Another Take from the Mizzou Side of BCS Screw Job - Page 6

Frazod · 12-03-2007, 09:51 AM

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...5?OpenDocument

Mizzou left out of BCS? It's nonsense
BY BRYAN BURWELL
POST-DISPATCH SPORTS COLUMNIST
Sunday, Dec. 02 2007

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Of course it doesn’t make sense. You know it, I know it, even
the doofuses who continue to perpetrate this idiotic Bowl Championship Series
system have to know just how fatally flawed and hopelessly messed up their
multi-million dollar scam is.

So Sunday night was just one more bit of annoying confirmation of how defective
the BCS is.

From the broad national perspective, to the narrower parochial one, I truly
hate it with all my heart. But since sports is very much like politics --
everything is local -- let’s deal with how Mizzou got robbed Sunday night by
the BCS and its convoluted computers.

Missouri finished its finest season in the history of the program with an 11-2
record, won the Big 12 North, knocked off both arch rivals in Kansas and
Illinois, and the Tigers finished with a No. 6 ranking in the final BCS
standings.

Logic says the Tigers had to get a BCS bowl bid, right?

So why are they sitting on the outside of the BCS with an invitation to the
still prestigious (but non BCS) Cotton Bowl, while five other schools that
ranked lower in the BCS standings -- including the 8th-ranked Jayhawks and
13th-ranked Illini -- received bids to the more preferred BCS bowls?

Seventh-ranked Southern California and Illinois are in the Rose Bowl. Kansas is
in the Orange Bowl, ninth-ranked West Virginia is in the Fiesta Bowl and
10th-ranked Hawaii is in the Sugar Bowl.

So how does any of this make sense? As the news began to filter through the
second floor hallways at the Reynolds Alumni Center on Sunday night, the grim
faces of many Mizzou athletes told the story of the night.

“It’s just a shame we got locked out,” said All-America tight end Martin
Rucker. “How does that happen? Mathematically, logically, it just doesn’t make
sense.”

By the time the Fox network BCS bowl selection show began at 7 p.m., Rucker and
his teammates had already left the building. They couldn’t bear to watch it.
They had been instructed to take the high road and go with the company line
that they’re “excited” to be Cotton Bowl bound.

But Rucker, the senior who has seen Missouri football grow from inconsequential
to important, couldn’t play the game. In the course of 48 turbulent hours, he’d
watched his team go from No. 1 in the country with a legitimate shot at a
national championship bid, to disappointed and disgusted outsiders with their
noses pressed to the glass watching the BCS dance cards being handed out.

Someone asked if this obvious slight was further proof of how badly college
football’s top division needs a playoff system to decide its national champions
and perhaps prevent a situation like this where Mizzou was unjustly left on the
outside looking in.

“I don’t know if you need a playoff system to see that it doesn’t make sense
that one team (Illinois) lost three games and lost to you, and you only lost
two games, and they’re going to a BCS game and you’re not,” said Rucker with a
resigned shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t think we need a playoff system to
understand that, do we?”

You could see the disappointment in their faces as the players got the
official word and most of them quietly left the alumni center without saying a
word. “I have a bunch of players who have a bunch of frowns,” said Pinkel.

But those frowning faces told another story of the night, as well. Is there any
surer sign that Pinkel’s emerging program is heading in the right direction
than the fact that Mizzou football is no longer satisfied with a Cotton Bowl
bid?

Three years ago -- heck, last year -- Missouri loyalists and Tiger players and
coaches would have done somersaults down Broadway if you told them that the
2007 season would conclude with an 11-2 regular season record, a Big 12 North
title, a week on top of the national polls, a legitimate Heisman Trophy
candidate, and a Cotton Bowl bid.

After six years of lesser bowls and underachieving seasons, a trip to a
traditional and prestigious Jan. 1 bowl game, with or without the additional
status of a BCS affiliation, would have been considered a watershed mark for
Pinkel and the Tigers.

So even in the aftermath of the crushing defeat to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title
game, even with the obvious insult by the BCS system, even as some folks will
spend a lot of energy and a ton of venom overanalyzing how the biggest game in
MU football history ended up with a less-than-storybook ending, let’s not lose
sight of the essential ongoing story line.

What happened over the weekend wasn’t the sad end of the story.

The rebirth of Mizzou football is a story that’s just beginning.

Pablo · 12-03-2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcpasco

But your the great and powerful KU, anything short of NC's aren't exceptable

amirite?

You tell us. As a Mizzou fan you should now be the interim expert on coming up short of a NC.

'Hamas' Jenkins · 12-03-2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

I heard the bowl officials said they knew Kansas would bring a much higher class of people.

You know those people who wave back and forth with their hands over their head when they get excited??

We call them reeruns, you call them your fan base.

Garcia Bronco · 12-03-2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

The ACC conference hasn't impressed me all season.

