11/21/24
December 03, 2002
College Football Weekly Report
Fans of a national title game can say the BCS works: Miami, should it beat Virginia Tech this week, will play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Pretty much everyone else can make a case that the BCS doesn't work so well. (more inside)
I know a Big XII school an hour and a half on Highway 6 from College Station that had better be on the damn phone right now calling up R.C. He's much better than either a H.O.F. Linebacker that has never coached or a geriatric old-man who's glory days were in the 70's.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:45 AM on December 03, 2002
Whoever gets RC Slocum will be vastly improved overnight. Baylor would be foolish to turn down the chance to hire him. Make a note of it: Texas A&M will suffer greatly because of this firing. They will regret this!
posted by jasonbondshow at 11:42 AM on December 03, 2002
I agree. I know the folks at A&M are disappointed with a 6-6 record, but this is really bewildering. Nebraska went 7-5 and let three assistants go. I wonder if A&M asked Slocum to fire some assistants and he declined, or if it just went nuclear.
posted by thescoop at 12:09 PM on December 03, 2002
I have finally written down all of the problems I have with the BCS-bashing I hear. You can read it here. Patrick
posted by tallguy at 12:10 PM on December 03, 2002
Baylor would be foolish to turn down the chance to hire him. It's so true. Baylor is already lacking a head coach, their prospects are scarily scant, and they've already got a bit of a rivalry with A&M. This could push a lot of buttons that would make me, as a Bear Alum, quite pleased.
posted by Ufez Jones at 02:07 PM on December 03, 2002
Nice piece, Patrick. I think that people looking for a comprehensive solution from the BCS are bound to be disappointed. We'd like it to be tidy and result in perfect matchups all the time, but it won't be.
posted by thescoop at 03:17 PM on December 03, 2002
I also second thescoop's sentiment on Patrick's piece, though there is a difference in the controversy when the third team is left out of a "2-team" playoff, as opposed to the final team that doesn't get into a 16-team field. As for Slocum, how ridiculous this is depends on what A&M's goals are. If the boosters wanted a winning program, they already have a coach who gave them that without playing Division III teams. But if they wanted the Aggies to contend for a national title every so often, I'd agree that R.C. ain't your guy.
posted by jackhererra at 05:29 PM on December 03, 2002
This BCS thing is a mess. Iowa is the best team in the Big Ten. In a playoff system, they'd at least have a chance. No bias here, I'm a Wisconsin fan and hate the Hawkeyes.
posted by shackbar at 04:23 AM on December 04, 2002
shckbar, how can you blame the BCS for that? Even in a revised BCS with 8 teams it would be entirely possible that Iowa wouldn't make it because you would have to start with conference champions and Iowa has that one loss. It would really depend on the sentiment that the playoff designers went in with. With 8 teams you probably start with the 6 power-conference champs. Then you either reserve the final two spots for the best of the other conferences and independents or you open it up completely (in which case Iowa would probably make it). In this case I think it is the Big 10 that has dropped the ball. 11 teams isn't elegant, but they have to figure out something.
posted by tallguy at 07:28 AM on December 04, 2002
Who is the Big Ten champ then? Iowa or OSU--they have identical conference records. What are the tie breakers involved. In the pre-BCS days, I think Iowa would be the one going to the Rose Bowl (feel free to correct me here).
posted by trox at 08:12 AM on December 04, 2002
Shoot, why can't the Big Ten have a conference championship game like the Big XII?
posted by Ufez Jones at 08:45 AM on December 04, 2002
I don't think conference champions should have anything to do with a revised 8 team BCS. Just because you win your conference, like Florida State in the ACC, doesn't mean you deserve to go to a BCS bowl.
posted by corpse at 08:53 AM on December 04, 2002
i'm not complaining about the no 3 team getting left out of the title game. i'm complaining about the number 3 team getting left out of the BCS all together: 4 bowl games, 8 teams, and no number 3 because of conference championships and alignments and Notre Dame and rights and drawing power and the fact that numbers 2 and 3 come from the same conference. do we really want the BCS to have only one team per conference?
posted by Sean Meade at 09:44 AM on December 04, 2002
Iowa is in the BCS mix. Right now, Notre Dame is on the outside looking in.
posted by trox at 10:35 AM on December 04, 2002
Ohio State and Iowa are officially co-champions. But because the first tiebreaker is overall record, OSU is considered the Big Ten champ as far as the BCS is concerned, and would be going to the Rose Bowl back in the olden days of what, 2 years ago?
posted by pitchblende at 02:43 PM on December 05, 2002
Especially Georgia fans, who might see their team finish 12-1 and get to play an 8-5 Florida State squad in the Sugar Bowl. Golly. Iowa fans initially feared a BCS lockout, but it looks like they'll end up in the Rose Bowl should UCLA beat a Washington State team that may be without star QB Jason Gesser, and perhaps the Orange Bowl if WSU wins. Either one is nothing to sneeze at.
West Virginia, which notched its ninth win by beating Pitt, could get passed over for a Gator Bowl bid in favor of Notre Dame, who is, well, Notre Dame, even if USC did blow them out on national television Saturday to all but guarantee a BCS bid. If so, it shouldn't take anything away from the Mountaineers, who were 3-8 a year ago. Other bowl matchups are more fluid; the Alamo Bowl is still considering eight teams and watching this weekend's Big 12 championship (Oklahoma vs. Colorado) and the aforementioned UCLA-WSU game. Georgia plays Arkansas for the SEC title, but will anyone watch?
Wrapping up last week's games, Oklahoma can still beat everyone except Oklahoma State, which like USC learned a very valuable lesson: score early and often against the likes of the Sooners and the Irish. Texas, meanwhile, had to settle for ending R.C. Slocum's career at Texas A&M. Boy, he deserved it, too, being the school's all-time winningest coach and all. The Heisman race continues to be pronounced wide open, while other trophies begin narrowing the field.