2008 BCS & Bowl Game Discussion

[LAXDawg14]

i really cant wait for the sUGAr bowl.... should be a good game.
UGA is gonna rock the black jerseys so we will see how that works out for us. But ours secondary is gonna def have to step up for UH passing game.

gonna be a good time in new orleans

[bste_lax]

gonna be a good time in new orleans

Bowl Game atmosphere + Bourbon Street = great time

I almost had too much fun last year. Can't wait to do it again.

[Dan Wishengrad]

I agree that LSU's jump to #2 was remarkable. I don't think it is a conspiracy though.

I agree, my fellow wave rider -- a conspiracy is a plot between two or more people. BCS Coordinator & SEC Commissioner Slive is just one person...

[cjwilhelmi]

I have finished the template for everyone to fill out for the Bowl Pick 'Em. If you are interested PM me with your email address and I will send it to you.

Maybe this should be its own thread? Benson can we sticky something like this?

[Beta]

I agree, my fellow wave rider -- a conspiracy is a plot between two or more people. BCS Coordinator & SEC Commissioner Slive is just one person...

I don't think the BCS Coordinator is the commander of the BCS...so much as he's the figurehead. I don't think you'll hear more noise about a playoff than in the southeast.

Was he the BCS commish when Auburn went undefeated and got screwed? That would be proof positive that he has very little, if any say in what is going on over in that nerd-factory of a college football bowl selection laboratory.

[Gvlax]

correct me if im wrong here but i was talking to this guy at the bar the other night about why Illinois got the nod rather than uofm and he said there is something about the rose bowl where if teams in the big 10 are tied in the conference the team that hasnt played in the bowl the longest gets to go. Now this could be completely false, just wondering if you guys knew for a fact if this is true or false? I like knowing things when they are true.

[StrykerFSU]

Now -- how did Missouri finish sixth in the BCS standings yet not get invited but Illinois finish 13th but get to be picking out shorts to wear to Rose Bowl media events? How did Missouri go into the final weekend of the regular season No. 1, lose to a very strong team in Oklahoma and get rejected by the BCS bowls, while West Virginia went into the final weekend No. 2, lost at home to 4-7 Pittsburgh, and the next day advanced to the Fiesta Bowl?

The explanation is that BCS rankings fix only the top two contenders; bowl committees still have some choice in the rest. The BCS standings formula changes pretty much annually -- this year, it averaged the USA Today poll of Division I-A football coaches, the Harris Interactive poll of these football worthies and a smorgasbord of computer polls. Ohio State and LSU finished first in that assessment and were assigned to the BCS finale. No committees or backroom arm-twisting were involved in the determination of the top two.

After that, bowl committees and arm-twisting came into play. This year, the Rose Bowl lost the Big Ten winner, Ohio State, to the top BCS game, but took USC automatically as the Pac-10 winner. The Sugar Bowl lost the SEC champ, LSU, to the top game and so had no commitments going into this year's bidding. A draft was arranged in which the Rose would go first, then the Sugar, then the Orange, then the Fiesta and then the Sugar again because it lost its automatic team. Before the draft, the bowl committees were told West Virginia and Hawaii had to be taken by someone. West Virginia is the Big East champion (which is why it lost to a weak team yet advanced and Missouri, 11-2 but not a conference champion, was shut out) and Hawaii was assured a berth as a mid-major that finished in the BCS top 12. The latter reflects the "Boise State rule," enacted to put at least one non-football-factory school into the prestige bowls. With these stipulations, bowl committees could choose anyone in the BCS top 25.

