The 2008 Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game on FOX
#1 The Ohio State University Buckeyes (11-1) vs. #2 Louisiana State University Fighting Tigers (11-2)
Live from The Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
January 7, 2008
Broadcast 8pm ET, Game Time 8:22pm ET
720p & DD5.1

Team Information
LSU will wear its traditional white home jerseys, while Ohio State got first choice and opted for their home color of scarlet.

The Matchup
The winner will become the first school to win two BCS titles since the Bowl Championship Series began in 1998. The Buckeyes won it in 2002, then lost 41-14 to Florida as a prohibitive favorite in last year's championship game. LSU won the BCS title in 2003, beating Oklahoma right here in New Orleans, the Tigers' home 90 miles south of Baton Rouge.



Please post all related comments here, and include provider (OTA, Cable, DBS, FiOS, Sunday Ticket), and source (station call letters & city), thanks.

From The Sporting News, by Matt Hayes

Ohio State-LSU: Five things to watch


1. Set the tone early
Ohio State's players and coaches have talked about their ability to focus and control road environments. They point to their 5-0 road record and their quick starts in those games.

Make no mistake, this will be a road game. More than 50,000 LSU fans are expected to fill a majority of the Superdome.

But the reality is, the only road game with any oomph was Michigan in Ann Arbor, where the Buckeyes led 7-3 at halftime. Not exactly controlling the situation.

In four other road games, Ohio State outscored opponents 61-17 combined in the first half and trailed only once, a 7-3 deficit against Washington in Week 3. More than anything, the quick starts are a defensive theme; the Buckeyes averaged 13.6 points in the first half in those games.

LSU, meanwhile, trailed at halftime in its three biggest SEC home games -- Florida, Auburn, Arkansas -- and scored only 20 points combined in the first half in those games.

What does it all mean? Ohio State has to play well early, if only because it has a fragile psyche from last year's beatdown in the title game. If the Buckeyes get down early and the crowd gets juiced, it's only going to get worse.


2. Spread it out
Teams that have had success against the LSU defense spread out the unit with four- and five-wide receiver sets and force the back seven to cover and chase in space.

Ohio State's receivers are vastly underrated. Brian Robiskie, Brian Hartline and Ray Small can win individual matchups against the LSU secondary, and that opens the running game in single-back sets with running back Chris Wells.

There is, however, one key factor: When Ohio State spreads it out, QB Todd Boeckman must recognize unblocked blitzers. That has been a problem with Boeckman much of the season, and his efficiency drops significantly if he can 't set his feet and square his shoulders before throwing. And LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini is big on disguising zone blitzes.


3. The Les Factor
Call it what you want, but LSU coach Les Miles has proven time again he has no fear when it comes to making unorthodox game calls.

From his fourth-down calls (the Tigers converted 12-of-15) to special teams gambles, his team feeds off the energy the calls create, good or bad.

"If something like that doesn't work," says LSU linebacker Ali Highsmith, "It just makes us realize we have to play that much harder to cover (Miles') back. That hasn't happened too many times."

Miles downplays the decisions, but they obviously affect both teams. Because Miles has a reputation for taking such chances, most opponents simply prefer to play safe on kick and punt returns and field-goal attempts, which limits the chances of big plays or turnovers.

Teams that don't play safe and are too aggressive are caught in the middle of a trick play or a gamble.


4. The other quarterback
The popular theory floating around New Orleans is Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is playing mind games with LSU by saying backup quarterback Antonio Henton could see action in certain sets. You know, make the Tigers game plan for more than just Boeckman.

For those who think this is a gimmick move: Rob Schoenhoft, OSU's primary backup all season, was moved to tight end in bowl practices the same time Henton was elevated from the No.3 spot. Henton received all of the second-team snaps in practice, and even some with the first team.

Henton, who has played sparingly this season, in part because of an arrest on solicitation charges, gives Ohio State the ability to run the zone-read play in the spread formation -- something that could slow the LSU front four.

