I was planning on dedicating my column this week to responses to the abundance of e-mail I got from last week's column about the Florida State-Florida contest.
But, after reading the majority of the responses I decided that the Seminoles fans aren't worth it and I'd rather discuss the more pressing issue of the BCS.
After Kansas State and Bill Snyder finally won a big game against a cocky and overconfident Oklahoma team (gee, I wonder where they get that from) the BCS was sent into a tailspin.
Mike Tranghese and his fellow BCS staffers now face the responsibility of retooling the BCS due to the fact that there could be a split national champion, the exact problem it was meant to solve.
The BCS could someday work if tweaked properly.
As it exists now, it will not.
Tranghese needs to start in New York. The New York Times computer rankings are the most senseless thing the New York Times has done since forcing me to sign-up on their website to see their horrid rankings. Hopefully, they don't go searching for that 14 year-old doctor making less than $20,000 that I claimed to be anytime soon.
How can Texas be rated No. 4 ahead of Oklahoma at No. 5? Texas has one more loss, including a 65-13 beating at the hands of the Sooners. I also cannot respect any rankings where a bad Notre Dame team is ranked No. 32, while Syracuse, who has one more win and a recent trouncing of Notre Dame, is ranked No. 55.
Mr. Tranghese must also address the issue of championship games. If conferences want to play them, then make their teams pay the consequences for it. If you aren't your conference champ or at least co-champ, then your team can't go to the national title game. That means no Oklahoma this year and no Nebraska in 2001, when the Cornhuskers went to the national title game despite not winning the Big 12 or its own division within the Big 12.
The final thing to do is remove the Big East from the six conferences associated with the BCS. Allow for three at-large spots, and if the Big East champion finishes in the Top 10 of the BCS then allow for just two. With the Big East losing its two best programs in Miami and Virginia Tech along with another solid program in Boston College, it no longer deserves the automatic bid to the big money. Have Tranghese sit down with the Big East commissioner, Mike Tran... oh, right, it's the same guy.
No wonder this thing doesn't work.
Strike the Pose
Many prognosticators had Jason White out in front of the Heisman race coming into his Big 12 Championship Game against Kansas State. After a dismal game with no touchdowns and two interceptions, White has left the door open for Larry Fitzgerald and the hard-charging Matt Leinart.
Leinart looks to be making a similar run to that of Carson Palmer who came on late to win the Heisman. His team is No. 1 in both major polls, something that Palmer's team wasn't and their numbers are very comparable. Leinart has thrown for about 700 less yards, but he still has the bowl game to close in on that figure. His 35 touchdowns are two more than Palmer's 33, while his completion percentage is basically a wash with two-tenths of a percentage point separating them. His passer rating stands at 163.24, which is about 14 points higher than Palmer had.
White and Leinart also have similar statistics. White has thrown for more touchdowns and averages 19 passing yards more per game, with a very similar completion percentage and passer rating.
The vote could depend on if Heisman voters sent in their ballots early, which would favor White.
My pick for Heisman is Fitzgerald. To me it's a no-brainer, but I don't think he will win it. This guy will be the best professional out of anyone at the Downtown Athletic Club and he has been the best collegiate player. It doesn't matter how fast he runs the 40, how many times he can rep 225, or how high his vertical is - he simply is the game's best player. His 87 catches for nearly 1,600 yards prove his mettle statistically, but to truly appreciate him you must watch him in action.
His routes are crisp and if the ball touches his hands there is no doubt he will catch it.
Pittsburgh quarterback Rod Rutherford only needs to lob the ball in the air and let Fitzgerald catch the ball twisting and turning with the grace of a figure skater.
The only scarier thing is that Fitzgerald could have even better numbers if the Panthers even had the resemblance of a running game.
Upset of the Week
You have got to be kidding me. Kansas State is favored over Ohio State (7-point underdogs) in the Fiesta Bowl. Kansas State is overvalued due to their upset of Oklahoma. Ohio State comes in to the contest with something to prove coming off the rough loss to Michigan. Tressel's boys get the job done in a close one where the seven points isn't needed.
Last Week: I really wanted to pick Kansas State last week as my upset pick, but I couldn't rationalize picking a Bill Snyder-coached team over a Bob Stoops-coached team. So I picked Oregon State to make it interesting and they did for about a half until the machine that is USC took over. My record falls to an even 7-7.
