A Look Back at the BCS

Before the BCS bowls occurred, I put out a list of matchups I would much rather see than the ones that would ultimately be played. Now that the college football season is over, it's time to look back at what went right, and what went wrong, with my selections.

BCS Championship: Florida beats Oklahoma
My pick: Same
-Overall, it was a competitive game, and one that didn't disappoint, aside from not being a shootout as many expected. Tim Tebow is coming back for his senior season and I fully expect him to solidify his place as the greatest college football player in history. Florida's defense really clamped down on Oklahoma, who certainly missed DeMarco Murray, and held them to only two touchdowns. Florida's offense played well, mostly thanks to Tebow, and showed how many weapons they truly have. Thank you Florida, for not letting me down in big games. I had the Gators picked to win it all, and they came through as always.

Rose Bowl: USC rolls over Penn State
My pick: USC vs. Texas
-USC really showed how much of a juggernaut they can be and how many athletes they bring to that program. USC had this game wrapped up by halftime and Penn State was purely outclassed. While this game had promise on paper, I would have preferred to see Colt McCoy and the Texas offense square off against USC's stacked defense. I think that matchup would have really shown what can win you championships in college football, high-powered offense or lockdown defense.

Sugar Bowl: Utah upsets Alabama
My pick: Texas Tech vs. Alabama
-I need to admit it, I was completely wrong on this one. I had Texas Tech penciled in, to match old school versus new school in this game. I thought Utah would get crushed and be put in their place. I thought Texas Tech's unconventional offense would be a great dichotomy to pit against Nick Saban's traditional style of hard defense and a tough ground game. Instead, Texas Tech couldn't even win their own bowl game against Ole Miss, and Alabama didn't even show up for the Sugar Bowl. While I give Utah all the credit in the world for beating all of their opponents and really taking it to Alabama, I have to say the Crimson Tide were extremely uninspired in this game. Alabama's top lineman, tackle Andre Smith was suspended for allegedly having illegal discussions with an agent, and was a microcosm of where the Crimson Tide were mentally, completely checked out of the game and looking ahead.

However, I don't want to write Utah's victory off as just a win against an unwilling opponent. The Utes did everything they were supposed to do and were completely prepared for this game. However, I don't think they deserve to be in discussion for the national championship just yet. Remember, this was a team that barely got by TCU earlier in the year when the Horned Frogs' kicker missed two makeable field goals that would have sealed the game and a Michigan team that had its worst record in school history.

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech beats Cincinnati
My pick: Same
-I picked this game to be the sacrificial lamb of the BCS bowls and it totally proved my point. Both of these teams are incredibly boring and attract no one except for alumni and current students. In the end, it was nothing memorable and showed that neither team was worthy of a BCS invitation.

Fiesta Bowl: Texas squeaks past Ohio State
My pick: Utah vs. Boise State
-Again, I have some crow to eat on this. I originally wanted to see the two undefeated, non-BCS conference schools duke it out to see which one was more deserving of being in the upper echelon of college programs. However, Utah showed they belonged with the big boys, while Boise St. couldn't get past TCU in the San Diego County Credit Union Pointsettia Bowl (the name is so bad, you always have to say the full title when you bring it up).

While Texas versus Ohio State turned out to be a good game, Ohio State again showed they can't win the big ones. While the Buckeyes didn't completely fall on their collective face this time around, it still shows they don't deserve BCS bids just because they travel well and bring lots of money. Ohio State needs to show they can actually win something of importance (maybe a big non-conference game?) to prove they deserve an invitation to a major bowl. If the Buckeyes lose two games, and there's an undefeated team out there in the top 10, the undefeated team should go. I'm tired of see the Buckeyes lose game after game when it actually means something. Texas showed they couldn't just roll over everyone with their big-time offense. The Longhorns were losing 6-3 at halftime and only amassed 24 points. While it was a good game and Texas still came out victorious, it also showed the selections for the championship game were correct. Florida and Oklahoma both deserved to be there, and Texas didn't prove otherwise.

