Solo Shot #2: UL = BCS?

editor's note: This is the second part of the ongoing "Solo Shot" series, in which one of the TPC writers ventures out into the wilderness alone to tackle an important, pressing matter in the world of sports. This week, Luke tells you what to make of the BCS and the Big East. Enjoy.


R.T. from Albuquerque, AZ:
What are we supposed to make of the BCS now, after Louisville’s win over West Virginia last week? If they win out, shouldn’t they play for the national title?


WELL, R.T.:

We’ve talked before about the NCAA’s attitude toward the BCS system: If it’s only mostly broke, ignore it until you absolutely can’t avoid fixing it. Although last year’s stellar title game might have lulled some of the BCS’s critics into a false sense of security over the flawed system, it’s clear in situations like these that college football needs a better plan. That being said, mama always said you got to dance with the one what brung ya, and so now it’s our job to make some sense of the broken system so you don’t have to.

So about this Louisville team. Before the season, the consensus on this team was that if Michael Bush can stay healthy and they can beat West Virginia at home, they’d walk through the lame-duck Big East. So, right with their battle plan, they go get Bush’s leg broken before the season even gets underway, and the Big East wakes up from its hangover, realizes that Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College have left the building, and decides to become the powerhouse conference it never was when they were around.

*SIDE NOTE: How do you think the ACC is reacting to the Big East having 4 ranked teams, while the best it can offer is a few on-again, off-again winners and the worst Miami and Florida State teams in 25 years? I give ACC Commissioner John Swofford about 3 weeks before he pulls his hair out and quits to go manage a Denny’s somewhere in West Virginia.

**OMG WAY BETTER SIDE NOTE: This from the ACC official website: The Atlantic Coast Conference was founded on May 8, 1953, at the Sedgefield Inn near Greensboro, N.C. What, no rooms at the Motel 6 “near Greensboro, N.C.?” How does anybody take this conference seriously?

So back to Louisville and the Big East. I think you’re absolutely right, RT. If Louisville wins out, they deserve every chance to play in the BCS Championship game against the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan contest. That sounds simple, right? The problem is, winning out the next few games might be tougher for Louisville than beating the Mountaineers was last Thursday night. This week, the Cardinals travel to Rutgers to play another Thursday night game against another undefeated Big East team with another big-time rushing attack. So far this season, Big East home teams are undefeated in Thursday night competition. (Note to fact-checking department: Check that whole “Big East home team undefeated on Thursday” stat thing. I think it’s right, but check it anyway, if you don’t mind.) Assuming the Cardinals can beat the Scarlet Knights in New Jersey (Just typing the name of that state makes me feel dirty. I’m gonna go wash my hands.), they get the pleasant fortune of hitting the road once again to make an appearance in Pittsburgh to play the pissed-off Panthers, who are rightfully angry at being largely ignored in this whole Big East revival story. Those two games sandwich a trap game at home against the University of South Florida, so the real contest for Louisville is going to be handling the target on their back and coming out of the season undefeated.

Regardless of whether they win out or not, can we at least start mentioning Bobby Petrino’s name when we think about college coaches who deserve consideration for NFL head coaching jobs? What Petrino’s done at Louisville, game-planning past injuries to his two best players and coming out so far undefeated, is noteworthy. Petrino is one of the brightest and most overlooked offensive minds in the NCAA, and he needs to get back to the NFL (he was a member of Tom Coughlin’s Jacksonville Jaguar staff back in the Mark Brunell era) post-haste. If he can take Louisville to the national title game, maybe he’ll start getting his due in the national sports media.

In short (yeah right, I’m already running at almost 800 words), if they can win the rest of their games, yes they absolutely deserve a shot at Ohio State or Michigan in Glendale, Arizona at this year’s title game. In the equally likely even that they don’t win out, my vote in the AP Poll (Yes, of course TPC has a voting say in the Associated Press poll. You didn’t think we would?) is going to the SEC Champion, be it Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, or whomever, for reasons we’ll cover in another column.

On the long term, I’m rooting for the BCS to blow up and for the NCAA to completely overhaul its concept of how the national champion should be decided. In the meantime, I’m a Cardinals fan, baby.