"I think that's pretty easy to see why I could play," Henton says. "But there are some passing plays, too. We'll see what happens."


5. Getting physical
Ohio State's goal in last year's national title game was similar to the postseason game plans of many Big Ten teams: get physical and eliminate the opponents' speed on defense.

It has happened in recent Big Ten-SEC matchups -- Wisconsin's wins over Auburn and Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl; Penn State's win over Tennessee in the Outback Bowl, Michigan's win over Florida in the Capital One Bowl -- but not in last year's title game.

The concept: aggressive play on the line of scrimmage controls the tempo of the game and forces a fast defense to think more instead of react.

The reality: OSU tackles Kirk Barton and Alex Boone remain unknown quantities. They couldn't handle the Florida defensive ends in last year's game. Not only that, the OSU middle three had problems with Florida's interior.

"Barton and Boone are big dudes, big wingspans," says LSU defensive end Kirston Pittman. "You've got to get into their bodies and not let them use their arms on you. If they can extend and push you around, you're spinning your wheels."

Says LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey: "They like to get physical. I'm quite sure those guys have heard enough over the last year about getting beat."

Pregame is up in HDTV on the FOX Digital Television Network.

Looks good so far.

OTA on WACH57 in Lexington, SC

LOL@ the Forrest Gump parody with Glenn Dorsey.

Audio sync is off

WSYM Lansing MI OTA

Everybody on Gameday picking OSU. Corso put on the Brutus headgear. Unfortunately I agree with them. Geaux Tigers! BTw, Fox is brutal with College football. Who are these announcers, and looks like commercials orgy again.

Game looks great on WNYW-DT via Cablevision...

Did anyone else see those American Idol and Terminator commercials? If that was SD like the usual Fox commercials, it was the closest thing to HD that I have ever seen.

Looks like Fox is going to be the big winner for the "Second Half" of the TV Season with the new shows premiering soon.

Nice start LSU......

Picture looks great here though.
WRAZ Raleigh Time Warner

Picture looks absolutely horrible with Insight in Lexington, KY. Go figure.

Watching on WWJW-DT OTA in Cleveland Ohio. Looks a lot better then Armstrong DT in Medina. I like the cable cam so far, though it looks a little grainy. I think it may be the grass though...

The FOX PQ (to me on Comcast) seems to have a bit more snap than did College Gameday on ESPN (both 720p).

Jesus that pregame show is freakin disaster. I will give FOX credit for at least throwing a lot of resources at this. But CBS and ABC just have the pedigree to do college football. Brennamen does a fine job, but he's no Musberger. The music, the animation package, the whole thing, just feels like an imitation. I don't feel like this is the pinnacle of college football, the whole thing is a little too slick and contrived. The production quality is adequate, its' just...I dunno. The slickness worked to help put them on the map with the NFL, not sure it works here and I think it's partially because we dont see any FOX Network College Football until bowl season, so it's almost awkward. You spend the whole season with ESPN, CBS and the RSN's and then it's like BAM! Fox for BCS.

There's either millions of mosquitos in the dome, or the PQ is pretty bad on the standard side cameras. Not as visible on the other cameras, but nothing spectacular. Insight / Comcast QAM on WXIN in Indy.

There's either millions of mosquitos in the dome, or the PQ is pretty bad on the standard side cameras. Not as visible on the other cameras, but nothing spectacular. Insight / Comcast QAM on WXIN in Indy.

What cameras are you referring to. The main game cameras?

What cameras are you referring to. The main game cameras?

Yep.

Yep.

Yea there's a little bit of noise, I'm seeing some swimming grass (Comcast NYC) but it's certainly not SNF bad.

Can Wendel start mixing for Fox? SOund effects are way to loud in the rears and the crowd noise could use a boost. seems to be generic crowd noise, not enough to the fans yelling, nothing distinctive. also the field audio from the fronts is pretty weak. nothing hard hitting or impressive.

