BSU 45
HAW 28
Southern Cal is not entirely out of "sugar"..........
Posted on 12/06/2003 8:29:48 PM PST by Lunatic Fringe
Notre Dame and Hawaii both losing today hurt SC considerably.
Southern Cal is not entirely out of "sugar"..........
'night dc!
Last week, just about everything went wrong for LSU. This week, the breaks didn't go USC's way, and will likely cost the Trojans a spot in the national championship game.
| “ | USC's only remaining hope is to jump to No. 1 in both polls and have Oklahoma fall only to No. 2 in either poll. ” | |
| — Brad Edwards |
This, combined with Saturday's other results, will allow LSU to finish eight spots better than USC in schedule strength. LSU will now be able to overcome a one-point poll deficit to USC, as long as it leads the Trojans in at least six of the seven BCS computers (which should definitely happen).
USC's only remaining hope is to jump to No. 1 in both polls and have Oklahoma fall only to No. 2 in either poll. LSU can overcome a one-point poll deficit to USC, but the Tigers can't make up the difference if it is a point-and-a-half or more.
And the ultimate disaster scenario for the BCS still looms. If Oklahoma falls to No. 3 in both polls, and USC moves to No. 1, the Trojans will still fall to No. 3 in the BCS Standings. The founders of the BCS certainly realized this was mathematically possible, but it's doubtful they thought it could ever take place. Ready or not, here it comes!
Because the BCS computers are no longer allowed to consider margin of victory -- or in this case, margin of defeat -- the Sooners will remain the top-ranked team in the majority of these ratings, which will allow them to stay in the top two of the BCS. Whether LSU or USC gets the other spot in the Nokia Sugar Bowl is now in the hands of the voters. If either poll keeps Oklahoma between the Trojans and Tigers, then USC will get the nod. If both polls drop OU to No. 3, then top-ranked USC will find itself playing Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
This would be tough to swallow for Trojans fans, but it's not the end of the world. A win over No. 4 Michigan would likely make USC the national champion in the AP poll, even though the coaches will crown a different champ. The BCS was supposed to keep split polls from taking place anymore, but as we have come to know too well, the best-laid plans of the BCS often go awry.
Brad Edwards is a researcher for ESPN. His Road to the BCS column appears every Sunday.
Every other NCAA division does it in football with no problem, and many of those schools are far more rigorous in their academics. Every other NCAA sport does it, with no problem. With an 8 team playoff(4 BCS bowls on/around New Years, as usual) only 4 teams would have extra games.
Thanks for saying it first so I didn't have to.
It kills me that this bogus argument flies with so many people who are supposedly knowledgable and informed. Division II and III NCAA football players decide a national champion on the field in relative obscurity year after year after year, and rather being guaranteed a look-see in either the NFL or lower-grade professional leagues like the CFL, NFL Europe or the Arena League, Div II & III players have to actually rely on the education they received to make their way in the world.
Seriously, folks -- does anybody really think that Ohio State's Maurice Clarett or Andy Katzenmoyer would have been disadvantaged by another couple of weeks on the gridiron rather than in study hall? The muscleheads didn't belong in a university in the first place!
I am SO GLAD you brought up figure skating.
As I said in 2001, Figure Skating is more legitimate than Division 1-A NCAA football for this simple reason: in figure skating, all of the people who are voting have eyewitnessed each individual performance. That is impossible in college football.
Perfectly summarized. The only thing that would make the scenario sweeter is if LSU is the one that gets left out and thousands protest outside the SuperDome, burning the New York Times in effigy and possibly overturning the ABC broadcast truck.
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