Dolphins knocking on playoff door

Who would’ve thought? After last year’s 1-15 debacle (come on, we didn’t even beat the right team! It was destiny to go into the New England game winless and hand them defeat!), the Dolphins are a very real threat to make the playoffs. They’re 7-5 so far, their best win total since Nick Saban’s first year.
The Phins have played pretty well in three of their losses this year, by my accounts. They almost beat the hated Jets at the beginning of the year, and the only thing that kept them from winning their first ever game against Houston was leaving too much time on the clock.
I’d have to say, the thing that has surprised me the most about their season isn’t the fact that they’ve won seven games- with Parcells at the helm, I was among those who expected improvement immediately, but the fact that they continue to get mileage out of their wildcat formation. Hell, it surprised me that they would use a gimmicky formation like that to begin with. But I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
But back to the task at hand- making the playoffs. Last week’s loss to the Patriots still hurts, but the Dolphins played them close until a late-game meltdown. But easier times lay ahead for the Phins.
It’s pretty simple- win out, and you’ll probably nab a wild card playoff spot. They’ve got four games left- Against the bumbling Bills (in Toronto- essentially a home game for the bills), then they finish up their tilt against the NCF and AFC west, hosting the lackadaisical 49ers, and traveling to Arrowhead to take on the Chiefs. The finale? A matchup with those hated Jets. The key? Win those next three games against the Bills, 49ers and Chiefs. They’re a combined 12-24. That seems like a fairly easy task- hell, three wins and a 10-6 record may even get you in. But sometimes this Dolphins team scares me.
See, while the can play up to the level of quality teams, they also play DOWN to the level of inferior opponents (see @ Houston, vs Seattle, vs Oakland, @ St. Louis). This is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team- so which one will show up for the remaining games? Will the Dolphins come out fired up against the three ho-hum teams left on their schedule? Will Ronnie and Ricky run wild on the defenses? Will Pennington be hitting Bess and Fasano for big gains on critical third downs? Or will we see the Dolphins that struggled to beat a 2-win St. Louis team?
To be honest, I expect the Dolphins to know what is on the line, and not trip up before the season finale in the Meadowlands. I have no reason to believe that Sporano won’t have the team ready for a playoff run, sitting at 10-5 going into the game against the Jets. He’s a good coach, and the Dolphins are a solid football team. The playoffs aren’t out of the realm of possibility. The Dolphins just need to do what they’ve been doing, and take care of business. Finish 11-5, and you're in for the first time since 2001 (with an identical record, too).

The BCS Mess, part deux

Last post I talked about a solution to the BCS. Far be it from me though to think everything the whole way though. But fear not- I've fleshed out my solutions, and even provided some (projective) examples based on this season!

Scenario #1 (I.e. the fariest scenario that University Presidents would never endorse)

-The top 12 teams at the conclusion of the regular season get to play in a BCS bowl game

-The top 4 teams in the BCS recieve a bye to the second round

-There are NO automatic bids for BCS conferences

-The Cotton Bowl, Outback Bowl, Peach Bowl and Citrus Bowl will host the first round matchups

-The Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl will host the second round games

-Whichever BCS site last hosted the championship game will not host a semi-final game

-The semi-finals sites will host the teams which it DID NOT host in the second round

-The site of the national championship will rotate as normal

-The playoff will begin on the first Thursday after the conclusion of the regular season

-Games will be held each week until the conclusion of the semi-final round, where the two finals teams will recieve an additonal week for rest and preperation

-The national championship will be played the second Saturday of January

So for instance, this year, the Superdome wouldn't host a semi-final or championship game this year. Dolphins Stadium would host the national championship as scheduled.

Here's an example of how that would look...

Scenario #2 (I.e. a scenario that isn't THAT bad, and may actually have a chance...)

