Raising a Big Red Flag

The final bowl championship series ranking, released Sunday, capped an extraordinary regular season in college football, yet no doubt left many with a sinking feeling: What was the point?

Well, actually, it was all about points--enough to make your head spin.

The BCS system, created four years ago to help bring peace to a sport’s chaotic, non-playoff, bowl-driven championship format, instead ended up in pieces.

Two weeks after giving up a school-record 62 points in a 26-point loss to Colorado, Nebraska ended up winning the only numbers game that mattered--the BCS battle.

By a margin of 0.05, Nebraska held off Colorado for the coveted No. 2 BCS spot and will play top-ranked Miami in the Jan. 3 Rose Bowl, ending one of the greatest sporting comebacks involving a school that enjoyed consecutive off weeks.

The final BCS ranking, thanks undeniably to No. 2 Tennessee’s loss to Louisiana State on Saturday, stoked the football flames of controversy and raised questions about the BCS’ credibility.

First, the raw numbers: Miami, the only undefeated Division I-A school, finished first in the BCS with 2.62 points, followed by Nebraska at 7.23, Colorado at 7.28 and Oregon at 8.67 points.

Did Nebraska think its season was over after its Nov. 23 loss to Colorado?

“No,” an elated Nebraska Coach Frank Solich insisted, “we did not give up hope.”

Solich is either fibbing or has access to an incredible psychic.

All Nebraska needed to get back into the Rose Bowl race was post-Thanksgiving losses by Oklahoma, Texas, Florida and Tennessee and a lot of help from the BCS computers.

Nebraska (11-1) advanced to the Rose Bowl despite not winning its division of the Big 12 Conference, finishing fourth in both the coaches’ and writers’ polls and losing its last regular-season game by more than three touchdowns.

Nebraska will be the first school to play for the national title coming off a loss since the Associated Press started its poll in 1936.

Where is the outrage?

Just about everywhere, but you could start in Boulder, Colo., and Eugene, Ore.

Colorado, which finished 10-2, feels it deserved a Rose Bowl spot based on its blistering of Nebraska. The Buffaloes’ chances of catching Nebraska in the BCS appeared bleak entering the weekend, yet they nearly pulled it off thanks to some interesting maneuvering in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll.

One had only to get a visual of Colorado Coach Gary Barnett’s icy stare into BCS selection show cameras to understand where he stood on the issue.

Entering the weekend, the BCS top five was Miami, Tennessee, Nebraska, Colorado and Oregon.

A Tennessee victory would have muted much of the controversy.

“It would have been nicer if everything was simple, and everyone agreed who was No. 1 and No. 2,” said John Swofford, this year’s BCS coordinator. “Had Tennessee won last night, that would have been the case.”

When Tennessee lost to LSU in the Southeastern Conference title game, it figured everyone in the BCS rotation would move up and, sure enough, that’s what happened.

Yet, Nebraska’s 1.49-point lead over Colorado nearly evaporated despite the fact neither team played this weekend.

Why?

You have to assume the voting coaches felt guilty last week for still having Nebraska ranked ahead of Colorado. So, this week the coaches simply flopped Nebraska-Colorado in their ranking, which allowed the Buffaloes to pick up a half-point on Nebraska in the BCS.

How could the coaches make the change in a week when neither school played? Which coaches are responsible for make the switch?

Well, that is privileged information. Unlike the AP poll, the coaches poll is anonymous so there is no way to find out why this happened.

Swofford, who also is the Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner, said he could understand why the coaches might have a change of heart.

“Maybe they had the opportunity to reflect over the course of the season,” Swofford said Sunday. “I don’t think that’s a big concern for us.”

Colorado nearly made up the rest of its deficit in the BCS computers, which spit out different numbers because of Tennessee’s loss to LSU.

But it wasn’t quite enough to get to Pasadena.

What would have happened had Colorado and Nebraska ended up tied for the No. 2 spot?

“It was practically impossible for them to tie,” Swofford said.

Practically?

“If it’s not impossible, it’s the next thing to it,” he added.

Swofford presumed that had there been a tie, the Nebraska-Colorado Rose Bowl bid would have been decided by a vote of the BCS conference commissioners.

The controversy did not begin to end there.

What about the case for Oregon?

Thanks to Tennessee’s loss, Oregon moved to No. 2 in the writers’ and coaches’ polls yet was shut out of the Rose Bowl because the Ducks finished fourth in the BCS. Despite BCS claims that margin of victory should not be a significant factor in determining champions, Oregon was clearly hurt because it won too many close games in one of the nation’s most difficult conferences. Four of the BCS computers still give teams credit for blowout wins.

The BCS was created to help resolve differences between the polls and help bring a dispassionate component to determining the top two teams. In the BCS, the two polls are only 25% of the equation. The other components are the computers, strength of schedule and losses.

Yet, this year, the writers and coaches were in harmony with Miami as No. 1 and Oregon No. 2.

But those two schools won’t play for the title.

Instead, Oregon (10-1) will play Colorado in the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl, a very intriguing game that could end up determining the AP national champion.

If Oregon beats Colorado, and Nebraska upsets Miami, it stands to reason the AP would crown Oregon No. 1 given that it is the AP’s No. 2 team and would have defeated Colorado, the team that beat Nebraska. Asked about that possibility Sunday, Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington said: “Absolutely. That scenario’s gone through my head many times.”

The coaches’ poll?

Well, that’s a different animal. Although Oregon is also No. 2 in that poll, the coaches are contractually bound to award the Rose Bowl winner its share of the national title.

And what if Colorado beats Oregon and Miami loses in the Rose Bowl?

A compelling case could be made for the AP crowning Colorado.

“I think that’s OK,” Swofford said of the chance of a split national championship. “That’s another opportunity. I don’t think the BCS itself can really eliminate that possibility. The BCS reduces that possibility, but I don’t think you can eliminate that possibility.”

Both Swofford and Solich, Nebraska’s coach, were put on the defensive in a Sunday teleconference.

Solich said no matter how late or how badly his team lost to Colorado, it still finished 11-1.

“It’s still one loss,” Solich said. “Our feeling was, if people were going to step back and take a look at the entire season, we knew we’d have a chance.

“We’ve got a very proud program, as you might expect. We think we’ve had a very successful season.”

As for his team getting to the national title game without winning its conference, Solich compared it to a Cinderella team making a run in the NCAA basketball tournament.

Difference: Nebraska is no Cinderella and, unlike basketball, there is no playoff in football. Shouldn’t winning a major conference count more than not winning one?

Swofford was asked if the BCS thought controversy was good for the sport.

“If you’re asking me if the perception of chaos is good, I’m not buying into that,” he said. “Guess that depends on what you consider chaos.”

Swofford did not deny that weekend events might accelerate an eventual playoff in college football, although he reiterated the BCS format could not be altered until after its contract expires after the 2006 bowl season.