PQ is very nice

Comcast cable out of Seattle on KCPQ looks bad. It's been this way for all the BCS games. NFL looks great on same channel however. Swimming grass, macroblocking on OSU's red jerseys are the two most noticeable faults with the PQ.

Swimming / banding grass, flickering spectators...it's a nasty HD picture. The commercials look way better. I'm disappointed. I'm watching it OTA through the following tuners / displays. (The smaller the display, the better the game looks...):
61" Samsung DLP / LED (tried both through the on-board tuner and a D* box.)
42" Sony Wega lcd rptv (on board tuner)
32" Philips lcd (on board tuner) = best picture

My local Fox says 720p.

watching OTA on KLRT-Little Rock...

little glitches in the PQ and it was just dropped to SD with a few seconds left in the 1st Q. anybody else in SD or do I need to call my affiliate?

edit: just switched back to HD with some weird noise. big difference of course.

I'm still seeing in HD on WWJW-DT in Cleveland. Call your affiliate network ops.

Swimming / banding grass, flickering spectators...it's a nasty HD picture. The commercials look way better. I'm disappointed. I'm watching it OTA through the following tuners / displays. (The smaller the display, the better the game looks...):
61" Samsung DLP / LED (tried both through the on-board tuner and a D* box.)
42" Sony Wega lcd rptv (on board tuner)
32" Philips lcd (on board tuner) = best picture

My local Fox says 720p.

Watching on a Samsung 61" DLP LED set on D* local HD and OTA and I'm seeing the same picture issues as you. Close ups look good. Overall picture quality is poor IMO.

NBC should just go to 720p. They suck so bad in 1080i.

Main cams do not look great. I agree with the comments about Fox's coverage. It's awkward. It seems like they're trying to do an NFL game just with college.

pq "ok". main cams soft. grass dogpaddling. reasonably good color (but hurt by the overall softness of the picture). a bit of pixelation on osu unis, a bit of noise. minor pixelation in background of closeups.

aq mediocre. unbalanced, very heavily to the front.

overall, we've seen and heard worse, but i expected a bit better for the championship game.

agreed on fox coverage. i think they are doing their best, but college football is a different animal than pro football, and needs to be covered somewhat differently. i can't put my finger on exactly what it is that should be different, but it just doesn't feel "right". the announcers aren't bad.

comcast south jersey.

after a slow start, it appears as if lsu has stabilized the game and taken control.

This is going to get real ugly for OSU before the final gun.

agreed on fox coverage. i think they are doing their best, but college football is a different animal than pro football, and needs to be covered somewhat differently. i can't put my finger on exactly what it is that should be different, but it just doesn't feel "right". the announcers aren't bad.

you hit it right on the head. It just doesnt feel right.

This is going to get real ugly for OSU before the final gun.

That'd be true about the team if the ref's and FOX weren't playing for LSU too. The commentating and officiating if absolutely absurd.

This is going to get real ugly for OSU before the final gun.

yup. not a big surprise there. if they don't manage to make a first down or two here and run out the first half clock, it could get ugly by the end of the first half.

PQ is unspectacular on most of the cams and there seems to be some edge enhancement going on. Also, there is some dancing grass and quite a bit of mosquito noise along the edges of the screen and the lines on the field, indicating the ~12.5Mbit/s Fox is broadcasting at might be a bit low for the content. KSAZ-DT Phoenix via Cox cable.

you hit it right on the head. It just doesnt feel right.

y'know, possibly it's something as simple as the graphics being the same as for the pro games, or something like that (or several somethings along those lines)... dunno...

maybe it's the fact that (even though they aren't bad), we aren't getting the "big time" college announcers... just doesn't seem like a big game... the "keith jackson" factor at work... you knew when keith was there, it was a big game...

Well I was going to watch the Championship game here in St. Louis on KTVI but the weather decided otherwise. Since there are weather alerts, in the area, KTVI chose to broadcast in cropped 4x3, so they could display their weather map. Rather angry about that.

