NCAA Football 10 News Post

The BCS Quandary and How Video Games Can Help

12:11 PM - January 15, 2009 by RaychelSnr

There is a level of preferential treatment that certain universities receive because they bring a ton of revenue to the athletic programs via television. The Bowl Conference Championship Series exemplifies the emphasis on revenue and financial bottom lines.

The BCS system is in existence to guarantee many major conferences and regional sports networks (RSNs) television and media exposure in the multiple bowl games held at the end of the NCAA Division I football season.

The raw power of RSNs and sponsors drive mainstream sports in the U.S., and it is no different with the BCS Series. However, there is a spillover effect here: Institutions are competing to find success in any way they can to land a bowl game. This can challenge the integrity of the game, whether it is due to malpractice in recruiting or giving preferential treatment to football programs over other sports programs within an institution. In the case of the latter, this challenges Title IX sanctions in place to restrict such abuses of funding.

Read More - The BCS Quandary and How Video Games Can Help

Game: NCAA Football 10Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 61 - View All

NCAA Football 10 Videos

Member Comments

# 21 speedkills @ 01/16/09 06:08 AM

Playoffs? Are you kidding me? Playoffs? Playoffs??

College football has the best regular season in all of sports. Lose to an Appalachian State to open the season and you're toast. And the championship *was* decided on the field. USC lost the national championship on the field in Corvalis. Texas lost the national championship courtesy of Mr. Crabtree and Co.

Ok, so Utah didn't lose it on the field but .... too bad. Either get out of that 2nd rate conference or move down to the FCS divison and have your playoffs.

Look at the NFL this year. Both #1 seeds are gone in the divisional round. Home field advantage hasn't been a factor. A 9-7 team is hosting the NFC Championship. Are you telling me if the Cardinals and the Ravens meet in the superbowl they are the 2 best teams in the league?

Keep the BCS format.

# 22 davesandstorm @ 01/16/09 06:34 AM

I've always been in favor of the 16 team playoff, with the 11 conference champs in and the 5 best at-large teams in to fill it out.

Move Temple out of the MAC, make them an independent again, or expand conferences that are smaller to fill out.

Start play the same time you do now, last weekend in August and end the weekend before Thanksgiving. 12 weeks, you play EVERYONE in your conference. If you still have smaller conferences, IE Big East with only 8 teams, you fill out your 5 games with non-conference rivalry games. This allows all the schools to play non-conference rivalry games they may have. Florida-Florida State, Georgia-Georgia Tech, Notre Dame-USC, etc.

This system SHOULD eliminate the need for conference championships, because tie-breakers would be in place. Once in a blue moon, (see Texas-Texas Tech-Oklahoma) an issue might arise.

Playoffs begin the weekend of Thanksgiving, people are already off work most of the time anyways. Play 4 games Friday and 4 games Saturday, top seeds get the home field advantage, with the top 8 ranked conferences getting those slots no matter what.

National Championship game played on January 1st.

# 23 JeffHCross @ 01/16/09 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trick02


	Id like to see an option when starting your season if you want Bowl Games, And One, 16 team playoffs, 8 team playoffs. Could easily be done just like how baseball allows you to choose number of games.

Good idea, but the NCAA license prevents EA from giving us this option. One of the downsides to entities taking more control of their license than they have in the past.

# 24 rudyjuly2 @ 01/16/09 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedkills


	Playoffs? Are you kidding me? Playoffs? Playoffs?? College football has the best regular season in all of sports. Lose to an Appalachian State to open the season and you're toast. And the championship was decided on the field. USC lost the national championship on the field in Corvalis. Texas lost the national championship courtesy of Mr. Crabtree and Co. Ok, so Utah didn't lose it on the field but .... too bad. Either get out of that 2nd rate conference or move down to the FCS divison and have your playoffs. Look at the NFL this year. Both #1 seeds are gone in the divisional round. Home field advantage hasn't been a factor. A 9-7 team is hosting the NFC Championship. Are you telling me if the Cardinals and the Ravens meet in the superbowl they are the 2 best teams in the league? Keep the BCS format.

