Pyle of List

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The plane rocks its cradle back and forth.  At 35,000 feet, the masses spend the long, 15 week flight dreaming of bowl games in Hawaii and Memphis.  UAB has been snoring for weeks, the Cardinals of Ball State mumble quietly to themselves, and the Idaho Vandals quietly read a magazine to themselves. 

But, not all are sleeping in coach, the Boise State Broncos feel stuffed in a chair, in need of beverage service, TCU wants a pillow.  Eventually, one of them will whip the seatbelt off their laps and work their way to the front of the plane, to see where their due perks have fled. 

As the curtain opens to first class, the NCAA elite start to ruffle their feathers.  “You can’t be up here” cries the Crimson Tide.  “Go back to the back of the plane where you belong” the Trojan demands.   The Gators are uneasy.  “Miss?  Oh, Miss?”

The BCS, dressed in her gender equal (and remarkably more unattractive) Navy slacks and bushy scarf nods to the Gators and bee-lines straight for the working class heroes at the entry way.  “I’m sorry, you can’t be up here.”  Why not?  I paid more than Cincinnati for my seat.”  Complains the Frog, the Bronco adds “Me too, and I know I paid more than that Irishman.”

Notre Dame, drunk on history served in 3 oz.  plastic cups wildly jumps from his seat, fist swinging in the air.  “You sonna bitch.”  He rants.  “How dare you?  I have a National following!”

The rest of first class tries its best to calm Notre Dame down.  BCS is in a loose panic.  She gently guides the coach passengers back into their proper cabin.  “Here’s what I can do.  I can let one of you in.”

“Okay who?” 

“I don’t know yet.  You have to fight for it.”

“Fight each other?” (This is where Boise State panics, after losing to TCU last year.)

BCS points to the sleeping cream puffs, comatose in their seats in coach.

“No.”  she says.  “You have to fight them.”

TCU protests.  “These are sleeping women and children.  Surely us beating them won’t prove anything.”

“You can’t just beat them.”  She replies.  “I want blood, and the most blood wins.”

She snaps the curtain shut and works her way through the elite to soothe them down.

“Everything is ok, she says, they’ll take care of it on their own.”

The Hokie reopens his paper mumbling to the Longhorn. “What ever happened to the separation of the Classes?”

 

It seems that every year we go through the same flight.  I’m not saying we need a playoff, or the BCS is BS.  We’ve beaten that horse to death several times.  My problem is that Utah, BYU, TCU, Houston, they are out of the race before the race begins.  It just doesn’t feel American to me.  I don’t want my college football to be Un-American.  I want it to be the most American sport in our fine country and, to make it more American, I propose we look at what Europe already does.

I am not going to waste 500 words on explaining what Champions League soccer is.  If you really want to know, Google.  All I am going to say is that there are so many pro soccer teams in Europe that it is unfathomable to have them all play each other all the time.  So, how do you solve that problem?  Soccer teams have been sorted out into tiers.  The Champion’s League is the best of the best of the best.  At the end of the season the four worst teams from the upper tier get bumped down, and the four best from the tier below them get moved up.  Is everybody caught up? Great. 

My rules are simple.  The best non-BCS team at the end of the season replaces the worst BCS team.  It’s that simple.  If Baylor doesn’t like getting bumped to the WAC, than Baylor need to pull them out of the WAC by proving they are better than UTEP the next season, after getting bumped.  I’m not going to waste words on the theory anymore, you get it.

A quick example would be that when Utah beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, they prove to be the best non-BCS last season.  If the George rule was in effect, they would have been placed into the Pac 10, and Washington would have been bumped down to the Mountain West, where they would be stuck in the same limbo Boise State has to deal with, until they can scratch to the top of the non-BCS mountain.

I know what you’re thinking.  I’m a genius and have fixed this minor glitch in a machine in strong need of a major overhaul.  Well, you’re welcome.

Now that the system is in place, let’s see who the candidates are:

BCS BOUND:

1.)TCU

Key Victories- Clemson, BYU

 Losses- N/A

Next Opp.- San Diego State.

San Diego State is a .500 team.  TCU won’t help their cause too much with a win, but losing would obviously bump them down the list.

2.)Boise State

Key Victories- Oregon

Losses- N/A

Next Opp.- Louisiana State

La State was a pseudo, non-BCS darling at the beginning of the season, but is not much of an opponent either.  Nothing Boise can do in this game will push them past TCU this week.

3.) Houston

Key Victories- Oklahoma State, Texas Tech

Losses- UTEP

Next Opp.- Tulsa

Tulsa kept Boise within a touchdown on national television a couple of weeks ago.  All Houston can do is play out the season, and hope for the worst for the Frogs and Broncos.

BCS BANISHED

1.) Washington State

Key Losses- Hawaii

Victories- SMU

Next Opp.- Arizona

Washington State is, without question, the current No. 1 in the BCS Banished poll.  Their only victory was against a turnaround SMU team who squandered a halftime lead, only to start the overtime with an interception to hand Washington State.  Although they are the only one win team in the poll, a win over a nationally ranked Arizona should drop them down the list.

2.) Vanderbilt

Key Losses- Mississippi State, Army

Victories- Western Carolina, Rice

Next Opp.- Florida

Vandy only has two wins.  One against a division II team, the other, a Rice team has yet to win a game.  They have been getting beat by a long list of ranked teams, but their victory resume will keep them in the hunt.  Obviously, beating the best team in the country would get them off the list, most likely for the season.

3.) Virginia

Key Losses- William & Mary, Duke

Victories- North Carolina, Indiana, Maryland

Next Opp. - Miami

Yes, Virginia has three wins.  But a loss to William & Mary should be enough to force Virginia to do something pretty amazing to get off the threat list.  A win against Miami should get them down, but not off.

In The Hunt- NC State, Maryland, Baylor, Colorado, Illinois, Purdue, Syracuse, Louisville.