I can't remember a season of college football that is destined to end as ugly as this one for the BCS. More or likely we're going to be in a situation where we're choosing from a handful of 1 loss teams to battle for the championship. Where things could get really dicey is if there are undefeated BCS conference teams being left out of the championship for a one loss team. It seems if Boston College, Ohio State, or South Florida were to run the table they would be ensured a chance to play for the championship due to their BCS positions at this point. More than likely all 3 of these teams will not remain undefeated this season. I would expect one of these teams to win out and compete for the championship, despite their difficult remaining schedules.
Where things really start to get interesting is if Arizona State or Kansas goes undefeated. Kansas has one of the easiest schedules in the country, but they haven't lost yet and are dominating the competition. They're remaining schedule does not include Texas, Texas Tech, or Oklahoma who are all arguably the top 3 teams in the Big 12 South. Kansas came into the season with little or no hype, and for good reason due last year's team. Mangino's squad has done everything they can this season to prove themselves as a championship caliber team. They've blown out every team they've faced coming into the Kansas State game, and then they beat KSU the week after the Wildcats knocked off Texas.
Why does this scenario sound so familiar? Because this is almost exactly the situation Auburn went through in 2004 when they cried foul for not making the championship despite going undefeated against a very weak schedule. The difference between the 2004 Auburn team and this year's Kansas team is more than likely Kansas would be jumped not by 2 undefeated teams, but by 1 or possibly 2 teams that have a loss on their record. As a supporter of the BCS system and as opponent of a playoff format, my argument to Auburn was for them to schedule a tougher out of conference schedule than Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, and the Citadel. If Kansas goes undefeated and gets trumped by a one loss team, I really don't know what to tell them. On the flip side, if by chance Kansas gets in over say a 1 loss LSU or Oklahoma team, my argument to them would be that you had your chance to get into the championship: Don't lose.
Heisman Race Update
Much like the national championship picture things remain cloudy on the Heisman trail. One guy who I feel is really starting to emerge from the pack is Mike Hart. Hart however much like every other candidate is in a game of survivor right now where one loss or one bad performance will likely end your Heisman chances. I would have no problem giving the trophy to Hart who has continuously throughout the season been the leader of the team and has put up huge performances. I have to think McFadden is out of the race at this point despite the thoughts of the Heisman Pundit. Tim Tebow and Andre Woodson could very well be playing this weekend for the top SEC representative in the Heisman running.
Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree are both blowing away others at their respective positions in terms of stats, but unfortunately they're going to receive a lot of the same treatment Colt Brennan got last season. What a lot of people who write off these guys as "system players" are overlooking is the statistical comparisons between their performances in the system vs. the performances of past players in the system. Last season Brennan's stats were overwhelmingly better than that of any past Hawaii quarterback. The same should be said thus far for the performances of Harrell and Crabtree this season. That being said, much like Brennan came into this season with a very realistic shot to take home the Heisman, Harrell and Crabtree should have the same opportunity next year to take home the trophy.
Other Tidbits
- Steve Pederson's departure at Nebraska has given hope to Husker nation that they can return to the national spotlight. With Tom Osbourne taking over the ropes, you better believe the new coaching search has begun. What will be interesting to see is if they can talk Bo Pelini into giving Nebraska another chance after their less than ideal separation a few years back.
- Dave Wannstedt's overtime play calling was unbelievably bad. With 3rd down at the 2 yard line Wannstedt decides to attempt 2 passes into the end zone including a fade pass on 4th down to win it when they were down 3 points to the Midshipmen. Pitt's running backs averaged over 5 yards per play during the game on 44 carries.
- USC seems to have lost a step this season after playing a very close game against a bad Arizona team. I wonder if Pete Carroll will finally start looking into NFL head coaching jobs, now that the magic of USC seems to have been lost at least for the time being.
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