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Posted 12/08/2009 at 01:46 PM
We nearly had a major BCS crisis last week as Texas nonchalantly decided to run a final play in the Big XII title game before the final field goal attempt. Upon review an extra second was granted and it was probably the right call but had it been ruled the other way the Longhorns wouldn’t have had much of an argument. That play and the winning field goal that followed produced the championship match-up that most people wanted to see between two storied national programs. Amazingly five teams finished undefeated so there certainly can be some gripes but the gap between the #2 and the #3 spot in the final BCS standings was not close. Cincinnati did move into the #3 spot narrowly ahead of TCU with a miraculous comeback win of its own and had Nebraska pulled off the upset then we would have had some serious arguments being made for who deserved that #2 spot. It also would have likely knocked undefeated Boise State out of the BCS bowl picture.
The Boise State/TCU match-up in the Fiesta Bowl should be a great game to watch with two undefeated teams but it would have been more interesting to face those teams against BCS conference schools. The Horned Frogs and Broncos have played incredibly well all year in an effort to prove they can compete with the big boys in the college football landscape and now neither will get the chance. It does ensure that there will be at least two undefeated teams at the end of the season however and should one of those teams impressively dominate the other there could be some dissension in the voting like there was in support of Utah last season. Cincinnati also will have the opportunity to make its case as well by possibly finishing the year undefeated, distractions and coaching changes or not. So although the BCS bowl match-ups appear to have cleanly come together at the end of the year, at the end of the bowl season there will be no more satisfying of a result. There could still be plenty of ‘what if’ questions to ask.
Lost in all the close exciting games last week was the complete blowout that the biggest game of the day turned into as Alabama crushed the defending national champion Florida Gators. Had this been a tight game won on the final play like some of the other games with BCS spots on the line there might have been more support for bringing the loser into the championship picture but fortunately that possibility was quickly erased. While the NFL is well known for great turnover in terms of the annual division winners, only Cincinnati was a repeat champion in the six BCS conferences. Ohio State technically tied for the championship in the Big Ten last season and though there was just one repeat outright champion five teams will be making consecutive BCS bowl appearances with Florida, Alabama, and Texas getting back as well.
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