Bob Davie announcer for ESPN/ ABC (and BCS proponent) is fond of saying “every week is a playoff.” In fact, he says it every broadcast. I’m not exaggerating. He really does say it EVERY SINGLE GAME HE CALLS. Well, how does he (or any BCS proponent) explain this season? We’re now facing a BCS Championship Game matching up a team that lost it’s last game (Ohio State) versus a team that didn’t win its conference’s championship (Georgia). That doesn’t sound like a playoff to me.
UPDATE: Whoops. How could I forget that the Buckeyes lost to Illinois, THEN beat Michigan? Sorry about that. All I can say in my defence is that I was trying to stay up to watch that dang Hawaii game, and parts of my brain had shut down. To those of you who sent me emails and comments, “ThankYouVeryMuch, ThankYouVeryMuch.”
I agree with you that it doesn’t sound like much of a championship matchup, but I also think that any talk of who is more “deserving” [than tOSU or UGA] to play in the [mythical] BCS title game is founded on the same bogus principles. That is, it’s all “you know what” until the game is actually played. Who foresaw PITT beating WVU?
For the record Ohio State lost to Illinois a week before they beat Michigan in their last game of the regular season. I personally hope that they get to play LSU or USC, but either way I’d rather have a true playoff system than a bunch of “games I’d like to see.”
Ohio State did win its last game (Michigan). And how is this not like a playoff. Unless, you’re idea for a playoff involves only conference champions (which I don’t think would happen, any playoff would probably allow at-large teams)then the likelihood of a team playing for the title without winning its conference would increase, as would the likelihood that a team with 2-3 losses could win the championship. LSU or Virginia Tech will probably jump UGA because the voters will want to put a conf. champ in the title game. So if you’re worried that a conference also-ran or a team that lost its (second to) last regular season game could win the title, the last thing you want is a playoff.
Anom,
My biggest worry is that pro-BCS-ites will rationalize the situation and still say stuff, “see, this system still works.” This year, there are no two teams that a majority of people would agree are the “best” and/ or “most deserving”. In a playoff, everyone agrees on the final two teams because a tournament structure mandates either advancement or elimination - something the regular season can’t do.