[rvoitier]

Are you a Clintonite? Play by the rules and accept the consequences. Geaux Tigers!

Posted by someone else:

PROPOSED LETTER TO USC FROM THE BCS COMMITTEE

We noted with interest your university’s withdrawal from
the Bowl Championship Series format on January 1, 2004.
We infer that since USC and head coach Pete Carroll refuse to accept the validity of the BCS formula, you will not wish to be considered for
participation in next year’s BCS bowls. It is indeed admirable that you
stand on principle in spite of the prospect of losing
millions of dollars in revenue.

While we recognize that the BCS formula is not perfect,
we feel strongly that it goes a long way toward eliminating
the bias that has historically been present in the
former polls only system. It is our intention to refine the formula at the appropriate time, namely,
the off-season. We have no intention of EVER changing the rules in
the middle of a season and understand that that is a
deal breaker from your perspective.

We also note that we have not as yet received any concrete
suggestions from USC or coach Carroll for improving the BCS system.
Perhaps they were lost in the mail or maybe Trev hasn’t
finished writing them yet. We will consider any of USC’s suggestions in the same spirit in which they are offered.

In the interim, we will go forward with the Nokia Sugar
Bowl and crown either LSU or Oklahoma as 2003 National
Champions after the game. The process will adhere strictly to
that agreed upon by ALL members of BCS conferences at the start of the year. Please check your copy if the terms of the agreement are not clear.

Should you desire to reconsider and renounce your claim to
this year’s national championship, we will entertain
your public apology to the BCS, and the players, coaches,
students and fans of the University of Oklahoma and Louisiana State University.
If not, good luck with your new venture, The USC Football Championship.
Please send a copy of your formula for determining your championship.
Our BCS committee will be happy to provide unsolicited, public criticism.

Sincerely,

Chair and Members Bowl Championship Committee.

[Dog Gone]

Please provide a post where I said the rules should be changed in mid-season.

Read this:

NEW ORLEANS -- BCS coordinator Mike Tranghese would like to see the human element play a bigger role in college football's national championship formula.

"I'd like to see us go back to using the human polls," Tranghese told USA Today for a story on its Web site Friday, "but I don't think we can get that done."

Tranghese expects conference commissioners to soon discuss possible changes in the controversial system that selects the two teams that play in the national title game. One change could be giving more weight to The Associated Press poll and the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll than computer rankings.

The Bowl Championship Series standings are derived from a complicated formula that includes poll results, seven computer rankings and strength of schedule, plus other factors. The top two teams in the final standings meet in the national championship game.

Southern California, ranked No. 1 in both human polls used by the BCS, was left out of the Sugar Bowl, this season's BCS national title game.

The Trojans virtually assured themselves a piece of the national championship Thursday with a 28-14 thumping of No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl because voters almost certainly will leave the Trojans atop The Associated Press poll no matter what happens Sunday night in the Sugar Bowl.

Voters for the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll are obligated to crown the winner of the BCS championship game between No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Oklahoma.

That would produce a split national championship, just what the BCS was designed to avoid.

"I can tell you the six commissioners do not take any delight or pleasure in having to defend a poll we didn't want to have in the first place," said Tranghese, the Big East commissioner.

"I don't think we have a choice but to take a hard look at this."

Tranghese was slated to discuss the conclusion of his tenure as BCS coordinator at a meeting of the Football Writers Association of America on Sunday. The BCS has two seasons left in its current format.

"It's just not a single issue," Tranghese said. "Every time you add a twist, there's an unintended consequence."