First and foremost, Happy New Year 2009 to all and I hope you all had a safe and fun New Year’s Eve as I know I had a blast.  With that being said, how about we jump back into the sports world shall we?

For all of us who woke up New Year’s Day after ringing in the New Year late into the evening, we all had one thing on our viewing schedule, that being the Rose Bowl that featured USC and Penn State.  It was a game that showcased the two best defensive teams in the nation, one of the best college coaches in college football history in Joe Paterno, another coach making quite a name for himself in Pete Carroll, and a game that is the granddaddy of them all in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.  It was a recipe for one of the better bowl games so far this post-season, one that was destined to be close all game long, a defensive struggle, a low scoring battle, the Big Ten vs the Pac 10, it couldn’t possibly be one-sided.  Well, it turned out to be everything but all the those things.

The two teams made it look interesting after one quarter, tied at 7, but USC decided they were done letting Penn State hang around and ran up twenty-four unanswered points in the second quarter to build a 31-7 halftime lead, meaning all of us that were watching this were bored by the Trojans making it look too easy.  Penn State would score 17 points in the second half to USC’s 7, but it was too little too late for the Nittany Lions as USC would win their third straight Rose Bowl 38-24, yes the score looked close but this game was anything but close.

USC outplayed Penn State on both sides of the ball, getting turnovers, interceptions, pressure on the quarterback, offensive production, slicing up the Penn State secondary all game long with precision passing by quarterback Mark Sanchez.  The day belonged to USC and while fans were still in the stands, watching the trophy ceremony, USC head coach Pete Carroll decided he was going to send a shot across the bow of both Oklahoma and Florida who I’m sure were watching.  Carroll was asked by ABC’s John Saunders how his team would matchup with either Oklahoam or Florida if they were the ones playing in the National Championship game to which Carroll responded, “with all due respect, those are two great programs, but I don’t think anybody can beat the Trojans this year.”  USC running back C.J. Gable was asked the same kind of question and he wasn’t shy with his answer, “we know we would crush Florida and Oklahoma, we know that.”  Are you listening Oklahoma?  Are you listening Florida?  USC just said you don’t stand a chance, will either team respond after the game, oh you best believe someone will.

With USC’s domination of Penn State, to go along with the Big Ten’s 1-5 record in post-season bowl games this season, the BCS just became another argument, the same argument that’s been made year in and year out.  When are we going to see a playoff system in College Football?  It’s the only sport that is decided by a computer and the only sport that doesn’t have a playoff system in place.  The fans want it, the players want it, heck even President-elect Barack Obama wants it, so what’s the holdup?  Wasn’t the BCS put in place because it would bring fans the best games that would put the best teams in the country against each other?  If that was the case, there would have never been an argument about who the best team in the country is after the National Championship game is played, but that hasn’t been the case since this system was installed.  Never will the arguments be stronger than this time around, the top 5 teams in the AP and Coaches polls all had 1 loss, all 5 teams had every right to argue their case for playing for the National Championship.

With all that being said, here’s my side of things, whether you want to hear it or not, though I’m sure opinions will differ.

Florida: 1 loss at home to unranked Mississippi 31-30

Oklahoma: 1 loss at a neutral site (Cotton Bowl) to Texas (ranked 5th at the time) 45-35

Texas: 1 loss on the road against Texas Tech (ranked 6th at the time) 39-33

Alabama: 1 loss on the road against Florida (ranked #2 at the time) 31-20

USC: 1 loss on the road at Oregon State (unranked at the time) 27-21

Ok, so let me get this straight…Florida gets to play for a National Championship after losing AT HOME to an unranked team in Mississippi, but USC is told they don’t belong after their loss to an unranked team in Oregon State?  How about Texas and Oklahoma?  Texas loses to a lower seeded team in Texas Tech (#6 at the time) while Oklahoma’s loss was also to a lower seeded team in Texas yet the Sooners are in?  Why is Alabama on the outside looking in, I think they may have the best case next to Texas.  Alabama’s lone loss was to #1 Florida, on the road, but they’re told Florida deserves it more after losing AT HOME to an unranked team? 

So, if you’re going to read all this and still argue that Florida and Oklahoma are the two best teams in the country, you better have a darn good reason for it.  I would much rather see Alabama and Texas than Florida and Oklahoma, I think Alabama is still the best team in the country and I think they’re going to prove it by trouncing all over Utah tonight in the Sugar Bowl, while Texas is gonna make a mockery of the BCS by beating up Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday.

Why is March Madness the most exciting tournament in sports?  Because anything can happen and anyone can win.  Win and you live to play another day, lose and watch the rest of the tournament from home.  What if college basketball decided to go to a BCS type system for their National Championship, would we be just as excited?  Any system that tells schools outside of the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Pac 10 (for the most part) and Big 12 that they don’t belong in or get a shot at the National Championship isn’t a system that should be in place.

Hey Florida, hey Oklahoma, you’ve been called out…anyone care to answer?

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