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BCSReform.org
Parity has arrived in college football and that is bad news for the BCS schools and conferences! The major factors / trends causing this parity follow:
1). Sharing of a Larger Pool of Quality Players – There are more, better college football – caliber players (due to nationwide improvement in high school football) to be shared by the 120 teams. The 85 scholarship limit per team has generally stopped high - profile BCS teams from stockpiling many blue chip players at every position. In past years, some BCS teams gave scholarships to players just to prevent other BCS teams from getting them (even though such players were not projected to play due to more talented players in front of them). The scholarship limit allows non – BCS teams, with limited, meager finances compared to rich BCS teams, to compete on a more level playing field. Most college football experts agree that there is little difference between the first team of many BCS and non – BCS teams; however, the BCS teams, generally, have greater depth. Accordingly, many non – BCS teams (and some Division 1 – AA / FCS teams as well) can compete on the field with BCS teams;
2). Proliferation of Televised Games / Exposure – With more games televised on more channels more often, even the players of non – BCS teams receive important regional / national exposure. Recruits nationwide know that their family and friends will be able to see many, if not all, of their games on television, regardless of which team / conference they represent. Games are available on the Internet as well;
3). Innovative Offenses – Innovative and creative offenses, like the Spread, enable smaller schools to recruit speed rather than size, which is harder to find. For example, Division 1 – AA / FCS team, Appalachian State beat number 5 ranked Michigan, 34 – 32, in the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan to open the 2007 season by forcing the bigger Wolverines to defend the entire field. Many consider that victory one of the greatest upsets in college football history (coined the “Miracle in Michigan”). It clearly demonstrated 2 important points – first, that highly ranked BCS Michigan was vastly overrated (as are many BCS teams), and, second, that even some Division 1 – AA / FCS teams like Appalachian State, Delaware, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, etc. have the talent and athletes to compete with and beat BCS schools (as do many non – BCS schools);
4). More Competitive Coaching Salaries – Many head coaches at successful non - BCS schools (e.g., Utah, Boise State, Fresno State, etc.) make $1 million per year. Of course, very successful coaches at non – BCS schools will always be enticed by the allure of BCS schools (e.g., Urban Meyer leaving non – BCS Utah for BCS Florida, Dan Hawkins going to BCS Colorado (from non – BCS Boise State), etc.). But other non – BCS coaches will stay at their schools and create football powers;
5). Greater Investment at Non – BCS Schools – Many non – BCS schools are making significant investments in their programs by hiring and retaining excellent coaches, expanding stadiums, building indoor practice / weight training facilities, etc.; and
6). Attitude of Today's College Football Student - Athlete – In today's instantaneous society, many players today have little patience – they want to play and do so soon. They don't want to sit on the bench for years behind upper classmen. The improvement of high school football nationwide has produced more quality players that are ready to play at a younger age. Many prefer to play sooner at a non – BCS school rather than sit on the bench at a BCS school.
NET RESULT OF THESE FACTORS / TRENDS: NON – BCS TEAMS (AND DIVISION 1 – AA / FCS TEAMS) BEATING BCS TEAMS - This year (as of November 17, 2008), the non – BCS conference, Mountain West Conference (MWC), has the best non – conference record of any conference (BCS conference or non – BCS conference) versus other BCS conference teams (and Notre Dame) at 9 - 5 (.643). The next 6 conference finishers are the ACC at 12 – 7 (.632), the Big East at 8 – 7 (.533), the Big 12 at 7 – 8 (.467), the Big 10 at 6 – 7 (.462), the SEC at 5 – 6 (.455), and the Pac – 10 at 5 – 8 (.385). In fact, the MWC currently has more teams ranked in the TOP 18 of the BCS standings (i.e., 3 teams, Utah at 6th, TCU at 14th, and BYU at 18th) than the Pac – 10 (i.e., 2 teams, USC at 5 th and Oregon State at 17 th ), the Big East (i.e., one team, Cincinnati at 16 th ), and the ACC (i.e., no team). For the first time in the BCS era, the non – BCS conferences have 5 teams in the TOP 18 of the BCS standings [i.e., Utah at 6th (MWC), Boise State at 9th (WAC), TCU at 14th (MWC), Ball State at 15th (MAC), and BYU at 18th (MWC)].
Top 10 BCS teams are being beaten weekly by unranked BCS and non – BCS teams!
Non – BCS Utah has a bowl record of 10 – 4 (.714), which is the highest winning percentage in the nation for teams that have played in at least 10 bowls. Utah's bowl victories include wins over BCS teams USC, West Virginia, Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Georgia Tech. Conversely, BCS Notre Dame has lost 9 consecutive bowl games since 1995 and has an overall bowl record of 13 – 15 (.464)!
More Division 1 – A / FBS teams (including BCS teams) are losing to Division 1 – AA / FCS teams each year! Last year, in the 2007 season, 10 Division 1 – AA / FCS teams (i.e., Appalachian St., Nicholls St., Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, New Hampshire, McNeese St., North Dakota St., North Dakota St. (who beat 2 Division 1 – A / FBS teams), and Delaware) beat Division 1 – A / FBS teams (i.e., Michigan, Rice, Northern Illinois, Iowa State, Marshall, Louisiana-Lafayette, Central Michigan, Minnesota, and Navy)!
PARITY HAS ARRIVED IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND WILL ONLY GROW STRONGER IN THE FUTURE! BCS' PREMISE OF VASTLY SUPERIOR TEAMS IS AN HISTORICAL MYTH! THE ONLY FAIR WAY TO DETERMINE WHICH TEAMS PLAY IN BCS BOWLS AND THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IS THROUGH AN INCLUSIVE PLAYOFF!
As TABLE 3 demonstrates, there are 33 “Tier 1” BCS teams that are generally ranked preseason and postseason each year and another 13 or so that are sometimes ranked. The remaining 20 or so BCS teams (i.e., 30%) really have no football tradition or pedigree. Certainly, non – BCS teams like Utah, Boise State, BYU, TCU, etc. have a much stronger football tradition and better results on the field over many years / decades than these BCS “weak sisters.” What have these 20 or so BCS teams done to deserve huge BCS advantages / revenues when they haven't earned such on the football playing field?Click here to see details of all 119 teams' preseason consensus / postseason rankings for 10 – year BCS era per TABLE 3: COMPARISON OF DIVISION 1 – A / FBS PRESEASON CONSENSUS RANKINGS AND POSTSEASON FOR TEN (10) BCS YEARS 1998 – 2007 (TABLE 3)
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