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| Tuesday, October 24 BCS will do the best job putting the top-two together By Mike Tirico Special to ESPN.com | ||||||||||
| The clock's running and it's four-down territory. Here we go.
First Down How cool -- the first BCS poll brings us No. 1 playing No. 2 then No. 3 playing No. 4 with Nebraska-Oklahoma this week and Virginia Tech-Miami in a few weeks. First, my personal take on the BCS. There will be plenty of complaining again this year, but rational thinking through unbiased glasses reminds us that this system is the most balanced for trying to get the two best teams to meet. I see this season as the test that will validate the system. Let's face it, the best value of the poll will be when we need to sort and organize all the teams with one loss, which might be the scenario for this fall. The old system of having a loss basically eliminating you from title consideration was a system that did not logically fit. This provides a far more structured, reasoned method of figuring the strength of one loss teams. This year's schedule and the way things have broken down could very well test that opinion, but I think the first look at the standings show us that Miami is the top one loss team followed by Florida State and Florida. Looking at the teams they have lost to, it makes sense, so hold some faith in the BCS working again in 2000. Please note Nebraska fans, I am saying this now, before your team wins or losses its two big games with Oklahoma and Kansas State. We add that because last year my radio commentary thoughts that the BCS worked to bring us the two teams that should be playing for the title was portrayed in Husker nation by some as being a shill for the system since it feeds the ABC owned college football bowl properties. I still believe in the bowl system and this being the best way to keep that going. We will get into it at a later date, but simply put it is far more in the model of college athletics to have a bowl system as opposed to a playoff. Second down Does TCU, belong at the top of the BCS poll with the other undefeated teams? I have the ultimate respect for perfect seasons and having covered one very closely back in 1987, I have seen all the things that need to go right for a year like that to occur. But if we put political correctness aside, there is no one on the TCU schedule that would pass the top two in each of the other top contenders schedules. In my BCS world, we would take the loss component of the rankings and add value to that. Instead of being a portion of the equation figuring out the rankings, I would like to see the loss portion be multiplied by two, thus weighting that more than the polls and computer figures. Still, TCU would not be in the top five of the current system. All complaints must be heard within, since TCU dropped Nebraska off its schedule when Dennis Franchione took over as head coach, not knowing that a Horned Frog perfect season would be on the horizon in 2000. The Mountain West, WAC and MAC teams will get their just due if they play an outstanding non-conference schedule and go undefeated, which is the way it should be since their league games do not equal that of the major leagues Third down The Mountain West which was hoping for a breakout season has not seen success in the non-conference arena. Preseason favorite Utah was disappointing out of the league and has not carried it's weight within the league. BYU must win the rest of its games to make a bowl game in LaVell Edwards last season in Provo. The class of the league is Colorado State -- again. Sonny Lubick's team never gets attention because of the league and playing second fiddle to a Colorado team it has defeated twice in as many years. But the Rams are on their way to the conference title and facing the Conference USA champ in the Liberty Bowl if they take care of business the rest of the way. The toughest remaining test may be BYU a week from Thursday, but it is in Fort Collins. Still this year has to be a set back for a league that is watching it's equal in stature and respect, Conference USA have a better season out of the league while being led by a flagship national team in Southern Mississippi. Fourth down Some weekend observations: After going to the Syracuse-Virginia Tech game two things came to light. As we discussed in this space last week, Michael Vick needs to return to college football next year. He is not ready for NFL pass defenses. Syracuse showed one coverage then changed after Vick's pre-snap read. That, combined with great play from defensive ends Duke Pettijohn and Dwight Freeny to contain Vick in the pocket, resulted in a near upset. The resulting offensive struggle led Frank Beamer to say that Syracuse's defensive effort was better than even Florida State in the Nokia Sugar Bowl last year. Shocking stuff. I still believe Vick is the Heisman front runner. If Virginia Tech goes 11-and-0 for the second straight year with the most impressive highlight maker in the game leading the way, I can't see him not winning the hardware. If the Hokies lose to Miami in two weeks, the contest is wide opened. An undefeated Eric Crouch at Nebraska is putting up the stats to challenge an undefeated Vick, while a loss by both Nebraska and Virginia Tech would put Drew Brees right back near the top because of his cumulative stats. Recent history tells us the accumulating numbers help -- just see Ron Dayne last year. |
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