OU-Virginia Tech not that attractive
Interesting soap opera on the failed BCS switch. The BCS tried to pit Oklahoma-Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, giving college football a 3-4 matchup instead of Virginia Tech-Kansas in the Orange and West Virginia-OU in the Fiesta.
It’s too bad the commissioners voted down the plan, but only bad for the precedent it could have set. The end result would have been little better than what we’ve got.
OU-VTech is really no better than OU-West Virginia. Yes, the Hokies finished third in the BCS rankings, but that was a bogus finish. For some reason, the computers loved Virginia Tech, but no one really put the Hokies ahead of Southern Cal or Georgia or even Missouri in prowess.
OU-Virginia Tech would have garnered no more national attention than OU-West Virginia. The idea that the OU-VTech winner, if impressive, could have mounted a national championship campaign over the Ohio State-LSU winner is silly. The Big Bowl champion will be the national champion, and that’s just the way it is.
Now, if we were talking about an OU-USC showdown, that’s a differerent story. Clearly the two best teams not in New Orleans are the Sooners and Trojans. That’s a game that might take a little shine off the Big Bowl. But no way was the Rose Bowl going to sign off on such a switch.
Truth is, OU got the better end of the status quo. The Fiesta Bowl is a far superior bowl to the Orange. Better organized. Better run. Better locale. Sorry, Miami, but Phoenix has you beat as a tourist destination.
The BCS jerryrigging is a grand idea. Some years it could really set up a better bowl schedule. This year was not one of them.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
Berry,
I’m curious about your comment that “The Fiesta Bowl is a far superior bowl to the Orange….. Sorry, Miami, but Phoenix has you beat as a tourist destination.”
Why do you think this–especially the latter part. I’m not disputing it, since I’ve never been to Phoenix, but I AM curious. Please explain sometime.
DJR
NHS ’79.
BCS = Bull Crap System.
What commisoners are voting? Conference commsioners or BCS commisoners?. I think this sets a bad precedent when the commisoners can set up whatever they want, when the want it.