 11th. Eleventh! And Irwin Smallwood voted Georgia 10th -- and he's not alone!

These nuggets are just but a few items on the Guru's plate throughout this holiday season. The BCS standings might be final, but the Guru's work is hardly done. Please check back here for analysis throughout the bowl season -- and together, maybe we can do something about this unsightly beast.

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