The BCS Mess

What a season!

On the last day of the season, both #1 Missouri and #2 West Virginia lost. But that's no great surprise, given the kind of season it's been.

When the BCS rankings come out later today and the BCS Championship game is determined, how will it play out?

It is a given that Ohio State, which was ranked #3 going into this weekend, will rise to #1. They are 11-1, won the Big Ten championship, and have had the privilege of sitting around for a few weeks while everyone ranked above them has continued playing and losing.

I think that the Big 10, the Pac-10, and the Big East need to go to a two-division setup with a conference championship game like the SEC, ACC, and Big 12. It seems unfair that teams are penalized for losing in conference championship games while teams in other conferences don't have that hurdle to jump. Of course, no one forced the other three conferences to go to a championship game.

Anyway, Ohio State will be #1. The question is, who will be #2 and play the Buckeyes for the BCS title?

Will it be Georgia? The Bulldogs were #4 in the BCS rankings going into this final week of the season. Will they rise to #2? As a completely biased Georgia fan, I certainly hope so. I think that the Dawgs would beat Ohio State. But then I think that any of the teams that could conceivably make the title game will likely beat Ohio State.

Still, those commentators who question whether Georgia should be there have a point and this is it: Georgia did not win their conference championship. In fact, the Dawgs did not even play in the championship game. Technically, they are co-champions with Tennessee of the SEC East, but, because they lost to UT, the Vols went to the championship game. Other teams have played in the BCS Championship who did not win their conference, but a case can be made that it should not happen. I doubt that Georgia will be #2 today.

I suspect that LSU will jump the Bulldogs. The Tigers lost two games this year, both in triple overtime. They are the SEC champions. It would be hard to argue with the Bayou Bengals playing Ohio State.

Other possibilities are ACC champions Virginia Tech, Big 12 champs Oklahoma, and PAC-10 winners USC, but it looks like getting to #2 is too big a jump for all of them.

So, I say look for an Ohio State vs. LSU BCS Championship Game with the Tigers winning by at least two touchdowns.

So where will my Bulldogs go? They will probably play in the Sugar Bowl against the University of Hawaii. But I hope they go to the Rose Bowl to play Southern Cal. That would probably be the most entertaining bowl game of them all.