Question for BYU and Utah fans.

[U-Ute]

Before the BCS, any team in Division I had a chance to win the mythical national championship.

Which is why the powers that be made the BCS.

[il Padrino Ute]

Which is why the powers that be made the BCS.

Exactly. And that is why the BCS has ruined college football.

[All-American]

BCS teams can have a legitimate beef with the BCS systems, too. Ask Oregon (2002), USC or LSU (2003), Auburn (2004), Kansas (2007), or Texas (2008) whether there's anything wrong with having only two teams compete for the national championship at the end of the regular season.

[Top Ute]

There is no way Utah would have gone to any bowl other than the Holiday Bowl had it gone undefeated in the 80s, as that was the bowl for the WAC champs. However, the odds of winning a MNC in the 80s were far greater for a non-BCS team in those days no matter the bowl they played in.

The only reason BYU went to the Cotton Bowl in '96 was because the Bowl Alliance screwed them over, the reason being that BYU was not in one of the self-proclaimed power conferences.

The BCS sucks. Always has and always will. Only a playoff that gives all Division I teams a chance to win that playoff will ever determine a true national champion.

BYU went to the Cotton because the WAC had a tie-in with the game, and because Texas stole BYU's spot by winning the Big 12 championship and taking away what should've been an at-large spot for BYU. Not because the Bowl Alliance screwed them over.

The standards weren't as clear in 1996 as they were in 1998-present, so you could blame the Bowl Alliance for that. But not for anything underhanded toward BYU. Blame Texas for BYU not getting that bid.

[Top Ute]

Exactly. And that is why the BCS has ruined college football.

So you must've really gritted your teeth at the end of the 2004 and 2008 seasons when Utah made its contributions to the ruination of college football.

[il Padrino Ute]

So you must've really gritted your teeth at the end of the 2004 and 2008 seasons when Utah made its contributions to the ruination of college football.

That the BCS threw a bone to Utah in '04 and '08 doesn't change the fact that a non-BCS team will ever get a chance to win the fake championship. That's the point I'm trying to make, but am apparently failing to do.

[Top Ute]

That the BCS threw a bone to Utah in '04 and '08 doesn't change the fact that a non-BCS team will ever get a chance to win the fake championship. That's the point I'm trying to make, but am apparently failing to do.

Threw us a bone? They've been playing the Sugar Bowl for nearly 80 years, and we got an opponent ranked in the Top 5 and was ranked No. 1 for nearly half the season. That was a fabulous opportunity for a school outside the traditional college football elite. We got more than a bone thrown to us that year. That we didn't win at least the AP national title was largely the fault of the brain-dead national press who bought into the delineation of BCS/non-BCS.

Fate conspired against us to give us a bad matchup in 2004, but no one will ever convince me there was a better team in America in 2008 than the University of Utah. If you need a playoff or the BCS to validate that for you, I can't help you. College football thrived without the BCS for 80 years prior to its development, and the game is more popular than ever. To say the BCS has contributed to the ruination of it is silly, especially since I know you're as big of a Utah fan as anyone, and has paid close attention to these developments, especially in 2004 and 2008.

[SeattleUte]

To some people it feels good to go through life feeling the victim; always whining and bleating. Their balm is the perpetual rationalization that you didn't get your due, that somebody is always taking advantage of you and stealing from your rice bowl.

Others prefer an outlook that life metes out rough justice. Even in times of disappointemnt they are compelled to find a reason why they made their own karma.

Whatever outlook you choose, in either case it's not necessarily reality, it's more a psychological outlook, a coping mechanism. But in the latter case, it's more a discipline, a means to self-improvement, grateful humility, a way to happiness whatever the outcome.

Personally, I think the BCS, the media, the Pac 10, whatever, have given the Utes their due. The Utes have been treated with rough justice, which is all you can ask for. (Personally, I feel the same about BYU and TCU.) It sickens me to see Ute fans still whining about getting screwed. It's like a disease or a bad habit. As a Ute fan, I can't think of anything more boring to discuss than how the BCS screws the little guy.

[il Padrino Ute]

Threw us a bone? They've been playing the Sugar Bowl for nearly 80 years, and we got an opponent ranked in the Top 5 and was ranked No. 1 for nearly half the season. That was a fabulous opportunity for a school outside the traditional college football elite. We got more than a bone thrown to us that year. That we didn't win at least the AP national title was largely the fault of the brain-dead national press who bought into the delineation of BCS/non-BCS.

Fate conspired against us to give us a bad matchup in 2004, but no one will ever convince me there was a better team in America in 2008 than the University of Utah. If you need a playoff or the BCS to validate that for you, I can't help you. College football thrived without the BCS for 80 years prior to its development, and the game is more popular than ever. To say the BCS has contributed to the ruination of it is silly, especially since I know you're as big of a Utah fan as anyone, and has paid close attention to these developments, especially in 2004 and 2008.

