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1 Comment [ View ]Come on voters, Utah is No. 1
By Jim BurtonNormally, I've got no tolerance for guys who won't play by the rules.
Normally, such behavior makes me furious.
This time, though, I'm seeing red.
Crimson, actually.
On Monday, Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham appeared on the Jim Rome radio show and did a fabulous job stating his team's case for at least a share of college football's championship.
Then came a brilliant act of defiance.
"I have a vote in the in the USA Today poll," he said in his visit to The Jungle. "I guarantee I'm going to vote us No. 1. I know you're not supposed to, as per the rules, but I'm going to do it anyway."
That's exactly what he should do, even though the rules of the coaches' poll require its participants to cast their votes for the winner of the BSC, er, BCS national title game.
Ultimately, it may not carry much weight right now, but it certainly would be a great way for Whittingham to thumb his nose at the BSC (dang, did it again) and it's good ol' boy administrators.
No, Utah has no chance of winning college football's national championship, but Whittingham's act of civil disobedience could have a long-term effect. Perhaps by making a stand it may encourage other coaches to do the same thing; and if enough of them cause a ruckus, it's sure to get the attention of the BSC (oops, another typo).
Look, the flaws in the college football system are nothing new. They've been obvious for years, long before the Utes came along and posted undefeated seasons in 2004 and again in '08.
The BSC (darn these fingers, why can't they type it the right way?) came along and said it would give us a true national champion year in and year out, but that obviously isn't happening.
And it's not going to as long as BSC (what is WRONG with me?) agenda is in place -- and, yes, there is an agenda at work here.
Here in Utah, we're furious right now. We're incensed at the notion the Utes could go 13-0, beat four top-25 times including the one team (Oregon State) that managed to hang the only loss on the vaunted USC Trojans, and another team (Alabama) that put a scare into current No. 1 Florida, and still not have a shot at the title.
This year it's our state. Next year it'll be someone else's.
It's time to do something about it.
Whittingham said he'll do his part, and the voters in the Associated Press poll (consisting of writers and broadcasters) need to do theirs as well.
Regardless of what happens Thursday night between Florida and Oklahoma, the AP voters need to vote Utah No. 1. They need to do so not because they think the Utes would beat Florida or Oklahoma, or USC or Texas for that matter, but because Utah played a tougher schedule than most of the so-called experts even realize, finished 13-0 and still was denied a shot at the title.
The AP voters need to follow Whittingham's lead and put Utah on the top of their ballots. By doing so, it will create two No. 1s at the end of the season. Even though the BSC (I think my keyboard's broken) bozos will only recognize the winner of the Florida-Oklahoma game, the rest of the college football-watching public will know the truth.
And hopefully that little bit of truth will put pressure on the NCAA to come up with a viable playoff system, rather than relying on the inherently-flawed BSC way of doing things (curse this dyslexia!).
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Sorry, we are stuck with the BCS for now. And after looking at Utah's football schedule, they play a pretty weak schedule which diminishes their 13-0 mark. utah st, weber st and tcu and barely sneaking by a lowly michigan? very weak schedule compared to FL's SEC schedule. Jason
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