The BCS Is Working...Or Is It?

The BCS (i.e., Bowl Championship Series rankings system) is working this year...as of today. Right now it has the two best one- or no-loss teams ranked numbers one and two. Those two teams are Missouri and West Virginia. So if the season ended today the Tigers and the Mountaneers would battle it out in the National Championship (hereafter: NC). However, lurking right behind them is the not-so-good, one-loss team Ohio State, who hasn't played anyone of note minus Michigan, whom they barely beat, and Illinois, to whom they lost. The problem though is that Mizzou and WV still have games left (vs. Oklahoma and Pittsburgh respectively). So if one of them loses then Ohio State slides into the NC.

But what would happen if Oklahoma and Pittsburgh both pull off big upsets next weekend (which wouldn't be so weird this year, the Year of the Upset)? In that case Ohio State and a two-loss team (or perhaps one-loss Kansas) would play in the NC. But which two-loss team (and what about Kansas)?

The current number four is Georgia but their regular season is over...which means that their current resume would have to be good enough to withstand advances from behind. However, with some of the teams ranked lower than them playing quality teams, the possibility of Georgia getting leap-frogged is high. The same could be said of Kansas, who only has one loss, but the Jayhawks have only played one good team all season, Missouri, and they lost.

Next is Virginia Tech, who plays Boston College (another two-loss team) in the ACC Championship. If VT wins with some style against BC, then they could have a case to get into the NC over Georgia. Then comes LSU. They lost last week to Arkansas but could redeem themselves with a decisive victory over Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game. If that happens then LSU could have a rightful claim to a spot in the NC. The last of the real possibilities is Oklahoma, who plays Missouri in the Big-12 Championship game. If they win big, then perhaps they should get at shot at the NC.

What a muddled mess! So basically what I am saying is that for the BCS to not look completely inept and in need of replacement or serious revision, both Missouri and West Virginia cannot lose. One can go down and the BCS would survive...but if both of them lose then the crap will really hit the fan. It wouldn't matter who the BCS chose to play Ohio State, the majority of the country's football fans wouldn't agree.

So I guess how you might cheer in the upcoming weeks depends on how you view the BCS. If you like it, then you should root for Missouri and/or West Virginia to win. If you hate the BCS, then you should hope for both Missouri and WV to go down and then for chaos to ensue.

Personally, I think Oklahoma will beat Missouri and WV will beat the snot out of Pitt. That means the Ohio State and WV would play in the NC, a game that WV should win by at least seven.