-The six champions of the BCS conferences receive automatic bids

-The four highest ranked BCS conference champs receive first round byes

-The remaining two BCS conference champions will be matched with their first round opponent according to their ranking

-The remaining six playoff spots will be filled by the next six highest ranked teams in the BCS poll, HOWEVER

-Undefeated non-BCS teams ranked above the LOWEST RANKED BCS conference champion receive an automatic bid, taking the place of the lowest ranked non-conference championship teams

-Brackets will be set up using a conventional method, with highest seed facing lowest seed, etc. in the first round, despite the actual ranking of teams (I.e. #1 could play #21, should that #21 team be a BCS conference champion.)

-The Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl will host the second round games
-Whichever BCS site last hosted the championship game will not host a semi-final game
-The semi-finals sites will host the teams which it DID NOT host in the second round
-The site of the national championship will rotate as normal
-The playoff will begin on the first Thursday after the conclusion of the regular season
-Games will be held each week until the conclusion of the semi-final round, where the two finals teams will recieve an additonal week for rest and preperation
-The national championship will be played the second Saturday of January

Under that scenario this year, #13 Cincinnati and (presumably) #15 Boston College would get in, knocking out #12 Ball State and #11 TCU. However, #12 Ball State, being undefeated, would displace the highest automatic "at large" team, #10 Ohio State.

Here's an example of how that would look...

So those are my ideas. I for one would love to see EITHER version, so long as we get a playoff. Too bad this won't happen this year- Am I the only one who would be excited by a Utah vs Florida matchup?

The BCS Mess

The BCS has done it again. After slighting Auburn after an undefeated season a few seasons ago, the BCS has once again shut out a deserving team.
I know that by my own admission I thought OU was more deserving of the bid, but that doesn't change the fact that actual voters, and a good number of other so-called "experts" thought Texas deserved the bid. Texas is a good team, but unfortunately, under this current system, they're SOL.
But Texas isn't the only one who is going to be royally screwed out of a bid. Chances are, even with Oregon State's loss, that Boise State will be left out of a BCS bid, with the directors choosing 10-2 and less-deserving Ohio State to play in a game over them. And while we're at it, Ball State has the potential to be 13-0, ranked in the top 12 of the BCS, and also be shafted.
This is absurd. I've heard the suggestion put forth that since non-BCS conference teams have to finish in the top 12 of the BCS to be considered for a BCS bowl, why not have conference champs adhere to that same criteria? Shouldn't we reward teams for playing well instead of rewarding them because their fan bases will bring in more money?
But alas- this isn't a perfect world. No director in their right mind would pick Ball State or Boise State over #16 Cincinnati or #17 Boston College/#25 Virginia Tech. It's not fair, but that's how it works. Over the course of the season, Ball State and Boise State have played better than any of those teams, but they won't be rewarded for it, despite finishing higher (and undefeated!) in the BCS itself. What a shame.
I know that we're years away, but I still think a playoff would be the best way to settle it. Forget automatic bids for winning a "BCS conference." That's crap. The gap is closing. Utah and Boise State showed us that (Hawaii not so much). But when App State can be Michigan in the Big House and TCU's can upset Oklahoma's, it's time to make things fair.
My proposal? Have the top 4 teams in the BCS (right now, Alabama, OU, Texas, Florida) get automatic byes, a-la the NFL. Next, take the next 8 highest ranked teams, and have them play it out. That's a field of 12 teams. So the winner of #8 Penn State and #9 Boise State plays #1 Alabama in the second round, the winner of #5 USC vs #12 Ball State plays #4 Florida, the winner of #6 Utah and #11 TCU plays #3 Texas, and the winner of #7 Texas Tech and #10 Ohio State plays #2 Oklahoma. Seems fair to me.
One of the arguments proponents of the BCS make is that it leads to an unparalled regular season. You think there's room to slip up when only 12 teams would make this field? No. TCU and OSU are the only 2-loss teams in that field, and they lost to Oklahoma and Utah and USC and Penn State respectively.
Another thing is, it wouldn't extend the season by more than a couple weeks.
As far as money and tie ins? Call the second round games your Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl, and then rotate the semi-finals and the national championship sites between those venues.
The rest of the college football world can still have their bowls. To me, this seems like the best solution. Teams are rewarded for playing well, the fat cats still make their money, their beloved BCS formula is still relevant, and you still need a stellar season to win the championship.