What the BCS Matchups SHOULD Be

What the BCS Matchups SHOULD Be

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs Wisconsin

Nothing wrong with this matchup. These are two teams that at the beginning of the season were thought to be playing against each other for the national championship.

Wisconsin lost a heart breaker on a 44-yd hail mary pass by Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins to Keith Nichol as time expired. The Badgers then followed that up with a loss to a mediocre Ohio St. team, but were able to avenge their loss to Michigan St. beating them in the inaugural Big Ten title game.

Oregon could have been in the National Championship Game discussion until their late season loss to USC. They would have had a chance to get revenge in the Pac-12 Championship, but instead we had to suffer through that UCLA joke of a matchup (thanks a lot Reggie Bush.)

Oregon doesn’t play defense, but Chip Kelly’s offense is one of the most exciting in the country ranking 3^rd  in PPG with LeMichael James’ lightning quick speed running all over the field. Wisconsin is a more balanced team ranking 4^th in PPG and 6^th in Points Allowed and have a scary tandem in once Heisman hopeful QB Russell Wilson and Heisman candidate RB Montee Ball, who has 32 TDs this season.

Discover Orange Bowl – Clemson vs West Virginia

Can’t do anything about this one with the ACC champion Clemson playing Big East Champion...gulp…West Virginia.

This will easily be the most boring and frustrating of all the BCS games featuring two teams that are mediocre at best.

Clemson started the season on fire, but then had a bad stretch losing 3 out of 4 with a very bad loss to North Carolina State. They did beat Virginia Tech twice, and handily I might add. That shows what the alternative could have been, an overrated Va Tech that didn’t play anyone good all year.

West Virginia has 3 losses, 2 of them to unranked teams (Syracuse, Louisville) and is a prime example of why there shouldn’t be automatic qualifiers in the BCS because it leaves you with a team and a matchup like this one. Sorry Arkansas.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – Boise St. vs Kansas St.

Here’s where it gets controversial.

Boise State’s schedule sucks and we all know it. They beat SEC finalist Georgia the first game of the season and then played nobody until TCU, which they lost by a missed field goal after an incredible Kellen Moore drive to get them in field goal range (again!?...see Reno, NV 2010.) If it wasn’t for 2 missed field goals and a one point loss to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, Boise State would have had four…yes FOUR! Undefeated seasons in a row. Kellen Moore and the Broncos deserve and should be in this game.

Kansas State should be in this game for one reason…Collin Klein. The guy is just exciting to watch, if you want proof go back and watch the Oklahoma St. game they narrowly lost 52-45 with a chance at the goal line to get to OT, and the next week when K-State beat Texas A&M 53-50 in 4 OTs. The guy puts points on the board scoring 50+ points 4 times this year. He has thrown for 1700+ yards and 12 TDs, but what makes him exciting is his ability to run the football with 1000+ rushing yards and 25 TDs with his legs.

Kellen Moore vs Collin Klein. Let the scoring begin.

Allstate Sugar Bowl – Stanford vs Alabama

Andrew Luck vs Alabama’s defense

Stanford could have been in the National Championship against LSU had they taken care of business against Oregon at home, but that slight misstep puts them in the Sugar Bowl. People have been arguing who will win the Heisman all season long and the top 2 candidates (sorry Robert Griffin III is 3rd) would play in this game to show who truly is the best player in college football.

Alabama’s strength is Trent Richardson and their defense, in that order. Critics are skeptical about their defense because horrible quarterback play in the SEC makes them look better than they are. Good news is we will find out just how good they are against the golden boy Andrew Luck. Their only blemish coming against LSU in the “game of the century” which turned out to be the “snoozer of the century” and nobody wants a replay of the mess unless you are from Tuscaloosa.

Allstate BCS National Championship Game – LSU vs Oklahoma St.

This is a scenario where the national championship can be decided on the field. Two teams that won their respective conferences; One whose strength is defense, the other whose strength is an air-it-out offense and would make for a very entertaining matchup to decide the best team in the country.

LSU without a doubt should be going into this game as the #1 team in the country as they are undefeated, and have one of the stingiest defenses in the land ranking 2^nd in points allowed with 10.5. When you only give up 10 PPG that makes up for poor quarterback play.

Experts were predicting Landry Jones and Oklahoma to be in this game halfway through the year, and last week Oklahoma State ran them right off the field. The Cowboys lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Iowa State days after the university was struck with a terrible tragedy, when the women’s basketball coach was killed in a plane crash. If any team deserves a do over it’s the Cowboys. They have been dominant all season and their QB Brandon Weeden has been playing out of his mind.

This matchup would be a very close, hard fought game where the winner would be deserving of a national title. Instead, we will probably see a rematch of LSU-Alabama and if the Crimson Tide win, there will be more controversy than ever about who the real national champion is.