That'd be true about the team if the ref's and FOX weren't playing for LSU too. The commentating and officiating if absolutely absurd.

odd, other than in the bud light commercial, i haven't seen one official make a tackle yet... ;)

and i've yet to see an announcer have any impact on the play on the field...

once lsu settled down, their superior talent appears to have taken over...

OSU looks as overmatched as last year.

Overrated State University.

I do like how Fox is making the bands nice and audible, that is a nice effect.

Ohio State does not deserve to be in this game. It's gonna be a another blow out tonight by LSU.

I'm watching it on a 20" Sony Hi Def Monitor and looks real good here in the truck so to "heck" with you armchair critics. R

I'm watching it on a 20" Sony Hi Def Monitor and looks real good here in the truck so to "heck" with you armchair critics. R

Well no one ever said the "CREW" is doing a bad job. Read any of our SNF posts, I personally think that's one of the best crews in live TV, but their show however generally looks terrible when it gets home. I know a lot of the FOX folks and they're more than capable technically what happens once it leaves New Orleans is what it is.

I'm watching it on a 20" Sony Hi Def Monitor and looks real good here in the truck so to "heck" with you armchair critics. R

Can you have the audio mixer get a bit more crowd noise in the rears and lose the sound effects

PQ is unspectacular on most of the cams and there seems to be some edge enhancement going on. Also, there is some dancing grass and quite a bit of mosquito noise along the edges of the screen and the lines on the field, indicating the ~12.5Mbit/s Fox is broadcasting at might be a bit low for the content. KSAZ-DT Phoenix via Cox cable.

I'm watching XETV HD in San Diego thru TWC (SA8300HDC - HDMI - 720p passthru to Panasonic TH-50PZ77U.

Same observations - fuzzy stadium shots, shimmering/blocking grass -especially along the line markers, some audio and video dropouts.

Disappointing for the #1 BCS game - and odd too, because XETV/FOX is typically better for me here in San Diego than CBS (Crappy Blocky Sucky).

Looks/feel like an overcompressed feed.

Erik

boy, that came out of left field... :confused:

as abctv pointed out, no one is griping about production values, and i'm sure it looks good in the truck... unfortunately, we aren't sitting in the truck... ;)

we calls 'em like we sees 'em... :) and most of us are pretty fair (not to mention consume a LOT of football)...

I'm watching it on a 20" Sony Hi Def Monitor and looks real good here in the truck so to "heck" with you armchair critics. R
Supervc? No modesty there...:) I hope it's a CRT monitor and not one of their "broadcast" LCDs.

although.... what was that camera that was shooting that 2-shot in the booth. It looked like it was across the stadium with a long lens. I mean come on Monday Night Football has like six freakin cameras in the booth (granted half the time they're cutting Sally Jesse Raphael up there) but I mean...come on.

Looks like a normal FOX telecast.

Soft Main Camera, very good ground level shots.

FWIW, the Superdome Fieldturf has a weird sheen to it that doesn't help things.

Watching on KHON-DT Honolulu via Dish.

love the star filters though on that low bench shot..very nice

Watching OTA on WRLH in Richmond, VA

PQ is terrible, looks like upconverted SD. Maybe the worst looking HD game I've ever seen.

This ain't MNF!

Very unimpressed by PQ since the game started. I think there are a couple of field cams that are pretty good, but overall poor PQ. Seeing a lot of swimming grass as if I was watching via D*, but using OTA. Came upstairs and what I found proved my point.

WHBQ, Memphis, no subs. The beginning was during a commercial, until LSU just went up 31-10 and then another commercial break.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7791/whbq1708zv0.th.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=whbq1708zv0.jpg)

osu has lost it's poise... very unusual for a tressel coached team to take this many stupid penalties... they've deserved them all too... i don't like osu, but i have great respect for tressel, and his teams are usually much more disciplined than this...

if they don't score on this drive, that clicking sound you hear will be millions of tvs (including mine) turning off...

wasn't gonna comment on the booth shot abc... ;)

Oddly similar to last year so far...

