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Sporting News, The, Dec 14, 1998 by Mark Blaudschun

Aside from Kansas State, the biggest loser Saturday was UCLA. The Bruins watched their hopes for an unbeaten season and the national championship vanish in the final 50 seconds of a wild 49-45 loss at Miami. The Bruins were as angry at themselves as they were at the circumstances that led to the defeat.

"I'm furious," guard Andy Meyers said. "Very angry. Very angry."

Meyers was pointing fingers at the UCLA defense, which looked defenseless all day. "If you can't stop them, you've got a serious problem," Meyers said. "And it's not coaching and it's not athletic. There's a heart problem. That's right. Things need to be said and I'll take the heat. I'm tired of babying things."

Whew. Sounds like the team banquet planned next week in Westwood might have to be staged in separate buildings. The 10-1 Bruins can point fingers at themselves with justification. Of the seven touchdown drives by Miami, none was shorter than 70 yards or took more than five minutes.

That defensive showing, as even UCLA coach Bob Toledo conceded, was not good enough to win and certainly not good enough to contend for a national championship. The Brains entered the game--which was being played after Hurricane Georges canceled the original meeting that was scheduled for September 26--with the 91st-ranked defense (406.8 yards per game) in the nation. Miami finished with 689 yards, as Edgerrin James ran 39 times for a school- and Big East-record 299 yards.

"You can only outscore your opponents so long," said Toledo, feeling the pain after watching a 38-21 third-quarter lead and, ultimately, the nation's longest winning streak (20 games) slip away.

"We just couldn't stop them. Our defense didn't play very well and, obviously, if you can't play good defense, you don't deserve to be a national champion."

The system works

After all that bashing of the Bowl Championship Series by the critics who said it was too complicated, we came down to a glorious day and night of football last Saturday. Great games, great drama, played out on the field instead of in someone's computer.

Oh, the BCS formula has flaws. You can argue that one-loss Ohio State deserved to go to the Fiesta Bowl to play 12-0 Tennessee instead of one-loss Florida State. Or that Kansas State and UCLA were penalized too harshly for late-season, last-minute losses. But that's the way it always has been in college football: arguments, debates and decisions made based upon what happens in meaningful season-ending games.

Look back to 1993. Notre Dame beat Florida State in a much-anticipated 1 vs. 2 game to vault to No. 1 in the polls. The Irish proceeded to lose to Boston College, which cost Notre Dame a chance at the national rifle.

Unfair? Probably, since Florida State--a team Notre Dame beat--went on to win the national championship by beating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. But that's the way the system works in college football. The rules didn't suddenly change. The understanding is that the later you lose in the season, the more it's going to hurt, which is probably why Ohio State is not playing Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl and Florida State is.

The Buckeyes lost in November--to Michigan State. The Seminoles lost in September--to North Carolina State. FSU had a chance to recover in the polls, Ohio State did not. Is Ohio State better than FSU? Maybe, but the Buckeyes knew what was at stake in November. You lose, you snooze.

As long as there is no playoff system, subjective decisions will be made. You may agree with them. You may not. I think Florida State deserves to be playing for the national championship along with Ohio State. But how can anyone deny Tennessee, which hats met every challenge?

So you make a choice between Ohio State and Florida State, and even Kansas State and UCLA. Which teams lost last? Kansas State and UCLA. So they're gone, despite the narrowness of their defeats. Those teams had their chance to get to the Fiesta Bowl. They controlled their own destiny. All they had to do was win. They didn't. And when you lose in December, you don't get a second chance.

Now we come down to Ohio State and Florida State. Again, Ohio State controlled its destiny. The Buckeyes were No. 1. All they had to do was win and they were locked into the Fiesta Bowl. They had a brain burp against Michigan State for about eight minutes. They lost. In November.

Which leaves Florida State. Sure, the Seminoles' loss to NC State was ugly. But it was in September. They recovered. They won the games they had to win, including the crucial game against Florida.

Go ahead, argue against it all you want. You may be right. But that does not matter. What matters is the system works. The BCS did its job. It put the best teams together in the national championship game. It made the last month of the regular season tingle with a playoff intensity, where each game became important, even mismatches like Tennessee-Kentucky a few weeks ago.

SEC commissioner Roy Kramer says the BCS will tinker with the formula during the next few months. More computer rankings probably will be added to the mix. Some other minor changes may be made. But for a first-time project, it worked well. College football not only survived with the BCS in place, it thrived.