I agree. Everyone thinks playoffs are perfect but they reward the hot team more than the deserving team at times. Pittsburgh will have to beat Baltimore three times this year if they want to win it all. If they lose on Sunday, your champion could be a Wild Card team that went 1-2 against Pitt on the year. Not exactly a great stamp of approval.

# 25 youALREADYknow @ 01/16/09 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudyjuly2


	I agree. Everyone thinks playoffs are perfect but they reward the hot team more than the deserving team at times. Pittsburgh will have to beat Baltimore three times this year if they want to win it all. If they lose on Sunday, your champion could be a Wild Card team that went 1-2 against Pitt on the year. Not exactly a great stamp of approval.

Championships should be won on the field. Show me another professional (or even amateur) sport that does not have the champion crowned through a tournament.

If Baltimore beats Pittsburgh on the road, then they deserve to be in the Super Bowl. Home field advantage is what teams get for performing well in the regular season.

# 26 HokieB @ 01/16/09 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedkills


	Playoffs? Are you kidding me? Playoffs? Playoffs?? College football has the best regular season in all of sports. Lose to an Appalachian State to open the season and you're toast. And the championship was decided on the field. USC lost the national championship on the field in Corvalis. Texas lost the national championship courtesy of Mr. Crabtree and Co. Ok, so Utah didn't lose it on the field but .... too bad. Either get out of that 2nd rate conference or move down to the FCS divison and have your playoffs. Look at the NFL this year. Both #1 seeds are gone in the divisional round. Home field advantage hasn't been a factor. A 9-7 team is hosting the NFC Championship. Are you telling me if the Cardinals and the Ravens meet in the superbowl they are the 2 best teams in the league? Keep the BCS format.

And Oklahoma lost the National Championship to Texas in the Red River Shootout, and Florida lost the National Championship in the Swamp to Ole Miss... oh wait!

# 27 HokieB @ 01/16/09 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudyjuly2


	I agree. Everyone thinks playoffs are perfect but they reward the hot team more than the deserving team at times. Pittsburgh will have to beat Baltimore three times this year if they want to win it all. If they lose on Sunday, your champion could be a Wild Card team that went 1-2 against Pitt on the year. Not exactly a great stamp of approval.

I just don't understand these arguments in favor of the BCS.

Rewarding the hot team? That is solely what the BCS bases its decision on! Texas beat Oklahoma head to head and both teams ended up with one loss. But Texas lost later in the season, so Oklahoma was the "hotter" team. Had Texas lost to Texas Tech BEFORE beating Oklahoma, I guarantee Texas would have been in the NC.

Florida loses AT HOME to Ole Miss, and USC loses on THE ROAD to Oregon State, both teams end up with one loss, but USC lost later in the season and is punished.

And to suggest that a team that wins ON THE FIELD is undeserving because they just happen to be the hotter team is crazy talk

And to address the theory that a team with a crappy record could just get hot and win it all, if you have an 8-team playoff (top 8 teams in the BCS, no conference auto-bid) then it would be nearly imposible for a team with more than 2 losses to make it in.

BTW, this is my favorite debate in all of sports

# 28 jmik58 @ 01/16/09 01:15 PM

Congress has been working on an act of legislation (since last year I think) that would make it illegal for the words "National Championship" to be linked with any BCS bowl games.

It's a clever concept that says "create a playoff system" without literal application.

# 29 jmik58 @ 01/16/09 01:23 PM

A possible solution for a BCS Bowl-Playoff Hybrid

http://www.operationsports.com/jmik58/blog/

# 30 jmik58 @ 01/16/09 01:25 PM

Direct link: http://www.operationsports.com/jmik58/blog/1515-bcs-bowl-playoff-hybrid/

# 31 HokieB @ 01/16/09 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmik58


	Direct link: http://www.operationsports.com/jmik5...layoff-hybrid/

Okay, that is the BEST plan I have heard to date.

The best one I had heard previously had the lowest-seeded quarterfinal losers automatically playing each other in a 4th ranked BCS Bowl, but I think the Tier 3 "pool" is better. Your example with the Rose Bowl getting to chose their beloved Big 10-Pac 10 matchup is a perfect case.