OSU strikes quick...then the SEC dominates...

So, could their be changes to next year? OSU doesn't get selected to be beaten in the national championship? Will Oklahoma be the first team to 'forgo' their invitation to the BCS Fiesta Bowl to not make it a 3 sweep?

This ain't MNF!

no, it's a national championship game, and one would expect that it would be better than a run of the mill mnf game... :rolleyes:

who are you, anyway? :confused: when production team members comment on their own telecasts, they generally identify themselves (i.e. snf mixer)...

I am watching upstairs in SD temporarily. Did the HD feed have that American Idol promo when OSU had the ball?

OSU scored more this year than last year! Way to go!

I am watching upstairs in SD temporarily. Did the HD feed have that American Idol promo when OSU had the ball?
Yes

Yes
Awful.

First you give us terrible PQ, then flash up a promo for a show that everyone in the entire world knows about. What's next, turn off the feed with 10 minutes left in the game?

:mad::confused::rolleyes:

neat fish eye shot...

PQ on anything but a closeup is terrible. Tons of artifacts around the red of OSU and yellow of LSU helmets/uniforms. Some swimming grass.

Watching WJW-DT, Cleveland OTA on a 50" 1080p plasma.

The Fox NFL games this weekend looked a lot better than this. Fox sure as hell better not send this type of PQ out for Super Bowl.

I don't know about you guys, but there is alot of home cookin down there in the Bayou. The refs have given LSU about 100 yards on penalties. One measly foul on LSU. Even the oficial has a southern accent.

dc10forlife -

It couldn't possibly be that OSU is getting these penalties is because *gasp* they are committing penalties?

I usually don't by 'homer' refs in these games...and I'm not gonna start now, lol.

I must have missed the ref push the OSU guy into the punter.

I don't know about you guys, but there is alot of home cookin down there in the Bayou. The refs have given LSU about 100 yards on penalties. One measly foul on LSU. Even the oficial has a southern accent.

You do know that this is a BIG TEN officiating crew, right.

shall we start the Over Rated chants? But congrats to the Overrated State University you are now 0 and 9 against the SEC.

Maybe next year you will draw the school for the blind in your bowl game.

ummm.....SEC;):D

Those Fox muxes are doing a fabulous job :rolleyes:
Averaging about 12.5Mbps for the main HD feed and throwing away 30%+ of the bits in the null packet garbage can ....

WJW-DT, Cleveland, no subchannels.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/4998/foxbcs2008wjwgr1.th.jpg (http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=foxbcs2008wjwgr1.jpg)

The mux stats below are mostly actual game with one commercial break in the middle. Almost no variation in bandwidth usage.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/965/foxbcs2008wjwmuxjs8.th.jpg (http://img504.imageshack.us/my.php?image=foxbcs2008wjwmuxjs8.jpg)

Confetti is really bad for video.

You do know that this is a BIG TEN officiating crew, right.

I believe it was a Big 12 crew.

You do know that this is a BIG TEN officiating crew, right.

There is no way it would be a Big 10 crew doing a bowl game with a Big 10 team.

It was a Big 12 Crew doing the game. That was announced on the telecast about 5 minutes into the game for the first penalty. With the arrogance of the Little 11 Ohio State should just schedule Middle Tennessee State next year for the national championship game so they at least have a chance of winning.

Watched the game OTA here in Los Angeles. The picture quality was not very good. :( All of the problems that others reported were here too. Pixelation, macroblocking lack of sharpness on wide shots etc etc. There was no confusing this with a game transmitted on CBS that's for sure.

I agree with the refs "erring" on the LSU side, however the Buckeyes should have been able to overcome it. That's what makes a champion a champion.

