BCS is a joke, yet again

In what is becoming an annual rite of stupidity, the BCS will again muck up an otherwise beautiful college football landscape with a sham of a "national title" game. For the fourth time since the BCS was created (and third time in five seasons) there will be more than one unbeaten team after all the bowls are played. College football is the only sport played in America where that is even possible. Correction - the TOP division of college football is the only sport played in America where that is even possible.

The question is "WHY?" and like most things, the answer is "Money". It is very profitable for the bowl games themselves as well as the heads of the six BCS conferences. Unfortunately for the schools across Division I-A, it would be even MORE profitable to go to a simple playoff system. The reason they don't is this basic formula:

X Dollars generated by current system / 6 BCS Conferences and the Bowls

Namely, the 6 BCS conferences and the Bowls get all the money generated in this current system. If you assume that a playoff would generate the same revenue X (and I bet it would generate more) the formula switches to this:

X Dollars generated by playoff system / all conferences in Division I-A and the 15-20 bowl games that still get played

The BCS conferences and the 34 bowls themselves do not want to give up the stranglehold they have on all that money and let it be distributed more equally. And be honest, if you were them, you wouldn't want to either. But that's where fans, students and the member schools themselves ought to be able to step back and say "Listen, this needs to change and you are going to change it".

What has happened is that university presidents in the 6 BCS conferences have been told a scary bedtime story by the BCS machine. Behind closed doors they are told how the Playoff Boogeyman might not create as much money which could mean reduced budgets, lower headcount, etc. In reality, most of the schools who would qualify for a simple 4 or 8 team playoff are still going to be BCS schools so increased ratings and attendance (which again, I believe are almost certain to occur) would potentially translate into even MORE money for the member institutions. It would DEFINITELY mean more money for the smaller conference schools which for the most part get completely left out in the current deal, and it would help their recruiting "yes young man, it IS possible to play for a national title here at TCU". Put simply it's just more fair.

At least the ridiculous argument that we heard for so long of "do it for the student-athletes and their academics" has been exposed as fraudulent and we don't hear it anymore. Frankly the answer given these days by the BCS itself is quite simply "It's better than the old way of doing it". Well, the irony of that argument is that it can be used against the BCS by saying there's a better way of doing it now and yet it's not being done.

Here on TSF we've made several similar yet different arguments for a playoff system. They all center around either the top 8 teams in the BCS standings playing in a playoff or the 6 BCS conference champs and the top 2 rated teams from non-BCS conferences. Maybe all we'll get is the top 4 teams. But I would get behind ANY of those ideas over the current laughable system. I hold out hope that at some point in my lifetime college football will change to a fair system to determine a true national champion. When it does, we will look back at these days and laugh at how utterly ridiculous it was that for two years in a row in 2008 and 2009, there were two teams left undefeated at the end of the bowl season who didn't play each other and settle it all on the field.

Virginia Tech Returns to Atlanta

The Virginia Tech Hokies will face the Tennessee Volunteers in the Chick-fil-A (PEACH!) Bowl in Atlanta on New Years Eve. More to follow as the game gets closer...

TSF Poll (Week 14)

This weeks' poll is the second to last before the end of the regular season. The Army-Navy game was moved to the the second week of December this year. TSF has gotten it right all year. Alabama is the best team in the country. The Hokies come in at number 10 in the poll.

TSF Poll (Week 14)
#	TEAM	Points
1	Alabama (3)	75
2	Texas Christian	71
3	Texas	70
4	Cincinnati	65
5	Boise State	63
6	Florida	61
7	Oregon	56
8	Georgia Tech	55
9	Ohio State	46
10	Virginia Tech	44
11	Brigham Young	40
11	Iowa	40
11	Penn State	40
14	LSU	36
15	Nebraska	35
16	Miami	30
17	Pittsburgh	24
17	West Virginia	24
19	Oklahoma State	17
19	Stanford	17
19	Utah	17
22	Arizona	12
23	Central Michigan	8
24	East Carolina	7
24	Oregon State	7

EhhTee's Picks (Week 14)

One might say I should be crying for mercy at this point. Another subpar set of picks this week. Okay. One last shot before the bowl games. Maybe I can redeem myself.

