Our BCS Solution: Revisited

Remember a few weeks ago, when Tony and Tyler decided to tell the world about their perfect BCS solution? Remember the outcry about how bad the ACC and Big East were? Remember "How can Maryland possibly be a final four team?" Let's revisit that. All the teams we put in were guess-work. Now that the season is over, we have the pieces to our puzzle.

Remember: What we proposed was to take out the BCS National Championship Game. We would keep the other four BCS bowls. The four winners would then go on to play in a final four of sorts. All this would mean would be one extra game for two schools, two extra games for two schools, and a whole lot of money for both.

I am proposing one different idea, though. Right now, the Rose Bowl is tied to the Pac-10 and the Big-10. The Fiesta Bowl is tied to the Big 12 champion, the Sugar Bowl is tied to the SEC champion, the Orange Bowl the ACC champion. The other three teams are selected in order of Fiesta, Sugar and then Orange. The only requirement is that the Big East champion is somewhere in there. I propose changing that order, and not making it a set one. Change it so that there's a seeding process. Regardless of conference ranks, VT is obviously the worst (we can use the BCS average for this) out of themselves, Oklahoma and Florida. So give the Orange Bowl the first choice, and then the Sugar, and then the Fiesta. 

So, we're off.

No. 1 Bowl: Fiesta Bowl

(Oklahoma (Big 12 champion) vs. Cincinnati (last place BCS team))

vs.

No. 4 Bowl: Orange Bowl

(Virginia Tech (ACC champion) vs. Alabama (first place BCS team*))

No. 2 Bowl: Sugar Bowl

(Florida (SEC champion) vs. Texas (second place BCS team*))

vs.

No. 3 Bowl: Rose Bowl

(Penn State (Big 10 champion) vs. USC (Pac-10 champion))

*Texas would probably be selected first, but the Sugar and Orange Bowl would make an agreement so that SEC wouldn't play SEC.

So, conceivably, you would have a "final four" of Oklahoma vs. Alabama, the winner of which would play the winner of Florida vs. USC. If any of those four didn't make it, the team in their place would have beaten them, deserving to be there.

Questions?

Looking Back

With so many sports going on at once, how can you keep track of them all? You don't have to, but I will. Every Monday* I will look back and hit briefly upon the five story lines that stuck out from the previous weekend. *Editor's note: I know it's Tuesday, and this happened twice in a row. Forgive me. 

1. It's a shame that Texas Tech-Texas was on Saturday night, because I was not able to watch it. College students go out on Saturday nights. I was at a Halloween party. If this game was on a Saturday afternoon, I would have watched and most certainly enjoyed. But I digress.

What a terrific game with such enormous implications. In one amazing catch and run by Michael Crabtree (pictured), so many things happened at once that it is hard to believe. Instantly, all my gushing about Colt McCoy goes for naught; Graham Harrell one-upped him. Texas is now no longer a lock for the national championship; Texas Tech is now slated for the game with Alabama. If Texas Tech loses any more games, the Big 12 - by far the best conference in America - will probably be devoid of a team. 

2. The NBA season tipped off, and then people realized that they don't care about the NBA until March at least. Although one blockbuster deal already happened - Allen Iverson to the Pistons and Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Nuggets - you can tell by looking around arenas everywhere that even die-hard NBA fans don't care about their teams yet. Nonetheless, listen for a preview tomorrow.

3. Did baseball happen? I don't remember a season that was so quickly forgotten about before this one. The Phillies had their glory for two days, highlighted by Chase Utley's "World ____ing Champions" (warning: explicit content), and since then we haven't seen any "season in review" or anything like that. I suppose it was such an odd season that people didn't know how to revisit it, so they just didn't. Can't say I'm really upset.

4. These NFL happenings get me excited for the rest of the season:

- The AFC East race: Is Miami the best team that just happens to have the worst record?

- The NFC South race: Will either the Bucs or Falcons have enough to hang with the Panthers?

- The AFC North race: Can Baltimore continue to make Pittsburgh nervous?

- The NFC East race: Will the Giants lose enough to give the Eagles and Redskins a chance?

5. These NFL 

happenings I have already heard too much about it and will continue to:

- Rex Grossman has to play a few games because Kyle Orton is hurt.

- Derek Anderson (pictured) is terrible and Cleveland made a decision they should have made in Week 4.

- The Colts and the Jags are playing below expectations. They've been playing that way for 8 weeks and probably will continue to.

- Anything about the Cowboys

(Photo Credits: AP)