TCU's Bowl Blowout Shows Failure Of New "Playoff" System

(The image above is from the Facebook page of Theresa Otto.)

TCU HORNED FROGS...............42
MISSISSIPPI REBELS...............3

The TCU Horned Frogs beat the Ole Miss Rebels by a score of 42-3. And the Rebels weren't a bad team. They were ranked 9th in the nation, and led the nation in defense. Is there any doubt now that TCU deserved to be in the playoffs? This just shows the new "playoff" system is no better than the beauty contest it replaced. There were at least 6 teams that had a legitimate chance to win the national championship in a real playoff system. When Is the NCAA going to institute a REAL playoff system for Division I football?

TCU Embarrasses BCS By Winning Rose Bowl

Texas Christian University is undoubtably one of the best college football teams in the nation.   They finished the regular season undefeated (12-0), but were denied the chance to play for a national championship.   The football pundits said they didn't play a strong enough schedule and weren't in a BCS-automatic eligibility conference, so they couldn't be considered for a national championship game (and there's nothing they could do about it since college football doesn't have a play-off system).

The football "powers-that-be" put TCU in the Rose Bowl instead, figuring they would lose to a very powerful Wisconsin Badger team and that would end any thoughts TCU fans had of a national championship.   But TCU messed that plan up on January 1st by beating Big 10 champion Wisconsin 21-19.   They now have a 13-0 record and have proven they can beat teams with "tougher" schedules.

But they still don't get the respect and consideration they deserve.   In a few days Oregon will play Auburn, and the winner of that game will be crowned the national champion -- even though their record will be no better than that of TCU (undefeated).   Who's to say that TCU couldn't win a head-to-head play-off match-up?   In a fairer world they would be given the opportunity to try.

This is not the first time a deserving team has been denied the opportunity for a shot at the national championship by the faulty BCS system, and it won't be the last.   It's time to stop this farce and scrap the BCS system.   It's time to institute a play-off system for NCAA Division I football.   Division II has a play-off system that results in a national championship that's won on the playing field, and there's no reason that Division I can't do the same.

There are those who say that there's too much money in the current BCS Bowl system, and that's why a play-off system can't be done.   That's a load of crap!   There would be just as much money to be had in a series of play-off games, and the current bowls could be a part of that play-off system.  

It's time that teams like TCU got their fair shot at the national championship, and that can only be done with a play-off system.  

Patterson Will Stay At TCU

I am very relieved to hear this. After leading Texas Christian University (TCU) to its first undefeated season since 1938 (and five 11-win seasons since 2003), Coach Patterson was ripe to be picked up by another major college in the hope he could do the same at their school.

It was especially worrying when Notre Dame fired Coach Weis and began looking for a replacement a few days ago. Notre Dame has a lot of classic football history, but have been unable to find a winning coach in the last few years. And the rumors had already started that Patterson was a prime candidate for that job.

But the officials at TCU are not stupid. Today they will announce in a press conference that they have signed Coach Patterson to a new long-term contract extension. It looks like Patterson likes it in Fort Worth, and will be TCU's coach for many years to come (Coach Patterson is in the black shirt on the right in the above picture).

Next Sunday TCU will find out which BCS bowl they will be invited to (and if Texas loses to Nebraska, it could be the national championship game).

TCU Finishes Season Undefeated

TCU has done it! After dismantling the University of New Mexico by a 51-10 score, they have finished the season with a 12-0 record. It is the first time they've gone undefeated in 71 years -- since 1938, when TCU won a national championship led by Heisman Trophy quarterback Davey O'Brien.

TCU is currently ranked #4 in the BCS standing, and could possibly move up to #3 after the Florida-Alabama game. The only way they could possibly have a shot at the national championship at this point, would be if Texas loses to Nebraska in the Big-12 championship (and that is extremely unlikely).

I think TCU has left little doubt that they are one of the best college football teams in the country. They beat Virginia and Clemson on the road (and Clemson is in the ACC championship game). They also demolished both BYU and Utah while both those teams were ranked in the top twenty in the nation.

If there is any justice in the world, TCU should get a top BCS bowl game (and representatives from the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls were at yesterday's game). If I was the team picked to play TCU in the upcoming bowl game, I would be very afraid. This team still has a point to make, and they seem very capable of doing it.

I congratulate TCU on a great season, and I look forward to the bowl game where they'll get their 13th win.

NOTE -- The picture above shows Coach Patterson holding up the Mountain West trophy after their win against New Mexico yesterday.

TCU Rises To #4 In BCS Standings

The TCU football team has now accomplished something that no other team not in a BCS conference has ever done. They have risen to the #4 ranking in the BCS standings. Until now, the best ranking for a non-BCS conference school was #6. The TCU Horned Frogs are also rated #4 by the Coaches poll and the Harris poll.