Last Week's Results:

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Texas @ Texas A&M	Temple @ Ohio
Line: Texas -22.5	Line: Temple -3
Pick: Texas	Pick: Temple
Score: Texas 41 - A&M 17	Score: Temple 31 - Ohio 15
Actual: Texas 49 - TAMU 39	Actual: Temple 17 - Ohio 35
Nebraska @ Colorado	Alabama @ Auburn
Line: Nebraska -8	Line: Alabama -12
Pick: Nebraska	Pick: Auburn to cover
Score: Nebraska 27 - Colorado 10	Score: Alabama 35 - 28
Actual: Nebraska 28 - Col. 20	Actual: Alabama 26 - Aub 21
Clemson @ South Carolina	Florida St. @ Florida
Line: Clemson -2.5	Line: Florida -22.5
Pick: Clemson.	Pick: Florida State.
Score: Clemson 31 - USC 21	Score: FSU 35 - Florida 10.
Actual: Clemson 17 - USC 34	Actual: FSU 10 - UF 37
Georgia @ Georgia Tech	This Week (Overall)
Line: Georgia Tech -7	Line: 2-5 (38-53)
Pick: Georgia Tech	Picks: 3-4 (56-36)
Score: UGA 0 - GT 28
Actual: UGA 30 - GT 24

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This week's Picks:

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Alabama vs. Florida
Line: Florida -5

This is it. The game we've been waiting for all season. Quite frankly this might be the national championship game in itself. I'd be contradicting myself if I didn't say Alabama will absolutely crush Florida in this game.

Pick: Alabama
Score: Alabama 42 - Florida 13

Nebraska vs. Texas
Line: Texas -14

I really wouldn't want to face Mr. Suh this time of year. The Nebraska defense is firing on all cylinders. Can the Nebraska offense play well enough to win this game?

No but Nebraska beats the spread.

Pick: Nebraska
Score: Nebraska 17 - Texas 24

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh
Line: Even (O/U 57.5)

They're calling this even so I'll bet the O/U here. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have two potent offenses. As we saw in the Illinois game Cincy's been struggling on defense.

Pick: Over
Score: Cincy 45 - Pittsburgh 37

Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
Line: Georgia Tech -1

Almost a pick-em. Both teams disappointed the ACC by losing to two very poor SEC teams. (Georgia may be our opponent in the Chic-Fil-A (PEACH!!) Bowl). I'll be very angry if Clemson wins because GT is clearly the better team and the better team to represent the ACC in the BCS.

Pick: GT
Score: GT 31 - Clem 24

Houston vs. East Carolina
Line: Houston -1

Not a lot of choices here but add neutral site and the fact that ECU fans are a little bit looney (in a good way) and will go anywhere.

Pick: ECU
Score: Houston 14 - ECU 35

West Virginia @ Rutgers
Line: WVU -2.5

Rutgers has already lost to lowly Syracuse. WVU is coming off a huge win against Pittsburgh. Rutgers only based on home field.

Pick: RU
Score: WVU 21 - RU 24

New Mexico St. @ Boise St.
Line: Boise St 46.5

Boise goes undefeated. Totally screws up BCS. We wish.

Pick: NMSU (Only because the line is so ridiculous)
Score: NMSU 13 - Boise 52

Numbers Mean A Lot In The Commonwealth

2,555. It will be 2,555 days of consecutive Virginia Tech possession of the Commonwealth Cup until the University of Virginia can make an attempt to win it. Also, three. Three straight senior Cavalier classes have never beaten Virginia Tech... Awesome.

The Hokies soundly defeated the Cavaliers Saturday 42-13. However, if you were watching the game, you would not have been able to predict that result at half time. This game was, quite frankly, the ultimate summary of the 2009 Virginia Tech season.

The first half summarized the two Tech losses, outside of the Alabama game, as well as most of the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Save for two amazing plays from Tyrod Taylor, Nebraska should have won that game.

The first drive against the Wahoos was full of highs and lows on defense. The Hokies would contain to bring up third down multiple times on the first drive. But, the Hokies would fail to contain the run on these third downs and allowed Virginia to drive seventy-three yards mostly on the ground behind the effort of quarterback Jameel Sewell. Sewell capped the drive with a 15-yard third down run into the end zone. The Hokies were able to force the Cavs into three third downs on the drive but could not stop them on any of these.

