Let's Talk BCS

The purpose of the BCS ranking system is to aggregately rank, from an array of statistics, the 25 best college football teams in the nation, ultimately arriving at the top two teams that will play for the national championship.

The BCS point system is computed as an average of three primary components: the Harris Interactive poll, the USA coaches poll, and a combination of six computer polls.

The Harris poll consists of 113 voters, each entitled to vote for how he or she believes the top 25 should be ranked. A #1 ranking counts for 25 points, a #2 ranking 24 points, and so on. Therefore, the total points possible for the Harris poll (113 x 25) is 2825.

So to calculate the Harris portion of the BCS formula, we take the point total accumulated from all 113 voters and divide that by the total points possible, yielding a percentange.

The USA coaches poll is calculated in the same manner. There are 62 total coaches voting, meaning the total points possible for the USA coaches poll is 1550. We divide the point total accumulated by each team, divide it by the point total, giving us a second percentage.

For the third and final portion of the BCS formula, we use six different computer polls: the Jeff Anderson-Chris Hester, the Richard Billingsley, the Wes Colley, the Kenneth Massey, the Jeff Sagarin, and the Peter Wolfe. To fully understand how each computer poll works would be absurd and unnecessary, but we do know that each poll factors, for the most part, the same statistics (strength of schedule is considered, margin of victory is not).

After all six computer polls are calculated, the highest and lowest are discarded, and the remaining four are averaged, giving us a third percentage. The Harris average, coaches average, and computer average are then averaged themselves, yielding the sacred BCS average. Now try to say that all in one breath.

In all my years as a fan, I have yet to encounter a sports institution so ridiculed and, for lack of a better way to put it, 'hated on' as the BCS ranking system. And with the history of laughable championship game results this system has produced over its years in existence, it's kind of hard to argue with the outcry.

BCS supporters probably believe the system offers a good balance between human subjectivity and mathematical objectivity. BCS critics, on the other hand, will argue that human subjectivity leaves too much room for bias, while using standardized computer polls on teams that don't even play the same opponents is inherently flawed. They will argue that instead of the BCS system, a playoff should determine who plays for the national title.

The truth is, in a sport like college football, both the BCS system and a playoff system are necessary.

The NBA, MLB, and NHL all have 30 teams. The NFL has 32 teams. These manageable numbers are easily conducive to a playoff system in determining which two teams will play for the championship. Division I college football, however, sports over 100 teams. With so many teams vying for bowl consideration, we have no choice but to implement a questionable system such as the Bowl Championship Series to determine the strength of each team relative to the rest. But while the BCS should be used as a ranking system that sets the match-ups for the playoff that should immediately follow, it is instead used as the only determinant for deciding which two teams will represent college football's best.

Here's what I don't understand. D-I NCAA basketball has hundreds of teams, and is forced to use a questionable ranking system, similar to how the Bowl Championship Series is used. But instead of allowing this arbitrary system to be the final say in whether UCLA plays Florida or Memphis plays Kansas in the finals, the powers that be of college basketball recognize the sacredness of the postseason in sports.

64 teams are forced to dance in an elimination tournament, leaving us with the two most deserving teams to contend for the title. Why can't college football adopt the same format? How many more championship blowouts must we endure before the coaches and voters realize that a playoff system is necessary in addition to the BCS?

Unfortunately for grossly overrated Alabama and Penn State, if a change is coming, it won't be coming this year. I pity these two teams because if either is granted the task of playing Texas for the national title, we will have another championship massacre on our hands. On the bright side, at least one team will be happy, finally having the overrated label lifted from them. Right Ohio State?