Does ACC stand for awfully confused conference?

Sports Addict Gary Fineout

Well, a funny thing happened during the Miami Hurricanes march to the Atlantic Coast Championship game in Tampa. They got spanked on Thursday night by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, which used its triple option offensive attack to rack up nearly 500 yards on the ground against the Canes.

So once again the ACC is mired into mediocrity and there’s the distinct likelihood that the the Orange Bowl bound ACC champion will have AT LEAST three losses. That’s pathetic. And another reminder why the current BCS system is a joke because it has all these conference tie-ins for bowl games.

Nobody would really care, if say potential ACC champion Maryland, lost in the opening round of a playoff. But instead the eventual ACC champion will get a prime-time spot against somebody like USC or even better, a team like Utah. Hoo boy. Utah vs. Maryland in the Orange Bowl. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Tell me why that’s good for college football you BCS apologists.

Of course I would love to see Miami or FSU in the Orange Bowl, but right now I’m not holding my breath that it will happen. Even if FSU lucked out in some algebraic combination of losses by Boston College and Wake Forest then the Noles would likely have a rematch with Tech, which also ran all over FSU earlier this season. (That’s the reason FSU lost – not the fumble by Marcus Sims.)

So with the college football season almost over, here’s how I would rank the conferences:

1. Southeastern Conference. The SEC has the best team in the country right now – yes, it’s still the Florida Gators – as well as an undefeated Alabama squad. Then there’s the fact that the SEC is the nation’s toughest defensive conference and that it has eight teams that are already bowl eligible. And on and on. You get the picture.

2. Big 12 Conference. This is sort of by default. I give kudos to the Big 12 because at least the conference has a championship game. But despite all the hype surrounding the Big 12 teams and its vaunted quarterbacks, my mind keeps flashing back to the Oklahoma-Boise State Fiesta Bowl. Why? Because I just don’t think Texas, Texas Tech or even Oklahoma are as good as everyone on ESPN keeps trying to tell me. I’ll even go out on a limb and predict that two of those three teams will lose their bowl games. But for now, Big 12 beats out the Pac-10, Big 10 and of course, the ACC.

3. Pac 10 Conference. This is largely because USC is still a dominating team despite the Trojans loss to Oregon State. But the second best team, the Beavers, got routed by Penn State and lost to Utah.  So there’s obviously a steep dropoff in this conference.

4. Mountain West Conference. Yeah, I said it. But take a close look and you might be surprised. Three teams with two losses or less. Utah is undefeated. BYU has two wins over Pac-10 teams. The Cougars lone loss came at the hands of Texas Christian. The Horned Frogs have lost to just Utah and Oklahoma.

5. Big 10 Conference. Year in and year out this is the biggest pretend conference in America. And the Big 10 champion usually proves it by losing the Rose Bowl. Ohio State’s championship earlier this decade was of course an outright theft. This year OSU dazzled everyone with a 35-3 loss to USC.

Then there’s the rest…

6. Atlantic Coast Conference.

7. Big East Conference.

8. Conference USA.

9. WAC

10. Mid-American Conference.

11. Sun Belt Conference.

Tebow has a long-shot chance at Heisman repeat

Can Tim Tebow make history?

Maybe Archie Griffin shouldn’t start worrying just yet.

But the former Ohio State running back – and only player to win the heralded Heisman Trophy twice – needs to know that University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is lurking in the shadows. Tebow’s spectacular performances the last few weeks have put him back into the race for college football’s most prestigious award.

Tebow had five touchdowns during the Gators pounding of Vanderbilt on Saturday night and he didn’t even play the whole game. That scoring binge brought his total to 27 touchdowns in nine games. This recent surge of activity – and the Gators continued dominating play – have probably put him within shouting distance of front-runner and Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell.

Tebow, however, will still need some help if he wants to match Griffin’s remarkable accomplishment. Harrell has already thrown for 36 touchdowns and rushed for 6 more as he has led the Red Raiders to an undefeated season. (Although I wouldn’t be surprised if that doesn’t change in the near future, especially due to an Nov. 22 date with Oklahoma in Norman.)