I think Utah had a legitimate claim as the best team in the country in '08, but it never got the chance to prove it because it was eliminated from contention before the season even started. With a playoff, the Utes could have had a chance to prove it. And if things were the way they used to be, with Utah being the only undefeated team in the country, they most likely would have been named the mythical champions.

Teams are eliminated from the start. That is why the BCS has ruined college football.

[SeattleUte]

I think Utah had a legitimate claim as the best team in the country in '08, but it never got the chance to prove it because it was eliminated from contention before the season even started. With a playoff, the Utes could have had a chance to prove it. And if things were the way they used to be, with Utah being the only undefeated team in the country, they most likely would have been named the mythical champions.

Teams are eliminated from the start. That is why the BCS has ruined college football.

It's really sad the 2008 football season seems to give you more pain than joy. You're hopeless. I bet you never thought the Pac 10 would ever invite the Utes.

[YOhio]

It's really sad the 2008 football season seems to give you more pain than joy. You're hopeless. I bet you never thought the Pac 10 would ever invite the Utes.

He is so hopeless!

[SeattleUte]

Here are the people who complain obsessively about no tournament:

1) A majority of Internet and TV sports journalists

2) Fans of a small handful of non-BCS schools

3) A few Ute fans like IPU and PortlandUte

Yeah, sometimes Whit has mentioned it (primarily as a non-BCS coach). But really not many people outside of these three groups are that passionate about a playoff. This is why there hasn't been one.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Here are the people who complain obsessively about no tournament:

1) A majority of Internet and TV sports journalists

2) Fans of a small handful of non-BCS schools

3) A few Ute fans like IPU and PortlandUte

Yeah, sometimes Whit has mentioned it (primarily as a non-BCS coach). But really not many people outside of these three groups are that passionate about a playoff. This is why there hasn't been one.

Wow. Sold your soul, just like that. What a shame.

As you probably know, polls have consistently shown a majority of fans in favor of a playoff.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/29/poll-college-football-pla_n_406579.html

The real reason we don't have one is because it would cause a shift in money and power. You know all this, of course.

I am embarrassed that I even responded. Please tell me you were trolling.

[Jeff Lebowski]

To some people it feels good to go through life feeling the victim; always whining and bleating. Their balm is the perpetual rationalization that you didn't get your due, that somebody is always taking advantage of you and stealing from your rice bowl.

Others prefer an outlook that life metes out rough justice. Even in times of disappointemnt they are compelled to find a reason why they made their own karma.

Whatever outlook you choose, in either case it's not necessarily reality, it's more a psychological outlook, a coping mechanism. But in the latter case, it's more a discipline, a means to self-improvement, grateful humility, a way to happiness whatever the outcome.

Personally, I think the BCS, the media, the Pac 10, whatever, have given the Utes their due. The Utes have been treated with rough justice, which is all you can ask for. (Personally, I feel the same about BYU and TCU.) It sickens me to see Ute fans still whining about getting screwed. It's like a disease or a bad habit. As a Ute fan, I can't think of anything more boring to discuss than how the BCS screws the little guy.

Nice spin.

This discussion is pointless in some ways. Yes, the BCS is better than what we had before. But that's not the point. The BCS is a gmmick designed to throw a bone to the anti-playoff movement while maintaining a firm grip on the power and money associated with the bowl system. It is not just the non-AQ schools getting screwed. The entire nation is getting screwed by not having a true playoff system. As a Texas fan, I would have much preferred to see the Longhorns in a playoff two years ago than play Ohio State in a BCS game. The BCS sucks.

Someday historians will look back on the D1 bowl system and marvel at how something so blatantly corrupt remained in power for so long.

[SeattleUte]

Wow. Sold your soul, just like that. What a shame.

As you probably know, polls have consistently shown a majority of fans in favor of a playoff.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/29/poll-college-football-pla_n_406579.html

The real reason we don't have one is because it would cause a shift in money and power. You know all this, of course.

I am embarrassed that I even responded. Please tell me you were trolling.

I don't think you'll find a word from me anywhere in favor of a playoff.

Since when do playoffs result in the best team being no. 1? I'm not being totally flip. There is something to be said about the way college football makes the regular season really count. I hate the idea of an 84 team NCAA basketball tournament.

My only point is that a playoff isn't going to make everyone happy either. There will still be plenty of bitching about who got left out, seeds, matchups, etc.

I'm not sure if a playoff is even workable, given the immensity of NCAA footaball. Either way, I'll roll with it. I don't think the lack of a football playoff is the crime of the century.

I'm not ashamed to say my feeling on this has to do with what's best for my schools. I don't know why this causes Ute fans anguish now.