Here's how the draft went. First, the Rose Bowl picked Illinois, puzzling as the Illini are 9-3, but perhaps done to retain the bowl's traditional Pac-10/Big Ten smackdown. Next, the Sugar Bowl, with both its slots open, selected Georgia -- which made sense for the SEC-oriented Sugar because Georgia is the SEC's second-best team and is a nearby school with fans sure to descend in force and sell out the stadium. The Orange Bowl chose next, with Virginia Tech already in owing to its automatic bid as the ACC winner. Orange Bowl officials chose Kansas, seeming to feel -- I have no idea why -- that Virginia Tech-Kansas has more sex appeal than Virginia Tech-Missouri. Because the BCS rules say only two teams from the same conference can make the big bowls and because Oklahoma was an automatic entry in the Fiesta Bowl as the Big 12 champion, when the Orange Bowl committee tapped the Big 12's Kansas, the Big 12's Missouri was eliminated from the BCS. Then, the Fiesta Bowl chose, with Oklahoma already in the fold. At this point, only West Virginia (automatic as the Big East winner) and Hawaii (automatic under the "Boise State rule") were available to the Fiesta. Because these two teams had to make the BCS and only two bowl slots remained, the Fiesta could not consider Missouri, Arizona State, Boston College or Florida. The Fiesta chose West Virginia, which left Hawaii to fill the final opening, the second slot in the Sugar Bowl.

So Missouri finished sixth in the BCS rankings and was shut out, while USC, Kansas, West Virginia, Hawaii and Illinois, all ranked lower, got engraved invitations. But this happened in a perfectly straightforward manner according to published BCS rules with which all BCS schools voluntarily agreed. And the outcome is pretty decent for college football, even if you believe Missouri should have gone to the Orange rather than Kansas. (Mizzou beat Kansas head-to-head.) Had it not been for the two-from-a-conference limit and the "Boise State rule," Missouri would be in the BCS and Hawaii would be out. Then sports radio would be howling nonstop about the only undefeated Division I team not making the BCS. Plus, having Hawaii in the Sugar will be good for ratings and overall entertainment value. Complain about the BCS all you want, but the system is a lot more thoughtful and successful than critics let on -- unless you think it really would be practical to abolish the major bowls and have a 16-team postseason field.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/071204

[Jolly Roger]

just wondering if you guys knew for a fact if this is true or false?

This is true and if memory serves me correctly (no guarantees) the last time Illinois went to the rose bowl it was the result of the same policy.

One of the illini can correct me if I'm wrong on the second one....AJ, GrayBear?

[GrayBear]

You are correct sir, about the policy.

IIRC our last trip to Pasadena, in 1984 (where we got waxed by Rick Neuheisel and the UCLA Bruins), came on the heels of an outright B10 championship. The Illini are still the only B10 team to have beaten every other conference squad en route to that title (9-0).

That distinction will likely stand for the ages.

[StrykerFSU]

Rose Bowl. Unless ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the final BCS poll, the conference champion shall participate in the Rose Bowl. The championship shall be determined on the percentage basis of conference games (tie games counts ½ win and ½ loss). If there is a tie for the championship, the Rose Bowl representative will be determined as follows:

1. An ineligible team shall not be considered in the standings for determination of the conference representative.
2. If there is a tie for the championship, the winner of the game between these two teams shall represent the conference.
3. If there is still a tie for the championship, or if the tied teams did not play each other, the team that played more games against Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams shall be eliminated.
4. If there is still a tie, or if the tied teams did not play each other, or if both teams played the same number of games against an FCS team(s), the representative shall be determined on the percentage basis of all games played.
5. If there is still a tie, the most recent team earning BCS automatic selection shall be eliminated.

http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102204aad.html

[Beta]

This seems to define what is given if the BigTen finished with a tie for the champion. And that means that the rules no longer apply.

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't....

2. If there is a tie for the championship, the winner of the game between these two teams shall represent the conference.

..basically say "Michigan" since they beat Illinois in head to head matchup as the most relevant criteria...therefore proving that these rules don't apply?

[StrykerFSU]

I've got no answer for you. I was just trying to find the rule that substantiated what Graybear was saying.

[GrayBear]

There is no tie for the championship. OSU won.

I see what you're saying though, and it seems to make sense. My statement was based on past Conference practice (that may be outdated now, as am I) that dictated that the team with the most recent appearance would lose a tie. As for how it's done now, I guess I'm not sure.

