Split Decision
If 2007-08 was the season no one deserved the national championship, Utah's stunning Sugar Bowl win over Alabama has turned this into the season too many teams look championship-worthy.
Pending the outcome of the Fiesta Bowl and BCS national championship game, as many as four teams--OU/Florida, Texas, USC and Utah--could have a legitimate claim to being the best team in the country. Seeing as everyone agreed to the BCS system, Homerism believes there's only one national champ, and that team will be crowned on January 8 in Miami.
Still, if AP voters are inclined to go a different route a la 2004, attempting to justify one team over the others would come down to the ultimate beauty contest. Do you prefer:
-USC, a talent-laden team that loves the spotlight but held true to form in 2008, dropping an in-conference game to an inferior opponent; or
-Oklahoma/Florida, whichever one wins the game deemed the decider by The System; or
-Texas, owner of probably the best regular season win of the year and a loss to paper tiger Texas Tech; or
-Utah, an undefeated mid-major that had no problem handling the big boys?
If there is a truly "right" choice among that group, it would be the product of the roughest of rough justice. Of the candidates, the Utes seem to pose the most frightening dilemma for the BCS perpetuators. Utah went undefeated in the country's strongest mid-major conference, which dominated the Pac-10 in head-to-head games this year. The Utes also did plenty of their own dominating in non-conference games against BCS conference powers, including wins over Oregon State and SEC power Alabama.
The playoff optimists may paint the logjam at the top of the heap as the nail in the coffin for the current system. Homerism hopes they're right, but I'm skeptical. Unfortunately, the fact that we're still talking about this absurd way of choosing a champ is the ultimate proof of the BCS's power. Until college football fans abandon the game in droves, griping about the BCS only makes it stronger. Good luck getting Homerism to give up his Saturdays in the fall.