Well done. Get this proposal in front of President Obama

# 32 Eski33 @ 01/16/09 02:28 PM

What makes zero sense is that Division II and Division III have a playoff. How are Division I players put under any more stress than those playing at the smaller schools?

Division II and III players go to class and have to follow the same NCAA regulations as those players in Division I. I don't care what the NCAA says, it is all about money, end of story.

And the kicker is that the television rights to a Division I playoff would come with a huge price tag.

I would like to see the following:

1) Have an eight-team playoff using the big bowls as the forum
OR
2) Have 1 vs 4; 2 vs 3 matchup then have a +1 BCS championship game

AND have the championship game played on a Saturday night...weekday championship games make zero sense because most people have to work and have to either record the game. It would be a great tradition to have a Super Saturday (so to speak) where the championship game is the event of the day....

# 33 Eski33 @ 01/16/09 02:37 PM

My biggest issue with the current system is that it is not who you lose to, it's when you lose.

If a top 10 team loses early then wins out, the perception is that they are the better team.

For example, if Texas Tech would have played OU before week #5 and lost, then won out including the win over Texas, they would have been rated higher and most likely have gone on to the Big 12 championship.

It is ridiculous that the timing of losses weighs more than the wins.

If you take the top eight ranked teams at the end of the year, they are most likely going to be the best teams to compete for a national title. No matter what, there will be arguments but there will be fewer arguments.

And I am not sold that all conference champs get into the playoff. If you have three teams from one conference with one loss, it is what it is. Cincinnati, although I am a fan, would not have made my playoff scenario because of three losses. Same goes for Va Tech....My top eight this year would have been (not in any order)

1) Florida
2) Oklahoma
3) Utah
4) Boise State
5) USC
6) Texas
7) Texas Tech
8) Penn State

If Ball State had won the MAC conference championship I would have put them in ahead of Texas Tech because an undefeated team from a smaller conference deserves a shot at the title....

It is hard to argue that a true champion would not have been crowned.

# 34 speedkills @ 01/16/09 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HokieB


	And Oklahoma lost the National Championship to Texas in the Red River Shootout, and Florida lost the National Championship in the Swamp to Ole Miss... oh wait!

Except both Texas and USC controlled their own destinies. If they both had gone undefeated they would've been in the national championship game - they have no one to blame but themselves.

# 35 Acedeck @ 01/17/09 01:34 AM

People can make whatever excuses they want for not wanting a playoff, but none of them make any sense. Playoffs are the *only* way to have a fair determination of a champion. Period.

# 36 speedkills @ 01/17/09 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acedeck


	People can make whatever excuses they want for not wanting a playoff, but none of them make any sense. Playoffs are the only* way to have a fair determination of a champion. Period.*

Once again ...

# 37 HokieB @ 01/17/09 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedkills


	Except both Texas and USC controlled their own destinies. If they both had gone undefeated they would've been in the national championship game - they have no one to blame but themselves.

Oh, so you're saying Utah should have played in the NC game then. That makes more sense.

Edit - My bad. I went back to your original post and see that Utah doesn't apply to the "control your own destiny" argument.

# 38 PittmanPla @ 01/18/09 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HokieB


	Oh, so you're saying Utah should have played in the NC game then. That makes more sense. Edit - My bad. I went back to your original post and see that Utah doesn't apply to the "control your own destiny" argument.

which is fail.. come on..
they ended #2... and undefeated... nearly the same thing with Boise a couple years ago and Utah in 04
being hot in a great conference > undefeated in a good conference, according to the BCS...
and incidentally, the MWC is being evaluated by the BCS to see if they deserve an auto bid, this was year 1 of 4 in the eval

# 39 krc1130 @ 01/19/09 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedkills


	Once again ...

Yeah but... then again the NFL HAS a playoff system in place so Jim Mora wasn't debating a playoff.

Ok but anyway... I don't find the problem being in when you lose decides your ranking. In College B-Ball this is the way it works.

Difference is that B-Ball has a tourney, one of the most popular sporting events. It makes TONS of money. It wouldn't be a big deal when you lost as long as you had an opportunity to redeem yourself.

« Previous 12Next »

More Links

The BCS Quandary and How Video Games Can Help