by Bert Beiswanger
At the risk of looking like an idiot Saturday evening if Oklahoma beats BCS No.3 ranked Oklahoma State, I’m somewhat annoyed that so little attention has been given to the idea of Oklahoma State playing in the BCS National Championship against LSU.
I don’t have enough time or energy at this moment to outline how ridiculous I think the BCS is. Those more informed and talented than me, like Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel, have written countless articles and a book, Death to the BCS, on the subject. And I fully support everything he’s written. But as long as we do have this system – if you want to call it that -we need to examine how we get to the championship game as objectively as possible.
Basically, here’s everyone’s take right now: Alabama and LSU are the most talented teams. Alabama played a brutally tough schedule and is the most deserving one-loss team in college football. This was decided eight weeks ago and it’s decided now.
My question is, why even pay attention to the other conference championships? Why did we go through the motions of a regular season when no other one-loss team was ever going to be given consideration over the almighty Crimson Tide?
Proponents of the BCS say the regular season is like a playoff. Really? Alabama isn’t going to play for a conference championship but everyone’s inserting them into the title game. Yet, if Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma tonight to win the Big 12 title and remain a one loss team, they aren’t deserving of playing for the national title?
Believe me, I think the SEC is once again the best conference in college football. I think Alabama is one of the two most talented teams and has, along with LSU, played a tough SEC schedule. I also think this year is somewhat unusual with how it unfolded, even by jacked-up BCS standards. I can understand the position the system has put the college football world in with a seemingly fitting LSU-Alabama rematch. But I don’t want to see it. I would be more intrigued seeing a new match-up with the high-powered Oklahoma State offense versus the swarming LSU defense. Two conference champions going head-to-head. Alabama had their chance (at home mind you) and they lost. I watched that game, and it’s not one I want to watch again.
Oklahoma State has one loss. That game was at Iowa State on the heels of that tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and his assistant Miranda Serna. It shook the Oklahoma State family. The football team had a game to play, though, and lost that game in overtime after a controversial missed field goal in regulation that would have won the game for them. Alabama lost at home and won’t win the conference title.
Oklahoma State and their talented offense should be next in line to get a crack at LSU. Are they better than Alabama? Who knows and who cares? Obviously, if Oklahoma State loses to Oklahoma, this is all a moot debate. But if they do beat them and if the regular season is truly viewed as one long playoff then OSU should be the next team up to play LSU.
To this day, I cringe at the thought that Michigan was almost gifted a rematch with Ohio State in 2006. Luckily, voters saw the light of day and the deserving and talented SEC champion Florida Gators edged Michigan in the polls and earned the right to play Ohio State for the BCS National Championship. Florida destroyed Ohio State in that game. Can you imagine if the game never happened and a non-conference champion like Michigan was handed the rematch with Ohio State?
Face it, the BCS system sucks. But as long as we’re forced to deal with it, let’s make the most out of it.