Rudy

I'll start by saying I'm not an OSU fan, but how does it happen that LSU basically gets a home game for the national championship? Was that game scheduled for NO at the beginning of the season?

Yes, the site of the BCS championship games are scheduled years in advance.

Watched College Game Day on ESPN before the game and it was outstanding. My wife even made a comment which is rare. PQ for the game was simply awful. IMO ESPN did the best job of anyone for the bowl games this year.

I've got admit that I thought OSU would win this because of the "hunger, something to prove factor." They came out smoking, but LSU kept their poise. OSU plays in a weak conference. They are a great team and program. SEC teams are "tested" every Saturday get beat up and then get 50 days to rest. That's the difference. Michigan played their best game of the year and still the game was close with a young Florida team. Arkansas for the second year in a row was the only SEC team laying an egg in it's bowl game. SEC 7-2 in bowl games.

Watched College Game Day on ESPN before the game and it was outstanding. My wife even made a comment which is rare. PQ for the game was simply awful. IMO ESPN did the best job of anyone for the bowl games this year.

I agree and there is no better college football show than College Game Day those 3 work together perfectly. Fox really does leave a lot to be desired.

We had bad weather (allegedly) in Tulsa so we got the SD broadcast... Regardless of your macroblocking, field cascading, etc...

Your PQ was better than mine.

With the arrogance of the Little 11 Ohio State should just schedule Middle Tennessee State next year for the national championship game so they at least have a chance of winning.Not so fast. Look at what Appalachian State did to Michigan.

New AP report saying that they are looking seriously at a "+1" format and scheduling 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 the week prior. If they are going to make a change, it has to be prior to securing a new television contract for the 2010 or 2011 season and beyond.

Of course the Big 10, Pac 10, and Rose Bowl are the biggest hurdle. Other conferences and bowl committees seem to be solidly behind the plan.

Shame they didn't have that this year. It probably would have resulted in screams for expanding the +1 to a full blown playoff format. 3 and 4 laid an egg and Georgia and USC would have still been sitting at home watching LSU vs. OSU in the title game.

SEC is the dominant conference. Six bowl victories this season, including 2 BCS bowl victories and the national championship (again).

Yes, the site of the BCS championship games are scheduled years in advance.


Yep, last night there was mention that next years will be in Miami. So don;t go complaining if the Hurricanes somehow rebuild a team and play there. ;)

I have been reading the posts on this thread and the ones from this weekend.
You guys are worse than the women on the view. All you do is sit there in your living room and trash out the shows and the jobs the professionals are doing. If you could do it better you would be at the site instead of sitting in your living room with a keyboard in your hands.

Yep, last night there was mention that next years will be in Miami. So don;t go complaining if the Hurricanes somehow rebuild a team and play there. ;)

Well the Big 10 should be used to it. They've been the 'away' team in the Rose Bowl for years.

I'll start by saying I'm not an OSU fan, but how does it happen that LSU basically gets a home game for the national championship? Was that game scheduled for NO at the beginning of the season?

The BCS Championship is at the site of the following bowl game according to this schedule:
2007: Fiesta
2008: Sugar
2009: Orange
2010: Rose

After that a new TV contract with possible changes to the format will be in place.

You guys are worse than the women on the view. .

And That's pretty bad..:)

I have been reading the posts on this thread and the ones from this weekend.
You guys are worse than the women on the view. All you do is sit there in your living room and trash out the shows and the jobs the professionals are doing. If you could do it better you would be at the site instead of sitting in your living room with a keyboard in your hands.

Sorry you feel that way, but as a paying consumer for HDTV, I think it comes down to a consistency in the quality of the 'product' being provided.

Why should the product quality (in this case the PQ/AQ for a bowl game) be any different than what was aired the day before for a different game?

If there are differences, what can the provider do to improve the consistency and quality so that paying customers are more satisfied - and so in turn more apt to favor "your" product over the competitors (which means more revenues)?

