The First BCS rankings and Some Black and Blue

Yeah, I'm going to drink a little bit on a Monday.

I deserve it. I need it.

Rather than thinking of it as a means to getting a little drunk after a pretty rough whiskey weekend, I consider it a means of easing into the tensions of a new school week.

Black and Blues are delicious and perfect for the looming Fall weather. All you need is a hearty Guinness and a zesty Sea Dog Blueberry Ale and you have your self a Black and Blue.

Mix half and half.

You get the creamy and slight mocha taste of the Guinness with a hint of blueberries. What more can you ask for? It's like a chocolate covered fruit desert. In liquid form. With alcohol.

While I sip my luscious beverage, I finally found time today to check out the latest BCS rankings. While the other rankings (namely the AP poll and USA Today Coach's poll) are factors in deciding how high or low a team ends their season, the BCS is the king. It determines who plays for a National Championship and which team plays in which major bowl.

This is how the top 10 looks as of this week.

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Oklahoma State
5. Boise State
6. Wisconsin
7. Clemson
8. Stanford
9. Arkansas
10. Oregon

Congratulations to those teams. Woo hoo. Do I have concerns with this poll? Not really. LSU, despite my constant hatred towards them, is deserving of the number 1 spot. For this week anyways. All of the other teams seem to fall in line well. Aside from Oregon, everyone is undefeated and has played for some tough wins. Which is why other genius-level aficionados (like myself) will surely be voicing their concerns. If they haven't already.

Wisconsin fans are probably the biggest haters. In every other poll, they sit stoically at number 4. I'll be the first to admit they have a great team. They beat my boys Nebraska, whom I picked to win the conference. But Wisconsin has strength of schedule working against them. I'll explain.

The BCS rankings are computer generated based on the other major polls, strength of schedule, and a Borda count system to arrive at their result. Now, there are five major BCS bowl games that each automatic qualifying conference winner plays for: The Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and National Championship. The winners ACC, Pac-12, Big-12, Big-10, SEC, and Big East all play for the rights to a major bowl game. These conferences were determined by some bureaucratic money-generated television-exposure ideal. Also, Notre Dame gets an automatic bid if they break the top 8 because they are Notre Dame. Special treatment. Lame.

So for a team like Wisconsin, if they were to go undefeated (hypothetically) they get shunned to a bowl game thats NOT the national championship. Sucks for them. They win their conference, out of schedule play, and don't get to hold up that diamond-clad trophy at the end of the season. I'd be pissed to.

A team like Boise State, however, is probably ecstatic. They represent a non-BCS qualifying conference but they can't be ignored by the pollsters if they climb up to number 2 or even 1.

Thus is the flaw of the BCS system. This is why I think simply bracket system like they use in March Madness would work. Playoffs. We shall see with this impending chaos ahead.

Anyway, I love Oklahoma State this high. They have been commanding in a tough conference. Their last season game against rival Oklahoma will have enormous implications on both teams vying to be the champs. Clemson has proved to be tough to put away, pulling out victories when people haven't given them credit. They're a tough team playing with a chip on their shoulder, and will continue to want to prove themselves to the country.

I can't say I like Stanford this low, though. QB Andrew Luck is the best overall player in the nation leading an undefeated team. How they play against Oregon, last year's only loss, will prove consequential.

Tough to get your head around, I know. So much politics, so many statistics. That's why I choose to drink, not only when watching games, but when talking about them too.

I suggest you do the same.

Great Moments in College Football National Championship History