The offense came back firing as Taylor hit Danny Coale twice on the drive for big gains of 41 and 36 yards. Coale's ability to catch these passes demonstrated some excellent hands from what most would ordinarily call a possession receiver. Coale would end up with 135 yards on six catches. Freshman Ryan Williams would punch it in to tie the game. Williams would end up with 185 yards rushing in the game including an amazing four touchdowns.

But I digress. The defense would continue to struggle against the run the rest of the first half. Virginia had runs of 16 and 26 yards on its way to going up with a 33 yard field goal. With this game, and the run of Georgia Tech's Josh Nesbitt, it's pretty obvious that one of this year's defensive squad's major weakness is covering the mobile quarterback.

The teams would settle in for a couple of unproductive drives until a bad punt gave the Hokies position inside Virginia territory. The Hokies would capitalize with another Williams touchdown run, this time from 20 yards out.

Another pair of unproductive possessions, but the Hokies' possession did get down into Virginia territory. Taylor began the drive with a 38-yard toss to Dyrell Roberts.

The Cavs would capitalize with a field goal and that would bring the score to within one at 14-13. It was at this point my Cav friends began taunting... It's also the time, per GobblerCountry's reminder, I began drinking heavily.

The Hokies were showing some of the characteristics of the team as it played in October. I will say this as I rewatched the game. I loved the play of the offensive line, including in the first half. It's going to be tough to replace the likes of guard Sergio Render, tight end Greg Boone, and fullback Kenny Jefferson. These guys have been the pride of the pass protection and run blocking. Even Ed Wang, who at times can be frustrating to watch, had a stellar game protecting and blocking for Williams.

Tech's struggle to contain Sewell continued briefly to start the third quarter. He picked up another 29 yards on his first play after the half. He would end up with 129 yards rushing, 101 of which were in the first half. Sewell would also go 12-22 for 120 yards.

However, after that huge run, Sewell could be labeled absolutely contained. Sewell would not have a positive yard rushing, including two sacks, the rest of the game. Sewell would be forced to throw the ball more as Tech continued to rack up points.

The Hokies would eventually explode offensively starting late in the third quarter. They score four more touchdowns, three of which came from Williams. The other came with a David Wilson run of 10 yards late in the fourth quarter as the Hokies began playing everyone who took the bus ride up 81.

Moreover, the Hokies would shutout the Cavaliers in the second half, fully containing Sewell to minimal gains mostly through the air.

The Hokies will go on to a mid-major bowl game -- the likes of the Peach Bowl or Gator Bowl. The Cavaliers are going home for the holidays for the second straight year. And Al Groh? Well the folks at DontFireAlGroh.com will have to retire the domain name.

3 Key Plays - VT vs. UVa

First of all, before I get into 3 Key Plays, let's all have a moment of silence for UVa (former) coach Al Groh. He was a key component in the Hokies' dominance of this bitter rivalry and for that, around here at TSF, he'll be missed.....................

OK, that said, those of you clamoring for ACC and national titles, let me tell you to pause for a second and appreciate how great a feeling it is to beat your rival. I absolutely cannot STAND UVa and beating them as badly as the Hokies did in the 2nd half on Saturday just brings such joy to my heart that it's tough to put into words. Now on to the plays:

1) The Hokies tried to shoot themselves in the foot REPEATEDLY on the offense's opening drive, already down 7-0 to a fired-up Cavalier team who had introduced a completely new wrinkle on their first series - a rushing QB Jameel Sewell. But WR Danny Coale and QB Tyrod Taylor just wouldn't accept it. Holding penalty negates a great kickoff return? No problem. Holding on Ed Wang sets up a 3rd and 17 at midfield? We got it. On this play, Taylor took a deep drop and fired a beautiful 36 yard bomb to Coale who beat All-ACC corner Ras-I-Dowling for the 2ND TIME on the drive and outplayed him to bring down the ball. Consider the game without this play - an already close game at halftime could have been a big lead for the hated Wahoos. Instead it put the Hokies inside the 20 and RB Ryan Williams pounded it in from there to tie the game and put it on its true course.

