AP Top 11: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results
1. Auburn (14-0): Won BCS Bowl, 22-19
2. TCU (13-0): Won Rose Bowl, 21-19
3. Oregon (12-1): Lost BCS Bowl, 19-22
4. Stanford (12-1): Won Orange Bowl, 40-12
5. Ohio State (12-1): Won Sugar Bowl, 31-26
6. Oklahoma (12-2): Won Fiesta Bowl, 48-20
7. Wisconsin (11-2): Lost Rose Bowl, 19-21
8. LSU (11-2): Won Cotton Bowl, 41-24
9. Boise State (12-1): Won Las Vegas Bowl, 26-3
10. Alabama (10-3): Won Capital One Bowl, 49-7
11. Nevada (13-1): Won Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, 20-13
Two points need to be made here before I proceed:
1) I'm an attorney. I have lived my adult life based on firm structure: the law. It is not negotiable; it is not flexible. It is firm, and it does not waver. I have passed bar exams in three different states; I make almost $500k a year; I am damn good at practicing law. And the law does not bend. In direct opposition to everything I represent at my core is the NCAA: it "convicts" without sufficient evidence using a threshold that doesn't hold up under scrutiny from third-party assessment, and it exonerates when hard evidence is present (and confirmed by independent law-enforcement entities). It has no conscience, no rigidity and no structure. It is a lie. For the past 12-18 months or so, we've seen the real NCAA start losing control of big-time college football, and that process is now complete. There is NO WAY any student-athlete -- whether s/he knows of it or not -- can be shopped around in the recruiting process and maintain their eligible for college athletics. That violates the very core of what the NCAA was created for. To wit, the NCAA's mission statement: "Our purpose is to govern competition in a fair, safe, equitable and sportsmanlike manner, and to integrate intercollegiate athletics into higher education so that the educational experience of the student-athlete is paramount." The NCAA has failed this mission when it comes to Division I-A football, but I will not fail in my purpose here;
2) I know some of you reading this won't like it, and I don't give a shit. Because I'm right, you're wrong, and time will prove this. So get over it, enjoy being part of the problem that is killing something with great potential, and live with yourself in shame. It's your right.
Based on these two statements, there is no way I am considering Auburn (or Ohio State, for that matter, as they used FIVE ineligible players all season long) for the 2010 McMNC. They used an ineligible player in all 14 of their games, and they are ineligible for my selection process. I noticed that Auburn didn't win either poll unanimously, which means there are other people out there who feel the same way I do. That's enough justification for me, even if the masses are morons, lemmings and ignorant fools. There's a reason my email handle is what it is, you know -- because most people are ridiculous, stupid and a waste of space.
If you don't like it, I don't care. Post your own rankings and express your own worthless opinion. If you can't even do that, you're proving you're a waste of space.
So, on with the show ...
Teams under consideration in 2010 must have won their conference (or at least a share of it) and won their bowl game. This leaves us with TCU, Boise State, Nevada and ... Oregon (because Auburn isn't eligible to win their bowl game with an ineligible player). The Ducks get screwed in all of this, of course, but we'll deal with that in a moment. They did lose the game, so it's a loss in their W-L record -- but for this TUC discussion, they didn't lose their bowl game.
TCU: The Horned Frogs have a big edge as the only team that finished undefeated in 2010. Their SOS was rated at 48%, which isn't good. But they did beat seven bowl teams by an average of 22.6 points a game -- so when they played the better teams, they beat those teams badly. They beat Baylor by 35, SMU by 17, BYU by 28, Air Force by 31 and Utah by 40. Yes, they squeaked by SDSU by five and Wisconsin by two, as well. In essence, for a one-loss team to jump TCU, they better have played a ridiculously hard schedule.
Boise State: Their one loss was on the road to fellow TUC Nevada, so that actually eliminates the Broncos from contention here. Their SOS is irrelevant, as they lose a H2H tiebreak.
Nevada: Their one loss was on the road to Hawaii, which won ten games this year. Not a bad loss, and it came early which always helps in the rankings. Although that's irrelevant here. Their SOS comes out at 47%, so they can't pass TCU with their one loss. But Nevada had a nice year: they beat FCS champ Eastern Washington by 25, they beat BYU by 14, they beat Fresno State by one, they beat Boise State by three, and they beat Boston College by seven. Not the best slate, but 13-1 is pretty good, period.
Oregon: The one loss to Auburn hurts, but the Ducks also had a great year. They have an SOS rating of 49%. So they can't overcome the loss in the title game to Auburn (thereby getting screwed royally by the NCAA; watch Phil Knight have his fun with the organization in the next few years ...). The Ducks beat four bowl teams in 2010, and they also beat two other teams that could have played in bowls if the NCAA had a backbone. But it's not enough.
In the end, TCU wins this easily. They were the best team in 2010, in terms of fielding an eligible team and adhering to NCAA rules and bylaws.
McMNC Revision:
1. TCU
2. Oregon
3. Nevada
4. Boise State
5. Stanford
RUNNING SCORECARD:
Penn State: +1977, +1981, =1982, =1986, +1994
USC: -1962, =1967, +1969, =1972, +1978, +1979, =2003, =2004
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951, =1998
Washington: +1960, +1991
Georgia Tech: +1952, +1990
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937, =1976, +1980
Utah: +2008
West Virginia: +2007
Boise State: +2006
UCLA: +1965
Arkansas: +1964
Mississippi: +1962
Iowa: +1956
Illinois: +1951
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
TCU: -1938, +2010
BYU: =1984
Syracuse: =1959
Texas A&M: =1939
Georgia: +1946, -1980
Michigan State: -1952, +1953
Michigan: +1947, =1948, -1997
Ohio State: -1942, +1944, =1954, =1968, =2002
Nebraska: =1970, =1971, -1994, =1995, +1997
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950, =1955, -1956, +1957, =1975, =1986, =2000
Auburn: -1957, +1983, -2010
Maryland: -1953
Clemson: -1981
Colorado: -1990
Florida State: -1993, =1999
Texas: =1963, -1969, =2005
Army: -1944, -1945
LSU: =1958, -2003, -2007
Florida: =1996, -2006, -2008
Miami-FL: -1983, =1987, =1989, -1991, =2001
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941, -1960
Alabama: +1945, =1961, -1964, -1965, -1978, -1979, =1992, =2009
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949, =1966, =1973, -1977, =1988, +1993
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
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