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Ok, here's the first earnings statement for the Enron/Worldcom/Global Crossing/Citigroup of sports, Division I college football's poll and BCS system. BCS has fine-tuned its accounting interpretations for this year, removing margin of victory from their calculations. So instead of partially factoring in a team's relative strength, it is now increasinly ignored in the formula(who needs to know if one's sales booked as earnings were actually to shell companies? Why should it matter if A&M can barely beat McNeese State while Colorado pounds Nebraska. Details, details, always getting in the way.) Actually one can argue that since all wins are more equal, than this will increase running up the score this year, as teams will need to do more to differentiate themselves and impress the pollsters in fighting for those 2 elusive playoff slots.

With that top ranking starting out, all Miami has to do is run the tables in the Big Least to get in. More bogus crap about how you can't penalize a team that is number 1 all season and did what was asked of them, even if stronger more impressive teams emerge from power conferences like the Big 12 and SEC.

Is this the year the bubble finally bursts on the embarrassing fraud of a beauty contest they use to proclaim a mythical national champion? Here's hoping so, only a playoff will do.

Tough schedule awaits No. 1 Miami

By Kirk Herbstreit
Special to ESPN.com

Following its national championship season and returning so many starters, Miami is deserving as the top-ranked team in the ESPN/USA Today preseason coaches' poll. It's amazing to think the Hurricanes had five players picked in the first round of the NFL Draft, yet they are still the nation's No. 1 team.

Until a game is played, the Hurricanes should be No. 1, but they face a long stretch. Not only will they be marked as the reigning champions, but they also will be playing the toughest non-conference schedule I have ever seen, including games at Tennessee, at Florida and at home against Florida State.

There are four Big 12 teams in the top eight, and Kansas State and Texas A&M will end up spending time in the top 25 as well. Within the last year or so, the Big 12 is finally emerging as a premier conference. The conference has a lot of depth, one with both top 10 teams and some ranked in the top 25 or close to it.

Everybody feels there are five teams -- on paper -- that are a cut above every oter team, and they are the teams ranked in the preseason top five: Miami, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida State and Tennessee. And each of the five has a game against another top-five team -- Florida State plays Miami, Miami plays Tennessee and Oklahoma plays Texas.

Mark Oct. 12 on your calendar -- the Oklahoma-Texas and Florida State-Miami matchups come on the same day. Both games will be marquee matchups and have big national championship implications.

It will be interesting to see which teams survive and whether or not there will be an unbeaten team at the end of the season. I would be surprised if there were more than one unbeaten team.

Is this the year the bubble finally bursts on the embarrassing fraud of a beauty contest they use to proclaim a mythical national champion? Here's hoping so, only a playoff will do.

Any doubt that the BcS is a sham was erased last year when Nebraska managed to sneak into the Rose Bowl over Oregon. Would the Ducks have beaten Miami? It's doubtful, but they sure as hell would have given the Canes a better fight than the Huskers did.