Guest Blog: Why the BCS Sucks, Picks and Lone Star
December 1, 2007 at 2:15 p.m.
Ladies and gentlemen, loyal readers and Andy’s mom… this is your favorite Tiger Ride caravan member, Danny Mehigan, chipping in with a sports-related post. You may know me as your favorite Columbia Missourian women’s basketball beat writer… but probably not.
But without further adieu, this is the biggest game in Mizzou football history. Sure, we were No. 1 for a week in 1960, but we got crushed by Kansas and those national championship hopes were destroyed – no surprise that the Jayhawkers needed to use an ineligible player to beat us, but it still knocked us out of the No. 1 spot. And in those days, there was no computer-driven system like the BCS that forced the bowl matchups upon us.
As a Mizzou fan this year, and especially this week, the BCS rankings mean more than any test the Tiger Ride isn’t studying for. Here’s the problem: We’re ranked No. 1 (Wooo!). But IF we lose to the No. 9-ranked Sooners tonight, we will likely drop below idle Kansas, who only dropped to No. 5 after we dominated them last week.
The BCS rules stipulate that only two teams from a conference can make it to the five BCS games. Oklahoma would be guaranteed a berth because they won the conference championship game, and Kansas would get the second berth because they will be ranked higher in the BCS standings than us… even though we beat them.
As a native Wisconsin Badger, I felt this pain last year when Ohio State was ranked 2nd, Michigan was ranked 4th and Wisconsin was 6th… but the Badgers weren’t allowed to go to the BCS because they were the third-best team in the conference, according to these crazy standings.
Oh, but that’s not all. If we lose tonight, Ohio State will jump into the No. 2 spot and play for the national title game, which opens up the Big Ten’s BCS spot for Illinois – another team we beat.
So this entire magical season could be for naught. Sure, in years past, Missouri fans would be ecstatic about a trip to the Cotton Bowl (where the loser of tonight’s game will likely end up), but this year is different. We are a team of destiny, and we will not lose to Oklahoma again.
Before I get to some “expert” picks for today’s games, I’m not done complaining about the BCS.
One of the biggest disputes in college football this year has been whether or not Hawaii deserves to be in the BCS. For the uninformed, Hawaii is undefeated (the only team left in Division I without a loss), has an offense good enough to compete with ours, but they get no national respect because they haven’t played a very strong schedule.
They are currently ranked 12th – right on the borderline of BCS contention. They beat Boise State last week to clinch their conference championship, and only need to beat Washington tonight to likely clinch that BCS berth. When that happens, a lot of people will be very upset that Hawaii beat the likes of Charleston Southern and Idaho to reach the BCS – but they tried to schedule USC and Michigan State, only to have the big schools back out because they were scared of losing.
Well, I for one hope that Hawaii crashes the BCS party and shows the country what they’re all about. Their offense is so much fun to watch, and they’re pretty damn good. If anyone watched the Boise State-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl last year, they’ll remember how it might be the greatest college football game ever played.
The reason college sports are better than pros – the impossible happens more often than not, and I wouldn’t want to miss out on Hawaii pulling off a miracle of their own this year.
On to some picks:
Hawaii over Washington: Might as well keep talking about the Warriors. Watch out for Colt Brennan to add to his NCAA record of 126 touchdown passes (not in one game, that would be a much more ridiculous record), and Hawaii should walk all over the Huskies down in Honolulu.
USC over UCLA: As a Notre Dame fan, I hate USC. But they are playing really well, and definitely will not lose with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line. Don’t be surprised if UCLA’s coach gets canned after losing this game, too.
LSU over Tennessee: If Georgia made it to the SEC title game, they’d have a fighting chance against LSU, but they didn’t. So LSU, despite blowing a chance at the national title game last week, will come back strong and dominate the Vols in a virtual home game in New Orleans tonight.
West Virginia over Pittsburgh: A ridiculously easy pick. It works out nicely for West Virginia that the rival Panthers are terrible, so they should waltz into the national championship game with an easy victory.
And the big one from down here in Texas…
MIZZOU 38, Oklahoma 35. Yeah, I went there. Jeremy Maclin, Martin Rucker, Chase Daniel and all our other ridiculous offensive stars won’t be stopped by the Sooners for a second time this year. We’ll eliminate the turnovers from last time, cause problems with an improving defense, and win the game by holding on in the fourth quarter. I just think our team is too dynamic, and OU isn’t ready for it. Here’s to hoping I know what I’m talking about.
Well, it’s about five hours until game time, and it’s time to crack open some Lone Star – the
self-proclaimed “National Beer of Texas” – and start going crazy for those Tigers!
[This is your host again. We're done blogging until after the game, when we will have pictures (hopefully) of the rest of the day. And Remember M-I-Z...]
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