With the anticipation of the initial BCS standings peaking, I wanted to post another entry as it has we have seen roughly half the season completed. We have been amazed by the Denard Robinson and Taylor Martinez show, we are left wondering how Florida and Texas can fall so far despite being told they rake in 4 and 5 star recruits year after year, and there is a new sheriff in town in the Pac 10. Alabama suffered their first regular season loss in over 2 years to a very physical South Carolina team as we saw the Mark Ingram-Trent Richardson show come to a screeching halt and Greg McElroy forget how to throw the ball away. One would think that this would open up the door for Boise State a little bit but, if the coaches' poll is any indication, that door has only closed further.
How Boise State, with a clearly more difficult schedule to this point than Ohio State, does not gain any ground on the Buckeyes is a mystery to the human race. Say what you want about Virginia Tech losing to JMU and Oregon State's record, but Boise St has done their part to this point to be neck and neck with Oregon. Coaches, get your head out of your ass. Or, better yet, let's figure out another way to include a poll. I understand the logic of the coaches' poll, but it is not realistic, and everyone knows it. We give them a vote because they have football minds and should be able to tell which teams are better than the other. They should be able to do that better than anyone, and they probably can, but they don't. And they shouldn't. I'm fine with that. I don't want my coach spending time studying film of teams other than the ones on our schedule. We need to take away their vote because it is not an educated or accurate one. Please!
Having 2 polls as 2/3rd of the BCS standings and the computer polls as 1/3rd of the standings is a good mix. The Harris Poll may have its flaws but that can be addressed at another time. Why must we continue with the facade of the coaches' poll? There is absolutely no accountability to these polls. We literally have no idea who is casting these votes. Some people say that it could be a Sports Information Director within the Athletic Department, I'm sure at some places it may be a Graduate Assistant of some sort, and maybe, just maybe, the actual Head Coach is casting the vote. But we have no idea, and there is no way to find out. They could literally be tossing darts at a dartboard at night with a blindfold on and we have no clue. There is no statement or reasoning as to why one team is ranked above another. We certainly don't give them time to analyze and digest all the games. The BCS rankings are going to be announced on Sunday nights. How in the world are coaches, or anyone for that matter, supposed to watch games of the 30-35 teams that have a chance of receiving votes each week? It is close to mathematically impossible.
I love the BCS and think that the theory of it is sound, but the execution can use some tweaks. The most glaring and egregious error is the coaches' poll. We need to fix it. The AP poll took withdrew their vote from the BCS rankings because their intent is the report the news, not create it. I get that. But we need reporters and beat writers and journalists who cover the sport nationally to voice their opinion because it is the most valuable. And don't make them announce it on Sunday evening. That sort of time frame is ridiculous. On any given week, the first game is usually no earlier than Wednesday (sometimes Tuesday as the season goes on), but just make it a rule that the vote has to be in before the next week's first game. No need for it to be any earlier. I know the media wants to get the votes and polls posted ASAP so people will read it online, but the anticipation will drive more readers. Anticipation has a funny way of increasing desire in anything. We are determining who is going to play in the national championship game. Millions of dollars are at stake. No need to rush a decision like that.
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