TCU has accomplished this by winning their recent games by huge margins and remaining undefeated. They have won their last four games by an average score of 44-8. Meanwhile, the #5 and #6 teams are also from non-BCS conferences -- Cincinnati and Boise State.

This is where the BCS gets unfair. No matter how good these teams do as they finish the rest of the season, the BCS is only required to include one of them in a BCS bowl game. Also, there is no way any of the three has a chance to play for the national championship, even though they have proven they can play with ranked teams.

It is time for major colleges to go to a playoff system for at least the top 16 teams. I realize TCU and the teams ranked below them might be considered "cinderella" teams with only an outside chance of winning, but who can say they couldn't do it? It reminds me of the excellent Utah team from last year that wasn't given a chance to prove themselves.

By the way, TCU's next game is against that Utah team. If TCU can convincingly beat them, can anyone really claim they wouldn't have a good chance to beat Florida, Texas or Alabama? Here are the top ten teams and their BCS ratings:

1. Florida----------.9842

2. Alabama----------.9516

3. Texas----------.9234

4. TCU----------.8620

5. Cincinnati----------.8580

6. Boise State----------.8126

7. Georgia Tech----------.7552

8. LSU----------.6138

9. USC----------.5922

10. Iowa----------.5745

Could TCU Be The Best Team In Texas ?

I guess it's time for a little "purple love". Although I now live in the Texas Panhandle, I was a Tarrant County resident for over 20 years. So it's only natural for me to follow the sports exploits of that county's largest university -- Texas Christian University (TCU).

I'm old enough to remember when TCU had the longest losing streak in the nation among major colleges. I think it was more than 80 games. Do you know how many years it takes to create an 80 game losing streak? Suffice it to say, there were a lot of very lean years. But those days are long gone.

For several years now, TCU has earned its way into the top 20 teams in the nation. Currently they are ranked #6 by the BCS. They were #8 until they took BYU to the woodshed and spanked them properly last week (remember that BYU beat Oklahoma this year, and Oklahoma was only a 3-point loser to #3 Texas). After beating BYU 38-7 last week, TCU gave UNLV a 41-0 drubbing this week.

Unless they fall asleep and underestimate someone, there is a very good chance that TCU will finish this season undefeated, and I seriously doubt that Coach Patterson will allow the team to overlook anyone. The only team left that really has a chance to beat them is Utah, and Utah is not nearly as strong as they were last year. It should still be a great game to watch.

Frankly, TCU is a very good and well-balanced team. They have an excellent defense and an equally good offense. The special teams play well, and they are well coached. They may not have as many superstar players as some other teams have, but they make up for it by playing together as a team.

There have even been some Fort Worth sports columnists calling for a Texas-TCU game to determine the mythical "Texas championship". It won't happen, but if it did I don't know who would win it. Both are great teams with great coaching.

Could TCU actually be the best team in Texas? I don't honestly know. But I do believe they are good enough to compete with any team in the country, and I like that.

Tarrant County Is Getting Greedy

It looks like the Republican leadership is getting too greedy in Tarrant County. Now they want to tax an educational institution -- Texas Christian University. For them, it's not enough that the university provides hundreds of jobs for the local economy and brings thousands of students to Fort Worth. These students buy from many businesses and increase the sales tax revenue for the area.

No one can deny that the university is a big boon to the local economy, but it now looks like Tarrant County wants even more. Last January, the university opened a new bookstore that is run by Barnes and Noble. The Tarrant Appraisal District wants the university to pay property taxes on the new bookstore.

Now the tax district doesn't charge property taxes on the bookstores of other universities in Tarrant County -- Texas Wesleyan University and the University of Texas at Arlington. But they claim the new TCU bookstore caters to the general public, and not just to TCU students.

That is just ridiculous. No university bookstore anywhere will refuse to sell to the general public. I imagine they would all love to have even more business from the general public. Even though I graduated many years ago, I still like to stop in the university bookstore at my alma mater (Texas Wesleyan) whenever I am in Fort Worth.

It speaks well of TCU that the general public would shop at their bookstore. It shows the depth of support for the university among the general public. This is certainly no reason to punish the university with an onerous tax bill.

Who does the tax district think is going to have to pay that bill? It will be the students, of course. It's not bad enough that tuition and other costs keep rising, but now the county has added a tax burden for the students to pay. This is just wrong.

TCU owns the property and the bookstore. Barnes and Noble just run it for them. And the majority of the business the bookstore does is student business. The school says that 75% of the revenue for the bookstore comes from textbook sales. Add to this the other school items such as athletic gear, class rings, book bags and a lot of other items emblazoned with the school logo and colors, and the school thinks it is completing its mission -- to serve the students.

The Tarrant Appraisal District needs to reconsider their very unwise decision. In order to continue serving their students and the community-at-large, TCU needs to keep its costs to students down as low as possible. The tax district seems to be working against that goal.

Tarrant County government needs to stop and think. TCU is too great a benefit to Tarrant County to be treated this way.