The BCS Title Game - Who Will It Be?

Now that PlayBoyd has firmly established himself as the awesome Silverback Gorilla in the jungle that is the Jockstrap, I’ll just continue to go about my business in his enormous shadow. I hope this will suffice while you all wait with bated breath for his next comparison post...

Today I need to talk college football. We’re all seeing firsthand why the BCS is so amazing. Who should play in the BCS title game? Texas? Texas Tech? Oklahoma? USC? Penn State? Even Utah? This, my friends, is exactly why the BCS is so great. I’m not saying it’s the best system out there—not even close—but it does get people all irate about college football. In and of itself, that is a beautiful thing.

If the BCS were not in place this college football season would not have all of this drama. There are six one-loss teams (Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, USC, Texas Tech, Penn State) from major conferences that have a legitimate argument for being in the BCS title game. Personally, I’d rather see an eight team playoff pitting those teams, along with Utah and Alabama, against each other. It would be great. But instead we get this controversy. So, the question remains: Who should play in the BCS Title game? Whoever wins the Florida-Alabama game will get in, but who deserves to face the winner of that game? The candidates:

USC (BCS #5)
The Trojans have beaten two BCS top 25 teams at home this season (Oregon and The Ohio State) and lost on the road to Oregon State, who is not in the BCS top 25. Because of the weak Pac-10 this season (only two teams in the BCS top 25) USC doesn’t have the resume to match up against the other one-loss teams. The Trojans are out.

Penn State (BCS #8)
Penn State suffers from the same thing as UCS—a conference that is crappier than normal. Penn State defeated two BCS top 25 teams (The Ohio State and Michigan State) and lost to Iowa, who pretty much sucks. Penn State did stomp the absolute crap out of Oregon State, who beat USC, but the resume isn’t impressive enough. The Nittany Lions are out. Too bad, because this team was probably Paterno’s last chance to get to the title game as he is likely to pass any day now.

Texas Tech (BCS #7)
The Red Raiders (anyone want to clue me in on what a Red Raider is? I don’t care enough to look it up, but if someone wants to provide the information for Strap readers, please do) have a pretty decent argument to get into the title game. Their only loss was on the road to the BCS #2 team. They have defeated the #3 team (Texas) and the #14 team. Tech likely won’t get in because of the 65-21 pounding they took at the hands of Oklahoma two weeks ago and the fact that they won’t be winning their conference title. They also barely scraped by Nebraska and Baylor by 6 and 7 points, respectively. Tech has had a very impressive year, but they likely won’t even play in a BCS bowl game even though they boast an 11-1 record. That is as good a reason as any to go to a playoff. Tech is getting screwed.

Texas (BCS #3)
The Horns played four top 20 teams this year and beat three of them. The only loss was to Texas Tech on the road on the last play of the game. Texas beat Oklahoma on a neutral field, and beat Missouri and Oklahoma State at home. Texas has a legit claim to be in the title game, but they won’t even play in the Big 12 conference championship game. Some people, like Rob, have a moral problem with allowing a team that didn’t win its conference to play in the BCS title game. So what happens if Oklahoma loses to Mizzou? Texas and Texas Tech become ineligible and we go to Penn State or USC? Penn State drubbed Oregon State, the only team that SC lost to, so Florida/Alabama vs. Penn State in the title game? Or how about another team that beat Oregon State?

Utah (BCS #6)
Utah would legitimately be in the BCS again this year even if it were under the old rules of a non-BCS team having to be in the top 6. That is seriously impressive. The Utes haven’t beaten anybody all that special, but they have beaten the Beavers, as well as BYU and TCU, both in the BCS top 25. Utah also has one thing that none of these other teams have—an unblemished record. Every BCS team would throw a fit if Utah got in, but who cares? Do it just to be different. Plus, everyone loves rooting for the underdog. Utah vs. Florida in the national title game? That would be awesome. I get the feeling Urban would try to hang 60 on his old school and I’d be interested to see if he could do it.

Oklahoma (BCS #2)
Texas fans are all pissing and moaning about beating Oklahoma head-to-head, but when you add in Texas Tech and have a three way tie, you have to look at the overall body of work. Oklahoma’s body of work is just more impressive than is Texas’s. Oklahoma has played five BCS top 20 teams and beaten four of them. Their only loss is to the BCS #3 on a neutral field—that’s a quality loss if there is such thing. If Oklahoma beats Mizzou next week they will have beaten five BCS top 20 teams (TCU, Cincy, Tech, & Oklahoma State). The Sooners have not only beaten those teams, they’ve crushed them by an average margin of victory of 29! That is awesome. Oklahoma’s body of work is impressive and they deserve to be in the BCS title game over Texas, Texas Tech, USC, Penn State, or Utah. Plus, I predicted that Oklahoma would win the National Title in my college football preview, so the Sooners getting there would help me feel validated.