...there would be a lot of disappointed fans, eh? Not one game has been played and its already over!
Anyway, obviously, there will be no official BCS standings for weeks, and one of the two polls that comprise the BCS, the Harris Interactive poll, won't come out until nearly the end of September. This poll, which sounds fake anyway, can't generate a pre-season ranking? Also, why is Harris Interactive, a market research company, part of this anyway? Does their polling include asking desperate for money college students, "Would you rather buy new Fabreeze or position Oregon at number seven?"
So, the only component of the BCS standings available that I can use to project my fake tournament is the USA Today Coaches Poll. Based on this singular poll, (drumroll please), if the college season ended today, my college football tourney would be:
FIRST ROUND: (by the way, I am little jealous that the new 68 team hoops tourney is calling the new initial round of 4 games, "The First Four"; that would have been a perfect name for my tourney's first round!)
In Seattle: #8 Oklahoma (at-large) vs #9 Oregon (Pac-10 champ): As an automatic qualifier, Oregon gets the regional advantage. Because Oklahoma travels well, it will be played in Seattle and not Corvallis. In my tourney, Iowa beat Oregon in Seattle in last year's first round, so the Sooners will be licking their chops.
In Morgantown WV:#7 Texas Christian (at-large) vs #10 Pittsburgh (Big East champ): As an automatic qualifier, Pitt gets the regional advantage. But anti-BCS conference Congressmen will hold hearings asking why the Horned Frogs don't get regional advantage, just because Boise State (oops, did I give away the #5 seed) is the automatic qualifier from the non-BCS conferences.
BCS BOWLS (Quarterfinals)
Orange: #1 Alabama (SEC champ) vs Oklahoma/Oregon winner: Usually this would be the Sugar Bowl game, but I have a rule: teams cannot have more than one game in the tourney with home state advantage. So to keep Florida out of the Orange Bowl (because the semi-finals are in St Pete FL), the tourney had to do a little switcheroo. I am still mad that 1974 NC State won the hoops national championship (including a double overtime victory over 7-time defending champ UCLA) and played all their tourney games in the state of North Carolina.
Fiesta: #4 Texas (Big XII champ) vs #5 Boise State (non-BCS automatic qualifier): This would be a re-match of last year's semi-finals, in which BSU prevailed. Ooh Nellie, this will be good 'un as the Horns collide with the Broncos.
Rose: #2 Ohio State (Big Ten champ) vs TCU/Pittsburgh winner: After a year when the Pasadena fielded the very non-Rose Bowl match-up of Florida and TCU, at least the Big Ten is back, and all the scarlet shaded fans will return from OSU. But the return of TCU or an appearance by Pitt will not be optimal for the Rose folks.
Sugar: #3 Florida (at-large) vs #6 Virginia Tech (ACC champ): New Orleans loses Bama, but this isn't a bad little match-up, all it needs is a little love. But really, how is Bama going to finish #1 and Florida #3? Is it a season with no undefeateds and Florida wins the regular season and Bama the SEC championship re-match? It's odd that football seasons are getting longer, but we seem to see lots of undefeated teams (5 last season), so is this likely? Or does Florida lose twice to Bama in OT so they get the respect of #3?
Semi-finals in St Petersburg FL (Tropicana Field gets their first semis, but will they get them again? Their configuration for football is strange and doesn't seat too many. Plus I've got Jerry Jones banging on my door, calling me everyday, telling me that the semis need to be in Arlington TX every year. But, after last season in Syracuse, and the chances of both Alabama and Florida ending up here, national sportswriters and ticket brokers are just loving the idea of St Pete this January)
BCS Championship in Glendale Arizona