No one here is criticizing the work a broadcast team does, well, at least not me. Sure they work hard, I know that, can appreciate that- but the bottom line is that for many viewers the PQ/AQ was not what HD has provided for other games.

Simple question: why?

If an HD provider is not interested in answering that question, then they will have to face up to criticism - much like any one, "professional" or amateur, wil review a product and report on its value: good or bad.

HD promised us the world for vivid detailed viewing experiences - when that falls short its to be expected that folks will complain.

Erik

If OSU is playing in the National Championship next year, I'll take a 3rd mortgage and lay the points against them.... What a pathetic conference Big Ten, aka small 11, became!

And you know what? If the Rose Bowl wants to watch their Pac 10 kick the behind of the Big Ten team every year, let them do it and let's have a national championship with ALL other conferences like C-USA, etc.

I feel the "home field" advantage to some schools in the BCS championship is overrated.
Just look at what Texas did to the USC in the Rose Bowl. Most were claiming USC was the greater college team of all time in 05'.

Ken I said Slowhio State should schedule Middle Tennessee just so they have a chance. I didnt say they would win it. Of course after just finishing listening to the Mike Torico show on ESPN radio Slowhio State fans should stay away from the SEC for a very long long time. There is nothing worse in the world than wearing jorts down south and Scott Van Pelt said the LSU fans could not stop making fun of OSU fans for wearing them everywhere. That actually could be the worst part of last night for OSU fans.

SEC is 11-4 overall in BCS Bowl Games, and 4-0 in BCS MNC games. I think a point could be made that the SEC Champion should just be an automatic bid in the MNC game until they prove they aren't worthy.

:)

Makes you wonder if UGA would've beaten OSU? I bet they would. Too bad we couldn't see an LSU/UGA match up.

Makes you wonder if UGA would've beaten OSU? I bet they would. Too bad we couldn't see an LSU/UGA match up.

That's why even the "+1" format won't really solve anything. The strongest claims this year can be made by UGA and USC - and a +1 wouldn't have helped them. In fact, it'd likely have resulted in the same final that we had this year.

SEC is the dominant conference. Six bowl victories this season, including 2 BCS bowl victories and the national championship (again).agree followed closely by the Big 12..the BIG 10 sucks and constantly gets artifically propped up by the media..

the Pac 10 sucked as well sans USC(still NOT a great team!)...ASU got waxed and was the 2nd best team? Sorry but USC DID NOT deserve the #2 spot in the final pol!

That's why even the "+1" format won't really solve anything. The strongest claims this year can be made by UGA and USC - and a +1 wouldn't have helped them. In fact, it'd likely have resulted in the same final that we had this year.

agreed. the +1 is just something that they throw out there, and it'll just cause more arguments.

y'know, i wish they'd just can the whole thing and go back to the "old way"... i miss the excitement of new year's day... :(

agree followed closely by the Big 12..the BIG 10 sucks and constantly gets artifically propped up by the media..

the Pac 10 sucked as well sans USC(still NOT a great team!)...ASU got waxed and was the 2nd best team? Sorry but USC DID NOT deserve the #2 spot in the final pol!

The Pac 10 was overhyped this year. The main problem is the defense in the conference is lacking with the exception of USC. However don't forget about Oregon. They were a BCS team until their QB Dennis Dixon went down with his season ending injury. The conference had two legit contenders.

That's why even the "+1" format won't really solve anything. The strongest claims this year can be made by UGA and USC - and a +1 wouldn't have helped them. In fact, it'd likely have resulted in the same final that we had this year.

If they use the BCS formula to seed 2 bowls with the top 4, and have the winners play a week or two after, it would definitely be better than what we have. rotate the bowls each year to keep everyone happy. realistically I think we have a better shot of getting a +1 than a playoff anytime in the near future.

