Arrogance and disdain

Posted: Monday, November 15, 2010 by Travis Cody in
10

I think the thing that bothers me the most about the BCS talk is the arrogance and disdain with which pundits regard Boise State and TCU.

Don't misunderstand me.  I can't argue against an undefeated Auburn and an undefeated Oregon playing for the BCS title in January.

But what I don't understand is the arrogance with which some argue that a 1-loss SEC or Pac-10 team is more worthy than either Boise State or TCU, should either Auburn or Oregon stumble in the last couple of weeks of the regular season.

Undefeated is undefeated.  I do care about strength of schedule.  But you still have to win the games that are on your schedule.  And in order to increase the strength of your non-conference schedule, some school of note has to have the guts to say, "Why yes, we'll come to Idaho and play on that blue turf".

But we all know that the BCS isn't about fairness.  It's about money.  And it doesn't matter a damn whether TCU and Boise State both finish as the only unbeaten teams.  In its arrogance, the BCS will likely elevate a 1-loss SEC team over BSU to play TCU.

That's great for the Horned Frogs, but it is still wrong.  And if BSU is selected over TCU to play that 1-loss SEC opponent, then that's just as wrong.  If the only two unbeaten teams left in Division 1A are TCU and Boise State, then those are the teams that should play for the BCS title.  Unbeaten is unbeaten.

The decision not to do that will be justified in terms that will seem reasonable.  And I wouldn't be able to argue against TCU.  But at the end of the day, those explanations will be condescending, arrogant, and full of disdain.


Let's have a playoff.

10 comments:

  1. Debra says:
    15 November, 2010 01:14

    I don't know how I could agree with you more.

    Will that flawed system ever be change?

  1. Anonymous says:
    15 November, 2010 03:07

    Did you like my post yesterday? I was thinking of you. :-)

    Hope it made you smile. That is my favorite scene from the movie. And it's one of my favorite movies.

    Hugs, and have a great week!

  1. DrillerAA says:
    15 November, 2010 04:45

    I am at that point, like politics, I don't much care anymore. There was a time when I would argue for the SEC, Big 12, or Big 10 over the Boise States of the world. Now, if Boise State or TCU have a great team, let 'em play for all of the marbles.
    I do believe, however, that if Boise State's non-conference schedule included USC, Notre Dame, LSU, and Michigan each year, undefeated seasons would be harder to come by.

  1. Travis Cody says:
    15 November, 2010 05:57

    Debra: I think it will only change when they figure out a way that they trust will make them as much money as this system.

    Lois: It did!

    Driller: And yet the reason those schools politely decline Boise's invitation to play anyone, any time, anywhere, is that they can't afford the possibility that BSU will beat them and ruin their chance before conference play begins. That's yet another flaw in this current system. That one loss disqualifies certain schools from certain conferences, but not others. The power bias is built in and embedded so deeply that it becomes standard practice.

  1. Charles Gramlich says:
    15 November, 2010 06:56

    A playoff would certainly answer these questions and I do think both these teams have proven themselves time and again.

  1. j says:
    15 November, 2010 07:27

    Sounds good to me.

    My heart isn't in it as much now that my Tide has flubbed twice. Talk about arrogant - I know what fickle fans we Alabamians are.

    Best of luck to both teams. I must say that the blue field with the blue uniforms just drives me bonkers. Can you pull for one team over another based on the color of their field? I think I must.

    *don't tell anyone but I am NOT pulling for Auburn even if they are from my home state. Just. Can't. Do it.

  1. Vinny "Bond" Marini says:
    15 November, 2010 13:28

    Boise is the only pre-season 3 team to have both of the teams above it lose, where they have not, who was not elevated to the #1 spot since the rankings began.

    Unfair...if you are not going to give them a shot, then take them off the board...

  1. katherine. says:
    15 November, 2010 15:27

    Just about all of your points are spot on...especially your comment back to Diller.

    Alumni power has a bit of weight in all of this as well.

  1. Kate says:
    15 November, 2010 17:43

    So obnoxious, isn't it?

  1. Anonymous says:
    15 November, 2010 20:17
    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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