New BCS, old Bowl Confusion System
The new Bowl Championship Series formula is creating the same old confusion.
While Southern California took the top spot in the reworked BCS standings’ debut Monday, look who’s second: Miami. The Hurricanes edged Oklahoma, a strong No. 2 behind USC in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Put in place after last season’s split national championship, this year’s stripped-down BCS formula relies more on the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls. The idea was to ensure that when there is a clear consensus on the top two in the polls – as USC and Oklahoma have been all season – the BCS standings would reflect it.
Instead, BCS officials again had to do some explaining.
“It’s obviously very early. It’s important that there not be an overreaction to this poll,” BCS coordinator and Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said, adding that when he saw Miami ahead of Oklahoma, “I was a little surprised, to tell you the truth.”
Weiberg noted that the top two teams in the first BCS standings of the season have never played in the system’s championship game.
“I’ve never really understood the BCS process,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “And at first look, this year’s updated process confuses me once again. I’m not sure how some of the other teams worked out to being where they are. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
The AP and coaches polls each count for one-third of a team’s total score under the new formula. The other third comes from six computer rankings, and that’s where Miami made up the difference over the Sooners. The Hurricanes are ranked fourth in the AP media poll and third in the coaches poll, but have the second-most points in the computer rankings. Oklahoma, the chief beneficiary of the old system last season, came out fifth in the computer rankings.
“Our philosophy is that the only thing we can control is how we play,” Miami coach Larry Coker said. “Because we have been named the No. 2 team in the first BCS standings, our job now is to respond and move forward.”
Last season, USC finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in both polls but third in the BCS standings – knocking it out of the BCS title game.
Oklahoma finished first in the BCS standings despite losing the Big 12 championship game and dropping to third in the major polls. The Sooners were beaten in the Sugar Bowl by LSU, which was voted No. 1 by the coaches. USC finished No. 1 in the AP poll.
Under the new system, LSU and USC would have met in the Sugar Bowl.
USC, No. 1 in each of the major polls all season, has a big lead in the BCS with a score of .9912 out of a possible 1.000.
Miami’s score is .9187, while Oklahoma’s is .9161. Auburn is fourth with .9036. Florida State, with one loss, is fifth, ahead of unbeatens Wisconsin and Utah.
Utah’s seventh-place showing is the best in a season-opening BCS standings for a team outside the six major conferences. It puts the Utes in position to become the first team from a mid-major conference to earn a bid to one of the four big-ticket BCS games.