Trojans, Sooners for No. 1
Even in a year when college football’s No. 1- and 2-ranked teams remained that way from start to finish and will the play in the national championship, the Bowl Championship Series can’t escape scrutiny and controversy.
While No. 1 Southern California and No. 2 Oklahoma will play in the Orange Bowl, No. 3 Auburn, also unbeaten, will have to settle for the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech.
“It’s not a perfect system, and if it was, we’d all be happy today,” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said during ABC’s broadcast of the BCS pairings announcement.
California, despite being ranked No. 4 in both The Associated Press and The USA TODAY/Coaches polls, was overtaken in the BCS by Texas. The Longhorns will face Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
“We had our fingers crossed and I was hoping for the best situation for the kids,” California coach Jeff Tedford said. “I really believed that they deserved it. It was very unfortunate and they were very disappointed today.”
Then there’s Pittsburgh, 8-3 but champion of the Big East. It’ll play Utah, the first school from a non-BCS conference to qualify for a BCS game, in the Fiesta Bowl.
“No matter what system, a plus-one or a playoff game, there are going to be issues as far as who gets into that structure,” BCS coordinator Kevin Wieberg said.
This season’s BCS standings were more weighted toward the human polls with the computers a third element.
Choosing a No. 1 was so difficult for one coach in the coaches’ poll that he split his choice three ways between USC, Oklahoma and Auburn. Coaches’ votes in their poll are kept secret.
Auburn, ranked No. 17 in the preseason, climbed as high as tied for No. 2, despite having a strength of schedule that was stronger than the Sooners or Trojans.
Wieberg added BCS officials would like polls not released until October, but has been told that’s not likely to happen in the future.
USC coach Pete Carroll — whose team didn’t play in the national title game this past January but earned a No. 1 ranking in a split vote — was sympathetic. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he didn’t think he’d have a problem if his team and Auburn wound up sharing this season’s title if they each won their bowl games to finish 13-0.
“I don’t believe so,” he said. “I would imagine if Oklahoma or USC were in that situation, you feel you’d need to be a part of it. I don’t really know how to answer that. I probably would. I could see that sentiment.”
While Orange Bowl CEO Keith Tribble said any news — good or bad — is good for college football, he believes the Oklahoma-USC winner should be the undisputed national champ.
“I can’t speak for the various different polls out there, but if you have two undefeated teams who are No. 1 and 2 all year playing in the BCS for the national championships, the winner should be the national champ,” Tribble said. “I can’t stop the other polls and groups who believe their undefeated team should be No. 1, but as far as we’re concerned, we have a legitimate national championship game.”
At least Auburn is in the BCS. Despite going 10-1 and losing at USC 23-17, Cal was overtaken when Texas gained 12 points in the AP poll and 15 in the coaches’ poll while Cal lost 11 in the AP poll and 28 in the coaches’ poll.
“Watching TV last night at about 4, 4:45 this morning, it seemed like they were very apprehensive on TV that it may not work out,” Tedford said. “We were very cautious as we woke up and didn’t have my hopes up high. I don’t know how all of this works. We were still No. 4 in the coaches poll and AP poll and the computer kicks in.”
Texas coach Mack Brown, who thought his team got the raw end last season despite being No. 5 in the BCS, said the Golden Bears deserve to be in the BCS. “But I’ve watched every Rose Bowl Parade and every Rose Bowl game, and for a kid from Cooksville, Texas who never thought he’d be a part of that, it means a lot.”
Brown lobbied for his team, hoping to make the voters more aware of its accomplishments. USC and Cal winning closer-than-expected games and Texas’ foe Oklahoma rolling in the Big 12 title game also helped the Longhorns.
“Kids kept hearing, ‘Are you gonna be left out, are you gonna be left out,’ ” Brown said. “They asked me, ‘What do you think?’ and I said, ‘You play and win and I’ll stand up for you.’
“Coaches don’t pay as much attention at first in the middle of the year as they do at the end.”
Pittsburgh, which finished the season 8-3 and wrapped up its BCS bid after beating South Florida 43-14, earned criticism for its berth, but Wieberg said, “This system is built around taking conference champions plus we’ve had teams with that many losses almost every year.”