Yes, once again this is where I ask the question: why is Miami in contention for the national championship? Why is Miami ranked #2 in the country by the BCS?
I mean, what a wimpy schedule this school has. It would be pretty easy for most Division I NCAA teams to romp to a 7-0 record to this point in the season with this schedule. Let’s break down the Hurricanes’ twelve games:
1. Louisiana Tech: a gimme game, and every big school has one or two of these. Heck, LSU is playing LaTech next week for homecoming.
2. Florida: a serious contender early in the season, and a game Miami struggled in, only winning by five points. A sure sign to yours truly that mighty Miami might not be ranked so highly if they played SEC- or Big 12-caliber teams each week, instead of those in the not-so Big East.
3. East Carolina: raise your hand if you’ve heard of East Carolina before. Yeah, Miami crushed them by 35.
4. Boston College: not really a championship contender in any year, they lost to the Hurricanes 33-14.
5. West Virginia: shockingly, Miami had trouble here as well, winning by only two points. West Virginia seems to be the shocker team of the year, knocking off national contender Virginia Tech last week.
6. Florida State: at least Miami plays both of the other Florida schools each year, and both of those have traditionally strong programs. But really, how hard is it to get your team up for two or three big games a year?
7. Temple: yes, that’s right, Temple is in the Big East. Now do you see why the BCS thinks Miami is deserving of #2 and a shot at the national title?
8. Virginia Tech: that game is today next week, and will be Miami’s big test pretty much for the rest of the season. Go VT.
Miami then faces Tennessee, which has disappointed this year, Syracuse, Rutgers, and Pittsburgh. None of the latter three are, or have been, serious contenders, and Miami will likely roll right over them, as they do every single year.
It appears Vanderbilt will be leaving the SEC after this season. Let’s bring in Miami, where they can face Tennessee every year, as well as powerhouses like Georgia, Auburn, Arkansas, and yes, since Nick Saban became the head coach, LSU. When Miami is consistently beating the likes of these teams, year after year after year, then I would certainly agree they deserve a national title shot.
Or slot them in to the Big 12 or Big 10, where they can go up against Oklahoma more frequently than the BCS national title bowl game, and play traditionally strong teams like Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Michigan, Ohio State, and more.
When Miami is in a conference where going undefeated really means something, then their contention for the national championship will really mean something. Until then, it is just a pathetic attempt to get two undefeateds in to a bowl game for the attention ratings of the football-watching nation.
Better yet, let’s dump the flawed, computer-generated BCS ranking system, and establish a playoff system based on the various bowl games. Every other major collegiate sport has a playoff system to determine a national champion. Why can’t football? Seems pretty easy: take your conference champions, plus a smattering of independents that have a minimum of two losses for that year, and mix it up. Spread the bowl games out over four weeks, instead of trying to pack them all in to two, and voila! A football playoff system for college athletics. Too bad no one in the NCAA is listening.
