Latest tweaks make BCS better

Sporting News, The, July 23, 2001 by Tom Dienhart

Give the powers-that-be who run the Bowl Championship Series some credit. They are trying to make the system better. Trying to make fans embrace it. Or at the least, hoping fans will accept it as more fair.

But it must be remembered Joe Tailgater understands just one thing. Make that two. No. 1: Never, ever serve ketchup with hot dogs. It's mustard or nothing. No. 2: The BCS isn't as good as a playoff. Of course, reality is that a playoff can't happen anytime soon because the BCS deal runs through the 2005 season.

I know. Compared with the Utopian idea of a playoff, the BCS looks like that kid without a prom date who thinks Saturday night is all right for Dungeons & Dragons. But this is what we're stuck with for now, so let's stop whining and start embracing the BCS.

The BCS formula was adopted in 1998 as a method to ensure that the top two teams play for the national championship. It has been tweaked along the way, including improvements announced last week. A quality-win component has been added to address head-to-head competition, and margin of victory will be de-emphasized.

The BCS recipe includes averages from eight computer ratings, averages from two subjective polls (ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press), a strength-of-schedule ranking and a penalty for losses. The before and after pictures might look the same, but the altered BCS formula deserves a new-and-improved label.

Under the new quality-win factor, teams that win regular-season games against schools ranked in the top 15 of the final BCS standings will be given bonus points. They will range from a high of 1.5 points for a victory against the No. 1 BCS team to a low of 0.1 for a victory vs. the 15th-ranked squad.

The purpose is to reward teams that play tough schedules and to factor in head-to-head competition. That was a central issue last season, when critics howled because Miami (Fla.) beat Florida State, and though each had one loss, FSU played Oklahoma for the national championship. Miami had to settle for the Sugar Bowl.

Had the new formula been in place last season, Miami, not FSU, would have played for the national title because of bonus points for wins over FSU and Virginia Tech, teams that ranked high in the final BCS standings. Instead, Miami finished No. 3 in the final BCS standings, .32 points behind Florida State.

The BCS folks also re-evaluated the computer polls they use, looking for ones that de-emphasize or ignore margin of victory. In its never-ending pursuit to find eight computer rankings it liked, the BCS combed every comic book shop and Lambda Lambda Lambda chapter house to find the best computer jockeys. Of the eight chosen, four don't factor margin of victory into calculations. The other four pay little heed to roughing up a runt.

That gurgling sound you hear comes from Virginia Tech. No school with legitimate national-title hopes figures to be affected by these tweaks more than the Hokies, TSN's preseason No. 6 team.

Besides their traditional battle with Virginia, the Hokies play nonconference games against Western Michigan, Connecticut and Central Florida. Aside from a game with Miami, there appear to be few bonus-points chances on this season's schedule.

The addition of bonus points will benefit schools that have scheduled aggressively. TSN preseason No. 2 Florida, which faces Florida State in nonleague play and Tennessee, LSU and South Carolina in the SEC, and No. 3 Miami, which plays nonleague foes Washington, Pittsburgh and FSU, are in good shape to score bonus points.

Although pocket protectors and shoulder pads still don't mix, Joe Tailgater should find time to sling his arm around his computer and give three cheers for the BCS. It never will be perfect, but it's getting better.

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Because schedule toughness is now more of a factor in the BCS formula, it's time to check out your team's future schedules. Most schools' schedules are set for the next two seasons or so, which means schools can't react immediately to this change. For instance, most of Oregon's schedule is filled through 2006, Miami (Fla.) is set through 2004, and Georgia Tech and Notre Dame have no vacancies through 2003.... Florida received a commitment in February from Ciatrick Fason, a 6-2, 205-pound running back rated by many analysts as the best in the nation. But that hasn't stopped Oklahoma from recruiting Fason, who plays for Fletcher High in Jacksonville. The Sooners' recruiter? None other than Steve Spurrier Jr., who recruited the Jacksonville area for Florida when he was a Gators assistant.... Penn State can expect an emotional lift when it opens the season September 1 at home against Miami. Adam Taliaferro, the freshman cornerback who was paralyzed last season after making a tackle against Ohio State, will lead the Nittany Lions onto the field. Taliaferro has beaten long odds to walk again, and he is continuing his education at Penn State. A book chronicling his experiences--Miracle in the Making--is due out later this summer.... How hungry are Oklahoma fans for the start of the season? Of the 300 people lined up at the Air Force ticket window last week on the first day single-game tickets went on sale, most were Sooners crazies. Phone lines also were jammed. OU fans were looking to cop ducats for the Sooners' trip September 1 to Colorado Springs, Colo. By early afternoon, the 5,000 tickets for sale had been snapped up.