[bste_lax]

Illinois got picked over Michigan because Michigan was not ranked in the Top 14 of the BCS.

At-Large Eligibility

If there are fewer than 10 automatic qualifiers, then the bowls will select at-large participants to fill the remaining berths. At at-large team is any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible and meets the following requirements:

A. Has won at least nine regular-season games, and
B. Is among the top 14 teams in the final BCS Standings.

No more than two teams from a conference may be selected, regardless of whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large selections.

http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/eligibility

[Beta]

Well it would appear that June Jones is officially whoring Brennan and is apparently an idiot.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=3145177

My favorite quote is:

Tim Tebow is in a system. … Colt Brennan plays in an NFL passing game. You can dial it up and see that it is not a system. Tim Tebow's system is a college system.

Thanks for the challenge June, I'll dial it up!

Hawaii's 2007 stats (Passes as % of total plays):
606 passing attempts, 261 rushing attempts (70%)

Florida's 2007 stats (12 games):
327 passing attempts, 455 rushing attempts (42%)

Texas Tech is undoubtedly a passing system, let's look:
694 passing attempts, 226 rushing attempts (75%)

Now let's look at the Patriots:
438 passing attempts, 356 rushing attempts (55%)

Or the Dallas Cowboys
382 passing attempts, 335 rushing attempts (53%)

Wow, using the highly touted mathematical theory of "subtracting stuff" I have determined that Hawaii is in fact more of a "passing system" than Florida is...considering they throw the ball 2/3 (66%) more than Florida does and Florida is closer using "dem mathermatics" compared to the best teams in the country for the NFL. (42%-70%)/42% = 66% in case you are bad at countin' and stuff.

Well, what are Colt Brennan's "amazing" stats we keep hearing so much about? Great question, glad you asked, let's look.

Brennan:
337/472 passing attempts (71%), 8.84 ypa, 38 TDs, 8 rushing TD's (46 total), 14 INTS, Sacked 22 times.

Tebow:
217/317 passing attempts (69%), 9.88 ypa, 29 TDs, 22 rushing TD's (51 total), 6 INTS, Sacked 12 times.

So Colt...in that stellar WAC blitz has been sacked 22 times..Tebow..in that legendarily bad SEC defense was sacked 12 times.

So Colt's passing % is 71% and Tebow's is 69%. Very true. Well surely Colt is airing it out and throwing farther passes than Tebow...oh wait. Tebow is averaging almost 10 yards per attempt, and Colt is almost 9. Damn.

Ok, well Colt has SHATTERED (lolz) all sorts of records, he prolly has 75 TD passes/rushed this year right? Nah nevermind, he has 46 and Tebow has 51.

Oh did I mention...Tebow has a higher QB rating? Most likely because he doesn't throw 14 INT's in a year.

Ok ok ok, let's use some hardcore simulation technology and figure out what Colt's stats would be if he threw the ball as many times as Tebow did and adjust the stats.


Completions, Attempts, Yards, %, YPA, TDs, INT
CB/ 245 343 3033 71.4 9.0 28 10
TT/ 235 343 3393 68.5 10. 31 7

"But wait!", you say...what would Tebow's stats look like if we reversed it to see what it'd be if Tebow threw as many passes as Colt:

Completions, Attempts, Yards, %, YPA, TDs, INT
CB/ 337 472 4174 71 9. 38 14
TT/ 323 472 4669 69 10 43 10



So if Colt threw Tebow's passes, Tebow has 3 more touchdowns and 3 less INTs? WEIRD!!! And if Tebow threw Colt's amount off passes, he'd have actually 5 more TDs and 4 less INTs! Did I mention that Florida played a much harder schedule than Hawaii? I don't think I've ever brought that up. Well just letting you guys know...they do.

Wow June, your argument about Colt Brennan being better than Tebow is about as rock-solid as your schedule this year.

::burn::