THE first BCS standings were released yesterday, which means it’s never too soon to speculate which teams (teams?) may get the shaft.
The early return suggests that if a team takes care of business, the BCS system will take care of it. Three of the nation’s six undefeated teams hold the top three spots.
Ohio State, despite playing a pedestrian schedule thus far, would play the University of South Florida, not the University of Southern California, if the championship game were today. That would be fitting because the 2007 season has had the same feel as the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament. Madness has reigned.
Consider this: A USF-Ohio State championship would pit one program that wasn’t in existence 12 years ago against another that is in its 117th year of football and claims seven national titles. Somewhere in that great IT room in the sky, Woody Hayes is Googling South Florida. Hayes won’t get any sympathy from Bo Schembechler, who like the rest of us, thought Ohio State was rebuilding this season.
Boston College (7-0), ranked second in both polls, would be the squad crying cyberfoul because the computers have as much appreciation for the Eagles (7-0) as Red Sox fans harbor for reliever Eric Gagne.
BC, coming off a 27-14 win at Notre Dame, is rated seventh by the geeks. The Eagles can write software the computers would download easily by running the table.
BC’s toughest games – beginning with its next opponent, at Virginia Tech on Oct. 25 – remain ahead.
If BC beats the Hokies, FSU, Maryland, Clemson and Miami, it’s inconceivable to think that wouldn’t put the Eagles in New Orleans. Which creates this irony: Boston College has to root for its former Big East Conference members to knock off South Florida. The Bulls, with wins at Auburn and over West Virginia, are a strong No. 2 behind Ohio State.
BC left the Big East for two reasons: finances and the prestige of being associated with a superconference. But the ACC is down this year, and even if the Eagles go undefeated, they could become the Auburn of the East.
Ohio State is about to begin its toughest stretch as well. The Buckeyes will have to win at Penn State and at rival Michigan. This could create this delicious story line: Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who owns Michigan, loses in Ann Arbor. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who has faced mounting criticism since winning the national title in 1997, could then retire with the last laugh.
South Florida will have the first chance to prove to the nation its ranking is no bull. The Bulls (6-0) play at Rutgers Thursday night. Frankly, it would be too much to ask for South Florida and BC to meet in the BCS title game.
The old Big East-ACC wounds would be re-opened. The game, hosted in New Orleans, smack dab in SEC territory, would leave the southern schools considering a BCS civil war. And the Big Ten and Pac-10 would pat themselves on the back for playing in a meaningless Rose Bowl.
That leaves one last intriguing storyline: Which BCS team wants to play Oklahoma to undefeated Hawaii’s Boise State?