7 - 7 win teams. That's pretty good.

kcpasco · 12-03-2007, 01:47 PM

Just pray you can win the North before Iowas St. does.

But that probably won't happen

**alanm** · 12-03-2007, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pierce

But it's likely that the more attractive a team is, the more money they might bring in due to casual fan interest, etc.

It does not matter. KU and MU will both get national attention. The seasons both teams have had will help with recruiting in the future.

Make no mistake about it. Bowls always invite the teams who bring legions of fans WHERE EVER they go. If a team can't sell out their bowl allotment on a consistent basis that sticks with a team for years.

Pablo · 12-03-2007, 01:48 PM

I also find it funny that KU is a trash team when they lost to "God's own team" by 8 points and were able to rattle off 28 points in the second half against your championship-caliber team.

Your definition of a slaughter could have been quickly altered had our kicker made two FG's. But no excuses, you were the better team that day. It's a shame you had to go and waste it with the defense you put out there.

You have a championship caliber offense, the defense, not so much.

kcpasco · 12-03-2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GonzoRox88

You have a championship caliber offense, the defense, not so much.

Pot meet Kettle

**Skip Towne** · 12-03-2007, 01:51 PM

What's this? Va Tech has a 48-7 loss this year? I guess they did look good against Duke and William and Mary though.

**Lzen** · 12-03-2007, 01:51 PM

And KU will have most of their team back. There aren't too many seniors on KU. I am confident that they will be good once again. 11 wins? Probably not. But they will be a very good team.

kcpasco · 12-03-2007, 01:52 PM

Missouri has already bought up all the Cotton Bowl tickets. So your reeruned statement that KU travels better is flawed.

kcpasco · 12-03-2007, 01:54 PM

This was nothing more then a handjob.

Your athletic director promised to buy more tickets, the rest of the country sees it for what it was.

**Lzen** · 12-03-2007, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcpasco

Jesus ****ing Christ, you haven't won shit since 1988 and you act like you win a championship every year, your as bad as Raider fans.

And a lot of MU fans that are putting down KU sound the same way. Get off your high horse.

Dr. Van Halen · 12-03-2007, 01:58 PM

It does matter.

In 20 years we will be saying that KU had a one-loss season and went to a BCS bowl game.

In 20 years we won't be saying much about MU's season. They were ranked #1 for a week? They lost the Big 12 championship game?

Mizzou got hosed by the BCS and their ridiculous rules.

MU, KU, and OU all three earned the right to a BCS game.

Dr. Van Halen · 12-03-2007, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcpasco

Missouri has already bought up all the Cotton Bowl tickets. So your reeruned statement that KU travels better is flawed.

KU students and alumni are more attractive for bowls.

There's a reason why there's a stereotype that KU people are spoiled and rich.

ChiefsFanatic · 12-03-2007, 02:15 PM

I think the fact that they played poorly, and the fact that they played poorly against the team that had previously beaten them, had a lot to do with not getting a BCS game.

