Below is a copy of an e-mail I sent to Terry Bowden (Yahoo! Sports) after the 2006 season and bowls were complete.
Terry:
A week removed now from the BCS championship game, I have come up with a list of what I feel were the top 10 disappointments or problems of the past four-and-a-half months:
10. Oregon coach Bellotti comments about BYU after the Las Vegas Bowl. Mike Belotti said in pre-game interviews that BYU was not good enough to be in the PAC 10…and he stuck by those comments after the 38 – 8 whooping. Coach Bellotti, see complaint #9.
9. Pete Carroll’s unsportsmanlike conduct. After losing to UCLA and thus being eliminated from national championship contention, Coach Carroll stood mystified on the sideline and did not make the walk to mid-field to congratulate Coach Dorrell. C’mon Pete, set an example, be a good representative of USC and of the great program you have helped build. Don’t tarnish it with such a petty act. You were out played and out coached – suck it up and get your multi-million dollar rear end to mid-field and congratulate the man and the team that showed you up.
8. Oklahoma coaches and fans complaining about BSU gadgetry plays. “It was the only way they could win” has got to be the lamest comment of the season. Every team does what it has to in order to win. OU got beat up and embarrassed and looking for excuses is inexcusable. Pay tribute to a heck of a team and be grateful you were part of it.
7. BCS Championship Bowl trophy presentation. All the talk of the BCS purpose and history and how it was created for the big six conferences and they had to nerve to say, “On behalf of the 11 conferences that represent the BCS…”. Yes, they all agree to the BCS rules but my guess is that few would like to be referred to as a representative.
6. A full week between the major bowls and championship bowl. Hello out there, we like our football and we like it all at once. We’ve already spent 2-3 weeks watching re-runs and listening to commentary about the upcoming bowls and we don’t want a week to ponder the seasons of the 117 teams while we await the outcome of the last two. A day or two, fine…but not a week.
5. Notre Dame ranked? Overrated might be an understatement. No wins against a ranked team and still end up #17…there’s more wrong with the system than no playoff.
4. OSU at #2? Oh, please. We all know if you start out high and do OK you end up in the top 10. And give ‘em credit for going undefeated in the regular season. But their lackluster performance in the championship game should have opened a few eyes and made the voters realize that maybe they weren’t quite as good as their win column indicated.
3. BSU ranked lower than USC? BSU may play in less respected conference but they still had to give it their all week after week and their record shows they did. USC didn’t. They overlooked two opponents (7-6 UCLA and 10-4 Oregon State) and it should have showed in the final ranking. Yes, LSU had two losses as well…to teams who ended up in the top 10 (Florida, Auburn)! Plus, LSU beat two others who were in the top 10 at the time (Tennessee, Arkansas). Don’t even compare LSU’s two losses with USC’s.
2. Poor officiating in Oregon Oklahoma game. Let’s learn to use properly ( and fairly) what modern technology so easily provides us. Done, over with, move on, but let’s learn from it.
And the number one issue of 2006 (and probably of many years):
1. No system to satisfy everyone on which team is the best. Maybe we don’t need a playoff system, maybe just a better ranking system, or maybe just a semi-playoff. Most NCAA football fans have their opinions and ideas on how to do it better (I have a few of my own). There are ways to fix this and satisfy most fans but somebody (somebody high up) has to really care and really listen. Don’t even give me the crud about “…if it’s so bad then why do people keep paying?” – they keep paying because they love the game (really love it) even if the final poll is a mess.
So there you have it…one fan’s complaints about another great, fun, exciting, unpredictable, and sometimes upsetting NCAA football season.
But amongst the disappointments of the 2006 season there was a bright spot that stuck out for me: The trophy presentation of the Fiesta Bowl to BSU’s Coach Petersen…and him giving credit for the win, not to the great defense or the outstanding offensive execution or to just one or two game MVPs, but to the back-up QB’s for the win. That was classy. And on top of that, in his reaction to the final rankings a week later he just seemed proud to be listed amongst the elite. He even called the final rankings “fair” and recognized that other conferences are “very strong”. No whining, no complaining, no excuses…just great sportsmanship. Pete Carrol, OU fans and Mike Bellotti could learn a thing or two.
Robert Ruiz
NCAA Football Fan
