Noah.Dreams
11-30-2005, 08:59 AM
Sorry, Tigers: BCS prefers Fighting Irish - Wednesday, November 30, 2005
by Steve Kirk - BHM News
Everyone knows the Bowl Championship Series isn't all it's cracked up to be. No one knows it better than the 2004 Auburn football team.
But the cracks in the system aren't all at the top. The 2005 Auburn team is about to fall through another one.
Come Sunday, Auburn isn't going to receive a BCS at-large bid.
Notre Dame is.
It doesn't matter that Auburn is a better team than Notre Dame. Or that Auburn may be the best team in the BCS at-large pool.
It doesn't matter that Auburn AD Jay Jacobs has gotten in the ear of Fiesta Bowl officials. Or that SEC Commissioner Mike Slive also has talked to them on Auburn's behalf more than once.
This being the BCS, logic and lobbying are beside the point. So are quality wins and bad losses and strength of schedule.
This being the BCS, TV gets what TV wants. And TV worships Touchdown Jesus.
If everything goes according to plan on Championship Saturday, if USC and Texas make the final arrangements for their dream date, Selection Sunday should go something like this:
The Fiesta Bowl, with the first pick because it loses Big 12 champ Texas to the Rose Bowl, takes Notre Dame. The Orange Bowl, with the second pick, takes Big Ten champ Penn State and AARP man of the year Joe Paterno to meet ACC champ Virginia Tech.
The Fiesta Bowl, with the third pick, takes Ohio State or Oregon as the designated reality check for Notre Dame.
The Irish are better, but they're not back. Not to myth and legend status. What's the difference? Ask Alabama.
Oregon sent its head football coach and AD to Arizona last week to lobby the Fiesta folks. It would mean more if Phil Knight, Oregon booster and Nike grand poobah, promised to buy up all the TV spots at full price.
The only thing that's all but certain is the Fiesta Bowl won't invite Auburn to the desert for the first time. If it does, it'll surprise a lot of higher-ups in the Auburn family.
This isn't the same as last year's BCS snub, but it's still a shame. Compare Auburn's 9-2 to Notre Dame's 9-2, and there's no comparison. Notre Dame has beaten three teams with winning records, Auburn four, if you count I-AA Western Kentucky.
Notre Dame's biggest win came against 7-4 Michigan in September. Auburn took down 9-2 Georgia and 9-2 Alabama within eight days in November. No team in the BCS at-large pool can match Auburn for quality wins.
The Tigers lost to 10-1 LSU and 7-4 Georgia Tech. The Irish lost to 11-0 USC and 5-6 Michigan State. Can you say bad loss?
BCS officials like to wash their hands of situations like this one. They say the system was set up for only one reason, to match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in a championship game.
OK. So why are there three other BCS bowls every year?
Auburn will have to settle for its third trip to Orlando in six years. As consolation prizes go, there are worse things than a return visit to Disney World.
Ever spent New Year's in Dallas?
by Steve Kirk - BHM News
Everyone knows the Bowl Championship Series isn't all it's cracked up to be. No one knows it better than the 2004 Auburn football team.
But the cracks in the system aren't all at the top. The 2005 Auburn team is about to fall through another one.
Come Sunday, Auburn isn't going to receive a BCS at-large bid.
Notre Dame is.
It doesn't matter that Auburn is a better team than Notre Dame. Or that Auburn may be the best team in the BCS at-large pool.
It doesn't matter that Auburn AD Jay Jacobs has gotten in the ear of Fiesta Bowl officials. Or that SEC Commissioner Mike Slive also has talked to them on Auburn's behalf more than once.
This being the BCS, logic and lobbying are beside the point. So are quality wins and bad losses and strength of schedule.
This being the BCS, TV gets what TV wants. And TV worships Touchdown Jesus.
If everything goes according to plan on Championship Saturday, if USC and Texas make the final arrangements for their dream date, Selection Sunday should go something like this:
The Fiesta Bowl, with the first pick because it loses Big 12 champ Texas to the Rose Bowl, takes Notre Dame. The Orange Bowl, with the second pick, takes Big Ten champ Penn State and AARP man of the year Joe Paterno to meet ACC champ Virginia Tech.
The Fiesta Bowl, with the third pick, takes Ohio State or Oregon as the designated reality check for Notre Dame.
The Irish are better, but they're not back. Not to myth and legend status. What's the difference? Ask Alabama.
Oregon sent its head football coach and AD to Arizona last week to lobby the Fiesta folks. It would mean more if Phil Knight, Oregon booster and Nike grand poobah, promised to buy up all the TV spots at full price.
The only thing that's all but certain is the Fiesta Bowl won't invite Auburn to the desert for the first time. If it does, it'll surprise a lot of higher-ups in the Auburn family.
This isn't the same as last year's BCS snub, but it's still a shame. Compare Auburn's 9-2 to Notre Dame's 9-2, and there's no comparison. Notre Dame has beaten three teams with winning records, Auburn four, if you count I-AA Western Kentucky.
Notre Dame's biggest win came against 7-4 Michigan in September. Auburn took down 9-2 Georgia and 9-2 Alabama within eight days in November. No team in the BCS at-large pool can match Auburn for quality wins.
The Tigers lost to 10-1 LSU and 7-4 Georgia Tech. The Irish lost to 11-0 USC and 5-6 Michigan State. Can you say bad loss?
BCS officials like to wash their hands of situations like this one. They say the system was set up for only one reason, to match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in a championship game.
OK. So why are there three other BCS bowls every year?
Auburn will have to settle for its third trip to Orlando in six years. As consolation prizes go, there are worse things than a return visit to Disney World.
Ever spent New Year's in Dallas?