After a quick review of the NCAA strength of schedule stats, there is no way anyone can tell me that USC and Oklahoma should be ranked ahead of Auburn. Oklahoma's strength of schedule is ranked 22nd for division IA teams. USC is a pitiful 31st. AUBURN HAS THE 9TH TOUGHEST SCHEDULE OF ANY DIVISION IA TEAM AND THEY ARE UNDEFEATED!!!
All of this subjectivity with the polls has got to go. Everyone is crying for a playoff system in the interest of fairness but I think the BCS could handle the process fairly. The thing that makes the playoff system (NCAA basketball or baseball for example) fair is that the subjectivity of these stupid polls is almost entirely removed. Sure, you have to have some at large bids since no system is perfect, but for the most part you earn your way into the playoffs and you earn the championship. Why is college football the only sport where the polls decide who the champions are? Are the World Series teams decided by a poll? How about the Super Bowl teams?
Auburn getting shut out of the Orange bowl will be nothing short of a travesty. These guys busted their a**es to remain undefeated against the toughest teams in the nation and they're going to get passed over by a couple of teams with the same record but weaker schedules. That being the case, where is the incentive to perform if your performance won't get you into the championship? I've never had a very strong opinion either way about the BCS until now. With the introduction of even more subjectivity this year, the BCS has gone downhill.
Save the subjectivity for finger painting and figure skating. This is football. Wins & losses, margin of victory, and strength of schedule are what counts. Championships should be determined by the scoreboard, not the polls.
UPDATE: The travesty is official and Auburn will be playing Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Auburn has everything to loose in this game and almost nothing to gain. They got shafted.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Now you know how USC felt last year. Welcome to reality.
A few points on the strength of schedule. First up, the sheet you have linked to, is the current strength, and is flawed because you cannot penalize a team for beating a team that falters along later in the seasons.
So if USC beats a team that was great at the time, but loses its best player or something, and goes 5-6, it is not USC's fault. USC beat a team that was rated highly at the time it played the team.
So this sheet that you have attached has no meaning as such.
Meanwhile, I checked Jeff Sagarin's ratings for conference as well as team. And guess what, Pac-10 is still the toughest conference, and USC is #2 and #1 in the two 'strength of schedule' indicators. Auburn is #3 and #9 in those two indicators, and the highly overrated SEC is #5.
Check out the conference ratings at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbc04.htmand the college ratings at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt04.htmListen, just suck it up and enjoy the Sugar Bowl. At least your team is playing one of the decent bowls, unlike Cal, which had to go down to San Diego to play the Holiday Bowl.
Post a Comment