12-03-2007, 09:51 AM
Frazod Did you hear what I said? Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $-576615	Another Take from the Mizzou Side of BCS Screw Job http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...5?OpenDocument Mizzou left out of BCS? It's nonsense BY BRYAN BURWELL POST-DISPATCH SPORTS COLUMNIST Sunday, Dec. 02 2007 COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Of course it doesn’t make sense. You know it, I know it, even the doofuses who continue to perpetrate this idiotic Bowl Championship Series system have to know just how fatally flawed and hopelessly messed up their multi-million dollar scam is. So Sunday night was just one more bit of annoying confirmation of how defective the BCS is. From the broad national perspective, to the narrower parochial one, I truly hate it with all my heart. But since sports is very much like politics -- everything is local -- let’s deal with how Mizzou got robbed Sunday night by the BCS and its convoluted computers. Missouri finished its finest season in the history of the program with an 11-2 record, won the Big 12 North, knocked off both arch rivals in Kansas and Illinois, and the Tigers finished with a No. 6 ranking in the final BCS standings. Logic says the Tigers had to get a BCS bowl bid, right? So why are they sitting on the outside of the BCS with an invitation to the still prestigious (but non BCS) Cotton Bowl, while five other schools that ranked lower in the BCS standings -- including the 8th-ranked Jayhawks and 13th-ranked Illini -- received bids to the more preferred BCS bowls? Seventh-ranked Southern California and Illinois are in the Rose Bowl. Kansas is in the Orange Bowl, ninth-ranked West Virginia is in the Fiesta Bowl and 10th-ranked Hawaii is in the Sugar Bowl. So how does any of this make sense? As the news began to filter through the second floor hallways at the Reynolds Alumni Center on Sunday night, the grim faces of many Mizzou athletes told the story of the night. “It’s just a shame we got locked out,” said All-America tight end Martin Rucker. “How does that happen? Mathematically, logically, it just doesn’t make sense.” By the time the Fox network BCS bowl selection show began at 7 p.m., Rucker and his teammates had already left the building. They couldn’t bear to watch it. They had been instructed to take the high road and go with the company line that they’re “excited” to be Cotton Bowl bound. But Rucker, the senior who has seen Missouri football grow from inconsequential to important, couldn’t play the game. In the course of 48 turbulent hours, he’d watched his team go from No. 1 in the country with a legitimate shot at a national championship bid, to disappointed and disgusted outsiders with their noses pressed to the glass watching the BCS dance cards being handed out. Someone asked if this obvious slight was further proof of how badly college football’s top division needs a playoff system to decide its national champions and perhaps prevent a situation like this where Mizzou was unjustly left on the outside looking in. “I don’t know if you need a playoff system to see that it doesn’t make sense that one team (Illinois) lost three games and lost to you, and you only lost two games, and they’re going to a BCS game and you’re not,” said Rucker with a resigned shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t think we need a playoff system to understand that, do we?” You could see the disappointment in their faces as the players got the official word and most of them quietly left the alumni center without saying a word. “I have a bunch of players who have a bunch of frowns,” said Pinkel. But those frowning faces told another story of the night, as well. Is there any surer sign that Pinkel’s emerging program is heading in the right direction than the fact that Mizzou football is no longer satisfied with a Cotton Bowl bid? Three years ago -- heck, last year -- Missouri loyalists and Tiger players and coaches would have done somersaults down Broadway if you told them that the 2007 season would conclude with an 11-2 regular season record, a Big 12 North title, a week on top of the national polls, a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, and a Cotton Bowl bid. After six years of lesser bowls and underachieving seasons, a trip to a traditional and prestigious Jan. 1 bowl game, with or without the additional status of a BCS affiliation, would have been considered a watershed mark for Pinkel and the Tigers. So even in the aftermath of the crushing defeat to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, even with the obvious insult by the BCS system, even as some folks will spend a lot of energy and a ton of venom overanalyzing how the biggest game in MU football history ended up with a less-than-storybook ending, let’s not lose sight of the essential ongoing story line. What happened over the weekend wasn’t the sad end of the story. The rebirth of Mizzou football is a story that’s just beginning.
Posts: 121,713

12-03-2007, 01:47 PM	#79
kcpasco MVP Join Date: Sep 2007 Casino cash: $6143463	Just pray you can win the North before Iowas St. does. But that probably won't happen
Posts: 15,945

12-03-2007, 01:48 PM	#81
Pablo Ultrabanned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Northland Casino cash: $-1680644	I also find it funny that KU is a trash team when they lost to "God's own team" by 8 points and were able to rattle off 28 points in the second half against your championship-caliber team. Your definition of a slaughter could have been quickly altered had our kicker made two FG's. But no excuses, you were the better team that day. It's a shame you had to go and waste it with the defense you put out there. You have a championship caliber offense, the defense, not so much.
Posts: 43,796

12-03-2007, 01:51 PM	#83
Skip Towne Supporter Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: T-Town Casino cash: $10004900	What's this? Va Tech has a 48-7 loss this year? I guess they did look good against Duke and William and Mary though.
Posts: 69,689

12-03-2007, 01:51 PM	#84
Lzen Banded Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Oz Casino cash: $-529308	And KU will have most of their team back. There aren't too many seniors on KU. I am confident that they will be good once again. 11 wins? Probably not. But they will be a very good team. __________________ Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know.
Posts: 42,458

12-03-2007, 01:52 PM	#85
kcpasco MVP Join Date: Sep 2007 Casino cash: $6143463	Missouri has already bought up all the Cotton Bowl tickets. So your reeruned statement that KU travels better is flawed.
Posts: 15,945

12-03-2007, 01:54 PM	#86
kcpasco MVP Join Date: Sep 2007 Casino cash: $6143463	This was nothing more then a handjob. Your athletic director promised to buy more tickets, the rest of the country sees it for what it was.
Posts: 15,945

12-03-2007, 01:58 PM	#88
Dr. Van Halen Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Missoula, MT Casino cash: $10005005	It does matter. In 20 years we will be saying that KU had a one-loss season and went to a BCS bowl game. In 20 years we won't be saying much about MU's season. They were ranked #1 for a week? They lost the Big 12 championship game? Mizzou got hosed by the BCS and their ridiculous rules. MU, KU, and OU all three earned the right to a BCS game.
Posts: 824

12-03-2007, 02:15 PM	#90
ChiefsFanatic DeadPunisher Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Blue Springs, MO. 64014 Casino cash: $359205	I think the fact that they played poorly, and the fact that they played poorly against the team that had previously beaten them, had a lot to do with not getting a BCS game.
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