2) The Hokie offense was just showing signs of life in the 3rd quarter when Taylor was picked off in the end zone (first INT in 111 attempts, wow) to kill a drive. UVa was only down 14-13 at this point in the game and took over on their own 20 seemingly capturing the momentum at a critical point where the outcome was still in the balance. The key play here was on their first play from scrimmage after the pick - a run by Cavalier RB Mikell Simpson who got absolutely DESTROYED by FS Kam Chancellor. Chancellor has admittedly not had the season one would have hoped but he's a more natural rover/strong safety and he's at free safety. But he really popped Simpson and not only did his hit light a fire up and down the Hokie sideline, it also obviously got into Simpson's head a little as well. On the next play Simpson was the target of an option pitch and he glanced up to see where Chancellor was which caused him to mis-handle the pitch from Sewell. Sure enough, Chancellor scooped up the loose ball and nearly scored with it. The Hokies would go on to run off 28 straight points to end the game following this sequence and it all started with Chancellor bringing the lumber after a Hokie turnover. To date this season, the Hokies have not allowed a single TD off of a turnover. That is REDONKULOUS my friends.

3) At the 12:50 mark in the 4th quarter, the Al Groh era at UVa unofficially came to an end with the Cavaliers down 28-13 (two scores) and facing a 4th and 7 at the 45 yd-line. Instead of going for it and making a full effort at winning the game with almost a quarter of football left, Groh packed it in and punted the ball. I've actually seen Coach Beamer do this once before (against FSU in the 2005 ACC Championship Game) and it sickened me so much, I still got a little twinge of that feeling in my stomach when I saw Groh send on the punt unit. I hate losing, don't get me wrong, but there's something even worse about giving up on the outcome when there's still a chance to win. I knew at that moment that Groh had resigned himself to both the outcome of the game and his coaching career at UVa.

EhhTee's Picks (Week 13)

Last Week:

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Maryland @ Florida St.	N. Carolina @ B. College
Line: Florida St. -17	Line: BC -3.5
Pick: Maryland to cover	Pick: Boston College
Score: UMD 17 - FSU 24	Score: UNC 21 - BC 27
Actual: UMD 26 - FSU 29	Actual: UNC 31 - BC 13
Ohio State @ Michigan	Kansas @ Texas
Line; Ohio St. -12	Line: Texas -27
Pick: Michigan is a stunner.	Pick: Texas
Score: OSU 28 - Michigan 31	Score: KU 10 - Texas 52
Actual: OSU 21 - Michigan 10	Actual: KU 13 - Texas 41
Oregon @ Arizona	Cal @ Stanford
Line: Oregon -5	Line: Stanford -7
Pick: Oregon	Pick: Stanford
Score: Oregon 41 - Arizona 35	Score: Cal 24 - Stanford 41
Actual: Oregon 44 - Arizona 41	Actual: Cal 34 - Stanford 28
Kansas St. @ Nebraska	This Week (Overall)
Line: Nebraska -15	Line: 3-4 (36-48)
Pick: Nebraska	Picks: 4-3 (53-32)
Score: KSU 19 - Nebraska 36
Actual: KSU 3 - Nebraska 17

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This Week's Picks:

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Texas @ Texas A&M
Line: Texas -22.5

TAMU hasn't had the greatest of seasons and Texas has been rolling over it's mediocre teams.

Pick: Texas
Score: Texas 41 - A&M 17

Temple @ Ohio
Line: Temple -3

Temple can finish the regular season with ten wins. It would be the first time EVER!

Pick: Temple
Score: Temple 31 - Ohio 15

Nebraska @ Colorado
Line: Nebraska -8

Nebraska has come on strong and will be quite an opponent for the Longhorns next week.

Pick: Nebraska
Score: Nebraska 27 - Colorado 10

Alabama @ Auburn
Line: Alabama -12

Alabama will be looking to Florida and in-state rivalries are always closer than talent dictates.

Pick: Auburn to cover
Score: Alabama 35 - 28

Clemson @ South Carolina
Line: Clemson -2.5

See above. South Carolina will keep this close, but Clemson finally sheds its soft image.

Pick: Clemson.
Score: Clemson 31 - USC 21

Upset Special

Florida St. @ Florida
Line: Florida -22.5

Florida St. is still a hard team to read which makes them dangerous. Florida is drastically overrated.

Pick: Florida State.
Score: FSU 35 - Florida 10.

Shutout Special

Georgia @ Georgia Tech

Line: Georgia Tech -7

Georgia Tech wants and needs to show that they're a legit team and 11-1 will definitely go a long way to that. Georgia is just terrible this year.

Pick: Georgia Tech
Score: UGA 0 - GT 28