Seven Ways to Improve the Imperfect BCS

The BCS is a very imperfect system, that’s a definite. However, as much as every fan, including Barrack Obama, wants a playoff system, it won’t happen anytime soon. So, if we can tweak the system to give every team a fair shake as this process further evolves, at least we can remain intrigued with the college football season and the post-season play.

Not everyone of these ideas can all be influenced at the same time. However, hopefully some of these (especially the Top 3) concepts can find there way into the BCS system and help to put the best teams in their best possible fit by season’s end.

1. Eradicate Pre-season Top 25 until BCS Ratings are Due to Come Out.

No question, the worst part of the college football ranking process is the pre-season and early season rankings. What purpose do they serve?

I could go into a huge rant on why Top 25 rankings as a whole make little sense, especially earlier in the year. Teams like USC, Oklahoma, Notre Dam, Florida State, and California got pre-season help to start with the voters, and had a much longer stay in the Top 25 than they should have been (Oklahoma had a .500 record by Week 6 and was still in the Top 25.)

On the other side of that, TCU started at 18, Boise state at 14, and Cincinnati unranked, had a very tall mountain to climb to the BCS in the pre-season. By Week 4, all three were in the Top 11, with Virginia Tech, USC, Oklahoma, and Ohio State ahead of TCU and Cincinnati.

By holding off for these polls until the BCS poll comes out, voters can get a great idea of how talented these teams are and not base ANYTHING on the year before. The Top 25 poll rates THIS year’s team, not the fact that USC, Oklahoma, and others won a national title this many years ago.

The BCS is a very imperfect system, that’s a definite. However, as much as every fan, including Barrack Obama, wants a playoff system, it won’t happen anytime soon. So, if we can tweak the system to give every team a fair shake as this process further evolves, at least we can remain intrigued with the college football season and the post-season play.

2. Put Top Non-BCS Teams in Prime-Time Like MAC Schools during Week

I really have trouble understanding why the MAC conference gets games, starting around Week 5, in prime-time on ESPN during the week. The MAC has only one or two teams each year that are of noteworthy national attention.

However, using those slots to give smaller teams a chance to shine is a great idea. I think they should be used for the Central Michigan’s or the Temple’s, as well as the TCU’s, Boise State’s, Utah’s, and BYU’s. 

Boise State got the privilege of that game three times this year, but the schedulers should do a better job of getting these teams who suffer in the rankings due to lack of national attention onto the national scene.

3. BCS More Credit Towards Top Wins/Losses

This season, it would be hard to argue between TCU’s schedule and Texas’s schedule, especially in the better games. 

TCU won @Clemson, @Virginia, @Utah, and against BYU and Air Force.

Texas won against Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Nebraska. None of them away from home, and only Oklahoma State is likely to end the season in the Top 25.

If the BCS would give more credit towards the better games, the lackluster bottom of the Mountain West wouldn’t hurt TCU as much. Honestly, TCU would have beaten the bottom half of the Big 12, so in retrospect, they even each other out. 

TCU had a better schedule this year, yet Texas continuously got love from voters and the BCS because they play in the Big 12. TCU had a better schedule resume than Texas, and should have been treated as so.

4. Non-BCS Championship Game a Week after Season

This idea may be the least likely to happen, but to me it can settle things a lot better. By having the two top non-BCS contenders face off just after the season, there can be a “play-in” game for the last BCS slot. 

While I do like Boise State AND TCU in the BCS, what if TCU faced off with Boise State at season’s end? That would be a Top 5 win for the winner, a national spotlight game as big as the SEC title game, and a prime indicator of how good these non-BCS teams are.

In a way, it would be a conference championship for the 5 non-BCS bidding conferences to get that automatic bid. It at least would give the small schools another chance to shine in the spotlight.

5. Encourage BCS Schools to Play Top Non-BCS

Boise State has been doing their best to play non-BCS schools since their emergence. The question rises, however, of which team will take that shot. Who really wants to play a constant BCS buster to open the season or in the middle of conference play? Oregon tried it this year, and had one of their two losses of the year in a dominated loss to Boise State. 

By putting the game in prime-time and doing anything else to hype the game and give the BCS team credit, schools like Boise State and TCU and Utah can SHOW that they belong, and not just cry for it. 

TCU had a chance this year by scheduling Clemson and Virginia, while Boise State played Oregon, but that has to happen year in and year out and the Top 25 teams have to have reason to play these perennial “sleepers”.

6. Include Defensive and Offensive Rank in BCS

Not always a great indicating factor, as most of the top teams get their ranks boosted by their “cupcake” teams they play at least twice a year, offensive and defensive rankings should be considered.

Still, however, the fact that TCU was in the Top 10 in both total offense and total defense this year should count for something. The BCS should want very well rounded teams, not just 50 point offenses or a defense that forces 14-9 wins.

7. Required Conference Championship Game

This wouldn’t solve every problem, but it would give BCS schools another way to prove their dominance. We see, just like in this past championship weekend that inter-conference games late in the year prove a lot about a team.

Alabama is clearly better than anyone else in their conference. Texas isn’t much better than most of the lackluster Big 12 foes. Cincinnati is barely better than a 2 loss Pittsburgh team. Things kind of evened themselves out this year, but it shouldn’t be long until there’s a Big Ten, Pac-10, or Big East situation where a team ends the year untested to the fullest extent.

I’d even like to see the Mountain West, WAC, and Sun Belt play conference title games, as it provides a climax to the season to see if these teams can maintain their dominance throughout the season.