BCS - Not If You Lose, It's When You Lose

With the many, many flaws of the BCS scoring system, the one that really sticks out to me is how much the human element is taken into account with the polling formula. And, as we see year after year, when it comes to human rankings, it does not matter if you lose a game, it matters when you lose a game.

If Ohio State had lost to Washington early in the year and then ran the table and finished with the same 11-1 ranking, they would easily be ranked #3 in the nation in all polls. LSU would probably still get the nod at the #1 spot because of the timing of their loss and there is no denying that an undefeated Kansas deserves a #2 spot.

Ohio State deserves to be the #3 team in the nation just as much as West Virginia and Missouri, but because Ohio State lost late in the season, they immediately dropped the standard 5-7 spots in the polls. Once you fall, you can climb your way back up with losses ahead of you, because, they like you, will fall 5-7 spots. Lose early in the season though and you’re all set for a championship run. Lose late and you’re doomed.

This is reason for a playoff system alone. Regardless if it’s Ohio State that gets burned or Arizona State for losing late in the season or the many teams that have felt Ohio State’s pain in years past.

Additionally, Ohio State takes a pounding about their schedule, but is it really about their schedule or the simple fact that they happened to lose a game last year. I’m amazed at how many people are still in shock that Ohio State lost to Florida last year and because of this one loss, they are determined to point all fingers at the Big Ten schedule as the reason for the high rankings and continued winning ways.

Why doesn't West Virginia get this same treatment? Who have they beaten of any significance this year? Check out their mighty schedule and tell me it’s stronger than Ohio State’s. You can’t! As of today, West Virginia has beaten no currently ranked teams.

Kansas is undefeated and I can’t argue with that, regardless of how weak their Big 12 schedule has been. It has been a cake walk for Kansas though. Not one team of significance on the schedule. A couple Iowa / Purdue types, but a non-conference schedule that makes Akron and Kent State look like national powers on Ohio State's schedule.

Being from the same conference, Missouri’s schedule was also no stronger than Ohio State’s. They did play Oklahoma though and got beat.

I’m excited about this weekend and next weekend’s games, as it will be interesting. But I’ll continue to be unsatisfied with this system, like everyone it seems, until there is a playoff in place. And of all conferences to blame, the Big Ten is definitely most to blame for no playoff system. That’s the conference with The Big Ten Network, correct? Bad decision after bad decision and the fans (where the money comes from) are the ones that suffer.

How Good are these Akron Zips?

The Akron Zips football team is off to a good start this season with a 3-3 record. Like me, at first glance, most people would consider a 3-3 record as a big disappointment. Digging deeper into the Zips three losses tells a different story.

Their first loss came at the hands of the Nation's #3 team, Ohio State, in Columbus. Of note though, the Zips were in the game at half time and held Ohio State to a season low of 20 points. Akron turned right around and headed to the #29 team in the country, Indiana. Again, they played competitively, but were handed their second loss. Keep in mind that Indiana only has one loss this season and that loss came against Illinois, who are ranked 18th in the country and who have only one loss at the hands of Missouri, who are ranked 10th in the country and undefeated. The Zips 3rd loss came against Connecticut. Yes, Connecticut, the 34th best team in the country and one of only 10 undefeated teams left in D-1 football. And they are in the Big East.

The losses are justified, but where the question of just how good are these Zips is with the wins. They beat a bad Army team to start the year, won a hard fought game against local rival and pretty talented Kent State and won with a thrilling finish at Western Michigan. For those that haven't seen the finish, please play the video below. ESPN is saying the Zips may have an ESPY winner this year. Not big time wins by any means, but wins none the less.

It's always easy to keep up with the likes of Ohio State, but being on the West Coast, keeping up to speed on the Zips is a difficult one. I'm always sure to check up on two blogs that are all over the world of the Akron Zips - Rasor on the Zips and Morgan's MAC Attack. David Lee Morgan had a great quick hitter Monday on the Zips talented wide receiver Jabaru Arthur.

Through 6 games, Arthur has 49 catches for 642 yards and 7 touchdowns. His 107 yards per game is good for 8th best in the country. He is a Senior, so keep an eye on Arthur come the NFL draft next year.

As with everything, only time will tell how good this Zips team really is. They should roll over Temple to get to 4 wins, leaving them with 5 more games. If they can go 3-2 in those five games, finishing the season off with a 7-5 record, the bowls will have to look Akron's way.

**Get your votes in as well. Zippy has made it through 4 weeks and is in the final 12 of the Capital One Bowl Mascot Challenge. Zippy is up against Seymour from Southern Mississippi and with my vote is trailing by only 133 votes at 13882 to 13749. Get your vote in by clicking here!