If they use the BCS formula to seed 2 bowls with the top 4, and have the winners play a week or two after, it would definitely be better than what we have. rotate the bowls each year to keep everyone happy. realistically I think we have a better shot of getting a +1 than a playoff anytime in the near future.

I agree. But I'd look at it in the same way as the switch to the BCS format - a half-assed solution to delay the inevitable.

agreed. the +1 is just something that they throw out there, and it'll just cause more arguments.

y'know, i wish they'd just can the whole thing and go back to the "old way"... i miss the excitement of new year's day... :(


Well, unde the proposal by UGA's president, all teh main bowls would go back to New Years to give them time for the games the next 2 weeks. Thoat would be aone crazy day of football. The only issue I can see is that all these bowls have been aired against nothign for a while now, so they would most likely need to arrange the TV scedule so that still happened or everyone would see a decrease in revenue.

I much more likely to watch multiple bowls on New Year's day than spread over multiple primetime slots over a number of days. This year I only watched the LSU game - it was the only game with any meaning.

If they go to +1, I'll watch 3 games. If they have an 8 team playoff, I'll watch 7, etc.

If they go back to the old system, I'd probably watch 4 or 5 games.

yes, i would too...

let's face it, the whole bowl season is a disappointment... we don't get the matchups we want, there's too many of them, etc.

the only good part about this year's bowl season is that notre dame wasn't playing... :D

if i can't have the "old way" back (which is really what i'd prefer, even over a playoff), i'll settle for an 8 teamer. the 6 conference champions of the bcs conferences, and 2 at large teams from those conferences (sorry, no little conference schools need apply). start the playoffs the 3rd week of december, so the championship game could be on new year's day.

the only good part about this year's bowl season is that notre dame wasn't playing... :D

But they still got their $8 million from the BCS.

But they still got their $8 million from the BCS.

true... :(

maybe they'll use it to buy out charley... :p

But they still got their $8 million from the BCS.


Where does this number come from? I've always heard alot less (~1 million per yr).

Notre Dame is guaranteed 1/66th of the net revenues after expenses, or approximately $1.3 million. Notre Dame will receive $4.5 million when its team is a participant (instead of $13 million). These is about the same amount every team in the BCS gets (except for conferences that put 2 teams in)

yes, i would too...

let's face it, the whole bowl season is a disappointment... we don't get the matchups we want, there's too many of them, etc.



I think this is the biggest thing no one has talked about during the bowl season. The BCS committee pretty much guaranteed no one, outside of Oklahoma, could have a shot a shared national championship. UCS and Georgia were both paired up against inferior schools just to avoid the possibility of their being a split national championship.

CCOTENJ!!

The old way was way worse. With bowl tie ins even worse than the BCS ties, you had #3's playing #9's, #1 playing #7, #2 playing #20 etc. The BCS is far from perfect. but I like it much better. 12 years ago, we would have never gotten #1 USC playing #2 Texas in the Rose Bowl. USC would've been in the Rose, Texas in the Cotton or Orange. The Fiesta Bowl used to be a second tier bowl. But when two independents at the time in 1986, #1 Miami & #2 Penn State were available, they jumped on it for 1987 Fiesta and it has been a big bowl since. Personally, I like the current system (I'm a sadist, LOL) cause I like the controversies and the talk that is generated. I don't think we will see a playoff in our lifetime. I do agree there is too damn many bowls, and NO bowls should be played after New Years except the NCG. There were a couple of low level bowls played last week!

One other thing. People could afford to go watch their team play in ONE bowl game like the Sugar. I don't thinks fans and students could afford to travel across the country going to different bowls for playoffs. You MIGHT sell the game out, but it would be a corporate thing like the Super Bowl and not traditional college fan bases.

Great Column. Sorry Buckeyes.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3186010&sportCat=ncf

Ouch. So true - but ouch.

Owned.

"They're also fond of calling their school The Ohio State University. It might also now be called The Overmatched State University of the BCS."

Love to see some pros say "Joe Blow, Kentucky, of THE SEC" :)