There were greats games, upsets and letdowns. There were great matchups, snoozers and mistakes. However, I think in the end they got it right. Florida and Oklahoma deserved to be there and the other games ultimately didn't mean anything. I think Florida is the undisputed national champion, but a playoff would be a better way to get there. I made a some good calls and some bad calls, but things ultimately went my way.

Rethinking the College Football Playoff Idea

About a month and a half ago, I unveiled quite possibly the greatest college football playoff scenario anyone has ever fathomed. However, while I think my idea is fantastic and should be installed immediately, I forgot how stupid some people choose to be. While watching ESPN's "Outside the Lines," they ran a segment talking with Congressman Joe Barton of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, who is trying to pass legislation to kill the BCS and force a college playoff.

First, let me rant. Congressman Barton, looking at the tough times this country is facing as the ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, don't you think you should be focused on such things like, I don't know, energy or commerce? Maybe you could try working on fixing the deep recession our economy has slipped into during your time on the Hill? I disliked how Congress got involved with professional baseball, but I really can't stand how you're trying to force the hand of the NCAA into whatever you want. What power did you usurp and who anointed you as the decision maker on how to run this country's most beloved sport? Get off your high horse, Rep. Barton, this isn't your fight and you should be concentrating on fixing the problems you have been assigned to and for the people of your district that elected you.

Ok, rant over, let's get back to the topic. The stupidity that came from the "Outside the Lines" discussion baffled me. It was as if Rep. Barton entered with no forethought or research as to the implementation of his plan. This idiot went on for nearly 10 minutes about how he would change college football to get an undisputed champion.

Congressman Barton's plan called for the shortening of the collge regular season and for every bowl game to serve as a venue for an individual playoff matchup. He wanted to go back to "the good ole days" of when he was in college and there were only nine or 10 games a season. After every team's schedule would be slashed, we would then move on to a playoff system of nearly 70 teams. We would then be subjected to weeks of horrendous matchups before getting to the heart of the matter. Even NCAA basketball's March Madness takes so long, it overflows into April. A larger tournament for football could take nearly two months!

This is truly one of the worst ideas I've ever heard on the subject. The reason the NCAA says there isn't a playoff is because it would take away from the most exciting regular season in sports. Congressman Barton wants to shorten that regular season. He then wants to have a huge playoff just like March Madness. By including close to 70 teams in the playoff, you are allowing some of the worst teams in Division I-A to participate. How many people are intrigued by a Florida-Louisiana Tech first round matchup? Didn't think so. Football doesn't have the possibilities of sustained upsets like basketball does. You will never see a George Mason-like occurrence in college football. There will never be a scenario where Kent State tries to run the table after beating Texas, USC, Oklahoma and needs to get past Alabama to make the Final Four. That would never happen.

Rep. Barton's plan is not well thought out. In fact, it sounds like he made it up on the fly. He has not taken into consideration the committments that have been made by every school. By shortening the regular season, you will kill every team's non-conference schedule, as they are contractually obligated to play their in-conference opponents. Therefore, in order to bring us that fantastic Florida-Louisiana Tech matchup, the Florida-Florida St. game will have to be cancelled. Don't worry Rep. Barton, the fans will love it. Who needs rivalries anyway? Games like South Carolina-Clemson, Georgia-Georgia Tech, maybe even Notre Dame-USC will have to be cut to make room for the Grandaddy playoff finale. I'd love to hear Barton explain that to all the fans.