Heisman voters are likely looking for any reason to avoid giving Tebow the repeat and right now Harrell’s outstanding performances – including a six-touchdown game against Oklahoma State – are enough to for Heisman voters to go the other way. (Although I could go on a whole rant about how Heisman voters in the past have consistently chosen the wrong guy, and how they have always shafted defensive players.)

But the one thing on Tebow’s side is that he’s got at least two more chances against quality opponents before many voters turn in their ballots. The Gators take on both South Carolina and Florida State in November, while Texas Tech has that date against Oklahoma before finishing up against hapless Baylor, which is right now 3-6. If Tebow can rack up yards and touchdowns against these two opponents then Tebow may be able to convince voters to do the unthinkable. (I realize of course this is easier said than done. I think that FSU-UF game in Tallahassee will be a lot tighter than some may expect and that the Seminoles will be one of the few teams to slow down the Gators offense.)

But Tebow’s also got to have help from Oklahoma. Harrell will be on a national stage again when the Sooners take on the Red Raiders. If Bob Stoops and his squad shut down the phenom then Tebow has a fighting chance. But if Harrell goes into Norman and rips apart the Oklahoma secondary, he will be anointed the trophy winner then and there.

Tim Tebow helps out the BCS (Beautiful Chaos System)

There were a lot of wonderful things that Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators did on Saturday night as they crushed LSU 51-21 in front of a packed house at the Swamp.

They reminded everyone that there were one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference which means one of the best teams in the country. They showed how that speed kills with a cadre of receivers and running backs that flat out burn the competition. And Tebow showed that he’s maturing as a quarterback, as he managed the game effectively, by both throwing the long ball or using his legs to sprint into the end zone.

But do you want to know the best thing about the Gators win?

It culminated a great day of chaos for the Bowl Championship Series and showed that the Gators still have a legitimate shot to be in the BCS Championship game next January (along with two lucky winners of the BCS ticket giveaway being held by www.FLSportsFan.com.)

The Gators sent undefeated LSU down to defeat. Earlier in the day Texas did the same to No. 1 ranked Oklahoma. Oklahoma State pulled out a victory over Big 12 rival Missouri, which was also undefeated. Undefeated Vanderbilt lost to Mississippi State. So just like that a handful of once unbeaten teams are left wondering if national championship dreams have faded to black.

I love it when the poll rankings get totally scrambled like this and the entire BCS turns into a maddening mess. Why? Because it exposes the fallacy that underlies the current system. There is no reason on earth why Florida fans should have to fret that their team has no shot at the national championship because they lost by one point to Ole Miss. As the New York Giants demonstrated last season in the NFL, the team with the best won-loss record isn’t always the best team on the field come championship time.

In front of a national television audience, the Gators showed that on the right day they can’t be beat. The team played good enough Saturday night to beat Alabama, Penn State, Texas or any of the current unbeatens.

Fans across America deserve a playoff, plain and simple. The game should be won on the field not in the electronic circuitry of a computer-generated poll that is part of the current BCS system.

There is right now a real possibility that the Penn State Nittany Lions could be in the BCS Championship Game despite playing in one of the weakest “major” conferences. (I mean, even if Penn State beats Ohio State, what does that prove? The Buckeyes were crushed by USC.) But unlike Florida – or the teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference or Big 12 – the Nittany Lions don’t have to play a championship game at the end of the season.

Gimme a break. That’s wrong. The system needs to be revamped. And if the university presidents and bowl officials don’t want to do it, then Congress ought to step in and say, ‘Ok, you want to keep getting federal money? Then fix it now.’ (Yeah, I know have politicians intervene rubs people the wrong way, but let’s face it, Florida would have never agreed to play Florida State if the state Legislature had not started talking about it seriously.)

You could keep the bowls and current championship games to build the new playoff system. And whether it’s a final four, or final eight, there’s a way to make it happen.

So until the fans get what they want, I’ll keep rooting for chaos. Thanks Tim Tebow, thanks Gators.

P.S. If you want to get your shot to sit on the 50-yard line of the 2009 BCS Championship Game, all you have to do is go to www.FLSportsFan.com and click on BCS Championship Game Giveway.