Pete Carroll is a man than rarely gives an opinion of the BCS, and when asked, usually gives the recycled answer about not understanding and not worrying about something he can't control. On Tuesday the more opinionated Pete Carroll spoke about the system that crowns college football's champion, and it wasn't sugar coated, and far from those recycled words of the past. "I think it stinks. And I don't think it's the way it should be", said Carroll of his take on the BCS. It took 7 years, but he finally got it out. Coming from the NFL, that should have been the first reponse to the BCS answer, having led or attempted to lead two different professional franchises to the playoffs.
Carroll also said in his Tuesday meeting that all losses live in infamy, but Oregon State is near the top of the list. Personally, I believe it's a toss up between this year's debacle in Corvallis and the triple overtime Berkely disaster of 2003. The reason being, of all the teams in the Pete Carroll era, I think '03, '04, and this current 2008 squad may be the most talented of the bunch. But just as it was in 2003, a little hiccup on the road will be the difference between playing for the national championship and playing elsewhere. The BCS doesn't judge the strength of a program as much as it judges the strengths of their opponents. Move forward with a record unblemished, and you control your own destiny, but stumble once, and your destiny is controlled by your opponents. In 2oo3, it ultimately wasn't Southern Cal's loss to Cal that did them in, as they bounced back and completed the regular season without another. The Trojans' BCS demise was a result of Notre Dame losing to Syracuse, which decreased the schedule strength and allowed LSU to jump to No. 2 in the final BCS Standings. When your destination is determined by what two other teams are doing, 3,000 miles across the country, then Carroll is right, it stinks.
The only coaches that may actually appreciate the BCS are those holding the top two spots at any given time. But just as quickly as they fall from those spots, is as quickly as they will also echo Carroll's words. Besides, how often does that final regular season BCS standing translate to Bowl games. This is how last year played out in the postseason:
No. 1 Ohio State fell to No. 2 LSU (No.1 falls often).
The computer's No. 1 Virginia Tech was defeated by No. 8 Kansas.
No. 4 Oklahoma was beaten by No. 9 West Virginia.
No. 11 Arizona State lost to No. 19 Texas.
No. 12 Florida lost to a Michigan team that failed to be ranked in the December BCS standings.
No. 21 South Florida was embarrassed by an unranked Oregon team.
No. 20 Virginia, No. 25 Connecticut, and No. 24 Boise State also were defeated in bowl games versus opponents not listed in the BCS standings.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment