uscrebel
11-26-2005, 12:21 AM
Secret to BCS revealed
To improve status, keep team off field
By BRIAN VanderBEEK
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: November 23, 2005, 04:25:22 AM PST
I'm beginning to embrace the entire concept of the Bowl Championship Series.
Yes, the weekly crunching of numbers that causes so much misery across the country is beginning to appeal to me.
But only because I've cracked the code.
The Fox Mulder within me has examined the blank ink data, studied the heretofore alien charts and consulted with the Smoking Man in the underground garage of the Watergate Hotel.
Well, maybe not the last part. I missed my contact the last time I parked at the Watergate.
Yet what I've discovered is not the existence of some secret X-File buried deep within the FBI, but a very simple path any Division I-A football team can follow to guarantee a berth in a BCS game.
Step 1: On the weekend the first BCS rankings are released, make certain you're one of the top 16 teams. Yes, that's the difficult part.
Step 2: Don't play anymore games.
That not only will give your team 2½ months to rest, but any school that follows this plan will be able to start spending some of that guaranteed BCS payout.
That's how much of a slam-dunk proposition this is, and here's why:
This season's first BCS standings were released Oct. 15 and updated since on a weekly basis. Each week since the initial poll, a team currently ranked among the top nine has moved up in the standings after not having played that particular weekend.
To illustrate:
Oct. 22 — Miami's game with Georgia Tech is postponed by the threat of severe weather. Hurricane Wilma hits South Florida as a Category 2, but the 'Canes get the sympathy vote and move from No. 8 to No. 7. Unfortunately for Miami, they have to play the game later.
Oct. 29 — Notre Dame, 4-2 after home-field losses to USC and mighty Michigan State, takes a week off. For the prowess they show in licking their wounds, the Irish are boosted from No. 15 to No. 14.
The same week, however, Oregon has a bye week and falls from No. 11 to No. 13. Did I mention the East Coast bias factor?
Nov. 5 — Georgia has a great week of practice between its back-to-back losses to Florida and Auburn and is justly rewarded by the BCS, which moves the Bulldogs from No. 11 to No. 9.
Nov. 12 — A banner week for bye teams looking for a spot in the BCS Championship Game. It's the week the BCS finds out that Joe Paterno — after years spent hiding in caves on Mount Nittany — is still alive. Thus, idle Penn State is hiked from fifth to fourth in the standings.
That same week, the fall colors are in full bloom in southwest Virginia. A multitude of people head north from the Carolinas to traverse the Blue Ridge Parkway. They discover empty hotel rooms in Blacksburg, Va., because Virginia Tech isn't playing. Impressed by the hospitality, voters among the leaf-watchers boost the Hokies from No. 6 to No. 5.
Saturday — Facing a bye week, the state of Texas sleeps in so Longhorns fans can stay up well past midnight to watch the USC-Fresno State game. Those who don't have Comcast Cable actually see the game, then rejoice Monday when the Longhorns' deficit to the Trojans shrinks from .0058 to .0016. Yes, Texas is THAT close to being able to wear those hideous burnt orange home jerseys in the Rose Bowl.
See, there is no mystery to the BCS once you decipher the key.
If you play a ranked team and win (see USC's victory over Fresno State), you risk losing points.
If you play a higher-ranked team, play very well and lose (see Fresno State's loss to USC), you risk falling in the rankings, as the 'Dogs did, from No. 17 to No. 19.
Yes, as Texas was rewarded for taking a week off, USC was penalized for playing, and Fresno State was similarly docked for taking the No. 1 team to the wire.
So the BCS secret is out:
Keep your team off the field, and you can start making travel plans for New Year's weekend.
See, there's hope yet for Pacific — now unbeaten in 10 years.
Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at 578-2300 or bvanderbeek@modbee.com.
To improve status, keep team off field
By BRIAN VanderBEEK
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: November 23, 2005, 04:25:22 AM PST
I'm beginning to embrace the entire concept of the Bowl Championship Series.
Yes, the weekly crunching of numbers that causes so much misery across the country is beginning to appeal to me.
But only because I've cracked the code.
The Fox Mulder within me has examined the blank ink data, studied the heretofore alien charts and consulted with the Smoking Man in the underground garage of the Watergate Hotel.
Well, maybe not the last part. I missed my contact the last time I parked at the Watergate.
Yet what I've discovered is not the existence of some secret X-File buried deep within the FBI, but a very simple path any Division I-A football team can follow to guarantee a berth in a BCS game.
Step 1: On the weekend the first BCS rankings are released, make certain you're one of the top 16 teams. Yes, that's the difficult part.
Step 2: Don't play anymore games.
That not only will give your team 2½ months to rest, but any school that follows this plan will be able to start spending some of that guaranteed BCS payout.
That's how much of a slam-dunk proposition this is, and here's why:
This season's first BCS standings were released Oct. 15 and updated since on a weekly basis. Each week since the initial poll, a team currently ranked among the top nine has moved up in the standings after not having played that particular weekend.
To illustrate:
Oct. 22 — Miami's game with Georgia Tech is postponed by the threat of severe weather. Hurricane Wilma hits South Florida as a Category 2, but the 'Canes get the sympathy vote and move from No. 8 to No. 7. Unfortunately for Miami, they have to play the game later.
Oct. 29 — Notre Dame, 4-2 after home-field losses to USC and mighty Michigan State, takes a week off. For the prowess they show in licking their wounds, the Irish are boosted from No. 15 to No. 14.
The same week, however, Oregon has a bye week and falls from No. 11 to No. 13. Did I mention the East Coast bias factor?
Nov. 5 — Georgia has a great week of practice between its back-to-back losses to Florida and Auburn and is justly rewarded by the BCS, which moves the Bulldogs from No. 11 to No. 9.
Nov. 12 — A banner week for bye teams looking for a spot in the BCS Championship Game. It's the week the BCS finds out that Joe Paterno — after years spent hiding in caves on Mount Nittany — is still alive. Thus, idle Penn State is hiked from fifth to fourth in the standings.
That same week, the fall colors are in full bloom in southwest Virginia. A multitude of people head north from the Carolinas to traverse the Blue Ridge Parkway. They discover empty hotel rooms in Blacksburg, Va., because Virginia Tech isn't playing. Impressed by the hospitality, voters among the leaf-watchers boost the Hokies from No. 6 to No. 5.
Saturday — Facing a bye week, the state of Texas sleeps in so Longhorns fans can stay up well past midnight to watch the USC-Fresno State game. Those who don't have Comcast Cable actually see the game, then rejoice Monday when the Longhorns' deficit to the Trojans shrinks from .0058 to .0016. Yes, Texas is THAT close to being able to wear those hideous burnt orange home jerseys in the Rose Bowl.
See, there is no mystery to the BCS once you decipher the key.
If you play a ranked team and win (see USC's victory over Fresno State), you risk losing points.
If you play a higher-ranked team, play very well and lose (see Fresno State's loss to USC), you risk falling in the rankings, as the 'Dogs did, from No. 17 to No. 19.
Yes, as Texas was rewarded for taking a week off, USC was penalized for playing, and Fresno State was similarly docked for taking the No. 1 team to the wire.
So the BCS secret is out:
Keep your team off the field, and you can start making travel plans for New Year's weekend.
See, there's hope yet for Pacific — now unbeaten in 10 years.
Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at 578-2300 or bvanderbeek@modbee.com.