Rose & Fiesta Bowls Prove BCS Got It Right

If we learned one thing from Monday’s Rose Bowl victory by Oregon, and Oklahoma State’s overtime victory in the Fiesta Bowl, we learned that the BCS got it right by matching LSU and Alabama in the Title game. Yeah, it ain’t fair, and it’s painful to say, but it’s true. The objective of the BCS is to match the two best teams in college football in a championship game. Mission accomplished.

Don’t tell me, “it’s not fair that LSU should have to beat the Tide twice to win a title.” You’re right, that’s not fair.  Is the answer to balancing that inequity to allow the Tigers a known lesser opponent in the Title game?  Is it fair to Alabama or LSU that they’re stuck in the toughest division in college football, and couldn’t skate through a regular season?

ESPN talking heads continued to devalue the networks credibility and integrity by propping up the candidacy of teams obviously inferior to the Tide and Tigers. For Brent “all the Tostitos” Musberger to claim that, “Oregon may have given LSU its toughest game of the year,” is absurd and factually inaccurate. How can you possibly compare a 13-point defeat (which required Oregon to score with :13 remaining to keep the beat down from being a 20-point LSU win) to a three-point victory in overtime?

For Oklahoma State, four missed field goals by Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson will allow the ‘Pokes to continue to run their mouths about being snubbed, but the Cowboy defense that cemented Andrew Luck’s status as the top pick in the 2012 NFL draft and finished the regular season 106^th in the nation in total defense, again highlighted why the Tide is more worthy.

For those that would have liked to see what the OSU offense could do against LSU, I must ask, how short is your memory?  How many more one-sided Title games do you need to see? The definition of insanity is repeat the same activity over and over expecting a different result.  How many times must an SEC team shut down a “high-flying, high-scoring” team before we decide, been there, done that?

Remember 2008 when Oklahoma came in to the BCS title game averaging 54 points a game? The Sooners entered the contest with the record for most points in a season, only to leave with 14 on the board in a loss to Florida.  Last year Oregon faced Auburn averaging 49 points a game. The Ducks managed 19 against the Tigers. Assuming a spread offense can continue to put up flag football like stats against an SEC team in a major bowl game is the definition of false hope. (Didn’t happen for A&M against LSU in last years’ Cotton Bowl, or Oklahoma State in ’10 Cotton, or  Texas Tech in the ’09 Cotton, or…)

The 9-6 LSU victory in overtime on November 5^th  in Tuscaloosa should be regarded as a testament to the nations 1^st (Alabama) and 2^nd (LSU) ranked defenses, not an indictment of the offenses.  The Tide averaged 36-points a game this year while LSU managed 38.

The BCS has always been about matching the two best teams, not the “fairest” match-up. This year, the Rose and Fiesta bowls proved the BCS got it right on both accounts.

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