Finally, Barton has not figured out the name of this entire game, money. You think a political figure would know how that goes, wouldn't you? As the economy stalls, budget cuts for public institutions soon follow. As big of a cash cow as college football is, you would think schools would turn to football for help, but then Barton wants to get in the way. By shortening the regular season, you'd be cutting home games, and large sources of revenue, for every school in the country. As schools face budget cuts, I'd love to see Barton go to Ohio State and say, "Sorry, you know the ticket and concession sales of more than 110,000 people you were counting on from your season opener? That's gone now." If the regular season gets cut, Barton will have the President and Athletic Director from every school in the entire country at his doorstep with hands out, demanding billions of dollars to make up for the lost revenue he cost them by cutting the regular season.

I don't like the bowl system, but goodness, it's a million times better than what Congressman Barton has proposed. I want a college football playoff, but you can always count on some idiot to ruin a great idea. The problem with the playoff is that every person has a different idea of how it needs to happen. I want my way, and my way only. You will ruin college football with a 64+ team playoff for the national championship and I'd rather have a Papajohns.com Bowl that I will never watch than an oversized behemoth of a playoff that will kill the sport I love.

Redskins Quick Hits

Frustration

The fall of the Washington Redskins in the second half of the season appalled me. Jim Zorn's offense was so terrible I could barely stand to watch. How simple could your formula be? Run for two yards, run for no gain, throw an incompletion, then punt. I know the team was banged up at the end of the season, but no one stepped up. There's no leadership on that offense and it showed. Santana Moss is a quality receiver, but lets his actions speak for him. He won't be the guy in the huddle getting everyone hyped up. Chris Cooley can always be counted on in possession, but isn't a big play threat and it seems he would rather open his mouth on his blog than on the field. Clinton Portis is the face of the franchise, but his outspoken personality doesn't rally anyone around him, it usually ostracizes his teammates. Antwaan Randle El talks, but doesn't back it up with production. His "dangerous returner" label needs to be taken off and he jumps around and dances more than he catches the ball. He's more frustrating than appealing. Jason Campbell bothers me, he doesn't look like he'll ever be a leader, but we'll get to that in a minute.

Ineptitude
The rookies on this team did nothing. Even Chris Horton, the steal of the draft, didn't do much in terms of big plays after week 2. The three second-round receivers were so disappointing, but I don't know who to blame. Did Jim Zorn not give them a chance by putting them in games, or are they just that bad that they can't get themselves on the field? Either way, we got nothing from the rookies, not even a glimmer of hope for the future. There is not a single one of them that I can say, "Wait till next year, this guy will blow up." Nothing about them says, "You can hold off on this position in free agency and the draft, we're set." Every position on the team needs to be evaluated. I love Colt Brennan and would like to see what he can do in a real game. Unfortunately, he wasn't given that opportunity this season. I hope he gets a shot at some point.

Monotony
Jason Campbell's demeanor bothers me to no end. At the beginning of the season, sports reporters and coaches raved about how you could never tell whether he'd thrown a touchdown or an interception and how he fit perfectly with Jim Zorn's "stay medium" mentality. I see it an entirely different way. Sure he won't get too down, but he never gets up either. He never plays with any fire and almost looks like he doesn't even have a passion for the game. If you "stay medium," you settle for mediocrity. I don't see the advantage of it, I understand keeping an even keel, but football is a game of emotion just as much as it's physicality and schematics. That's why the "any given Sunday" mantra is always alive, because you never know how a team will come out and play. The underdog might be more fired up and want the game more, and that's why they win. Jason Campbell will never lead this team anywhere if he doesn't step up to the plate and show some swagger out there. He just seems content to stay straight faced, unfazed by anything, but not excited by anything, indifferent to the game as a whole and ok with whatever happens.

Disrespect
London Fletcher finally snapped about the Pro Bowl, and I believe justly so. He was again overlooked by his peers (not the fans) as Patrick Willis and Jon Beason will represent the NFC at middle linebacker. While those two did have more tackles than Fletcher this season, Fletcher has more tackles than any other player this decade. For him to be passed over again is another slap in the face of what could be a Hall of Fame career if people paid closer attention. Don't worry London, no one is faulting you for getting upset about the decision, at least someone on this team is playing with some fire out there.