# Does anyone actually like the BCS? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 4, 2011, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332 "2011-01-04T07:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/41 "2011-01-06T17:18:05Z")
It’s not a perfect system but I am dubious about having a playoff system. A four team playoff sounds great “Only one more game” but the problems is once these things get started, they never remain the same size and grow. The beauty and tension of the regular season gets lost. Look at basketball. The tournament is great but the regular season and the money-grubbing conference tournaments are largely meaningless. If a #1 and #3 play in other in basketball on February 12th, big deal. They may see each other in March Madness. But if it happens in football on October 31st, one team ill very likely be eliminated from championship contention. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/42 "2011-01-06T19:15:17Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > The BCS is better than previous alternatives at determining a “National Champion”. Of course that’s not the same thing as being better for college football. I for one couldn’t really care less who the “National Champion” is. It’s much more interesting to know who wins each conference and the BCS pretty much renders that moot, as would some silly playoff system. What if only the Conference Champions made it into the playoff? Picture 8 BCS conferences, each with at least 12 teams and a conference championship game. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/43 "2011-01-06T19:32:30Z")
> [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](#): > > Yes, I’m leaving out the TCU’s and Boise States of the world, but really…if those guys wanna’ play, they can get a schedule that isn’t subject to ridicule. Winning one or two big games a year does not equate to running the field through a conference with major competition nearly every week. > > So, while the BCS is a long way from perfect, it’s better than previous alternatives. I’m going to disagree with this statement. Top teams actively avoid playing mid-majors precisely because they are afraid of losing and having their ranking killed because of it. That is why top teams play either other top teams (a loss doesn’t hurt as much) or creampuffs (almost no chance of losing) but not the up and coming programs. I am sure that Boise State a couple years ago or BYU in the 80’s would have loved to play the SEC, Pac10, Big12, etc. teams but if you were a top team, why would you have wanted to take the chance to play an unranked team that could beat you? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/44 "2011-01-06T19:47:41Z")
> [@](#): > > BYU in the 80’s would have loved to play the SEC, Pac10, Big12, etc. BYU played Wisconsin, Colorado, Georgia, Baylor (twice), UCLA (twice), Pittsburgh (twice), Boston College, Washington , Texas (twice), Washington St during the 1980’s. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/45 "2011-01-07T16:33:13Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I love pro football and I’d like to at least watch the important games of college football, but I just can’t get into it. It seems so arbitrary and random to me. The dicksweat bowl featuring the #22 ranked team vs a girl’s school - what the hell is that? No idea. > > If there was some sort of playoffs, I’d watch the games because I like to watch sports played at their pinnacle, but hell if I know what that even is in college ball. Seems like random non-tiered bowls with random teams. Hey, the Dicksweat Bowl was a great game. I took the girl’s school +38 points and they lost 37-0, thanks to the other team’s kicker jerking one wide right on a PAT attempt in the closing seconds. Seriously though, the BCS is the stupidest system EVER! ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/46 "2011-01-07T16:37:00Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > It’s not a perfect system but I am dubious about having a playoff system. A four team playoff sounds great “Only one more game” but the problems is once these things get started, they never remain the same size and grow. The beauty and tension of the regular season gets lost. Look at basketball. The tournament is great but the regular season and the money-grubbing conference tournaments are largely meaningless. If a #1 and #3 play in other in basketball on February 12th, big deal. They may see each other in March Madness. But if it happens in football on October 31st, one team ill very likely be eliminated from championship contention. But who says they even have to increase the total # of games played? Play a reg season of 10-11 games, and have 12 teams make the tournament. Top 4 get byes, 5 thru 12 play in 1st round, etc… ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/47 "2011-01-07T16:44:11Z")
I for one couldn’t really care less who the “National Champion” is. It’s much more interesting to know who wins each conference and the BCS pretty much renders that moot, as would some silly playoff system. [/QUOTE] That’s an interesting viewpoint. I wonder if any NFL fans have a similar view: “I for one couldn’t really care less who wins the ‘Super Bowl.’ It’s much more interesting to know who wins each division.” Fine, but the Super Bowl gives us a Champion of the NFL–why would someone not care about that? Same thing in college football, at least for me. Although a conference championship is great, a national championship should mean so much more. While I may miss the SEC championship game, I don’t think I’d miss a true College Football Championship game. The Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event (Biggest Event, even?) in America every year, and if those jerkoffs in college football would get their act together, the REAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME might become 2nd Biggest. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/48 "2011-01-07T16:46:48Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > BYU played Wisconsin, Colorado, Georgia, Baylor (twice), UCLA (twice), Pittsburgh (twice), Boston College, Washington , Texas (twice), Washington St during the 1980’s. You may not be from Mensa, but you sure did your homework on BYU’s schedule. Interesting, but that’s only 14 games over a 10-year period, or 1.4 games per year. Teams like Auburn have to play 4-5 really tough SEC opponents EVERY YEAR. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/49 "2011-01-07T17:26:11Z")
> [@fjs1fs](#): > > You may not be from Mensa, but you sure did your homework on BYU’s schedule. Interesting, but that’s only 14 games over a 10-year period, or 1.4 games per year. Teams like Auburn have to play 4-5 really tough SEC opponents EVERY YEAR. there is a lot of good info here: > **[Welcome cfbdatawarehouse.com - BlueHost.com](http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/)** > > Bluehost - Top rated web hosting provider - Free 1 click installs For blogs, shopping carts, and more. Get a free domain name, real NON-outsourced 24/7 support, and superior speed. web hosting provider php hosting cheap web hosting, Web hosting,... Like most schools, BYU was part of a conference (BYU was in the WAC in the 80’s) who forced them to play 7 or so conference games. So 1 or 2 Big OOC games was the norm for most schools and a couple of cupcakes. FWIW, in the 80’s the SEC only played 6 out of 11 games in the conference. I was at Ga Tech in 1980 and we were in process of getting an ACC schedule, but still independent. That year, Ga Tech played Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Georgia from the SEC plus Notre Dame and North Carolina. On paper, the schedule that year has to be one of the toughest ever for not required opponents. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/50 "2011-01-08T20:21:04Z")
> **[BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT | BCS](https://www.bcs.org/)** > > BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, promotes wider social and economic progress through the advancement of information technology science and practice. BCS serve over 68,000 members including practitioners, businesses, academics and students, in the... It’s ok I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332/51 "2011-01-08T21:11:04Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > You could do an 8-team playoff, but at that point you’re almost certainly including teams that don’t belong in the discussion, and now you have 7 games, several of which probably aren’t of much interest to most people, particularly if only 2 or 3 teams seem to have a chance that year. I think any system where Auburn/Arkansas is the LEAST competitive game is probably going to get some people tuning in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-like-the-bcs/566332.md?page=2)