Bloodless Coup

ewwww. tastes like sour grapes to me.

You're joking right? Of course it's not sour grapes (and I presume you mean that I'd feel differently if WVU was conference champ). I think it's silly that because of conference tie-ins a team with three or four losses will be playing in one of the top bowls in the country, and reaping the recogition and cash. Why should they get that kind of recognition over, for example, Georgia, Texas, or Louisville? I could maybe, just maybe (though not really) see it if the Big East was a better conference - but they really aren't (at least not until next year's expansion). Pittsburgh might not even wind up in the season-ending Top 25 rankings.

they should; they're at 19 right now. and it's not that i don't see your point. it's just that when you're constrained to play so many in-conference games, it's hard not to want to reward conference champions. the same thing happens when sub-par basketball teams go to the dance because they put together a few wins during their conference playoffs. if you want to abolish the conference system, by all means . . . but i think the attempt to objectively measure teams in a computer is a sort of ludicrous exercise anyway, regardless of the inputs used.

and frankly, i do wonder if you'd have posted quite the language you did if WVU hadn't bobbled the big east title that by all rights it should have won.

If WVU hadn't "bobbled" it they would likely have one or at most two losses - Pitt will have three or four. I see a considerable difference there. Though honestly I don't think we should have a system that should reward even a theoretical 1 loss WVU team and penalize other clearly better teams. Or looked at another way, why should this Big East have an automatic bid and Conference USA not have one? I'd like something closer to just taking the top 8 teams in the standings (since the bowl system is likely to remain largely in place).

i'm sorry. i just realized i'm arguing college football, about which, in truth, i care very little. yes, it seems odd that the system affords teams with three losses the opportunity to secure an effective top-8 birth in the BCS. oh, the humanity. ;-)

F-L-O-R-I-D-A
S-T-A-T-E

SUCKS!!!

(sorry, just had to get that in since I wasn't in Tallahassee last week to do the actual chant when FSU played the fight song.)

I feel your pain Binky. But hey - Florida beat 'em. That's got to help a bit, right? Made me happy.

You know it. For the first time in ages (Lurch, if you're lurking, chime in on the last year UF beat FSU at home). FSU has their fight song, and there is a break where the FSU fans chant F-L-O-R-I-D-A-S-T-A-T-E. Then if there are enough Gators present, they shout in unison SUCKS! When FSU loses at home, and you get to so the shout, ah...one of the great joys of life. And I missed it.