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A little late Changes would have meant Sooners-'Canes matchup
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Were changes to this year's Bowl Championship Series the result of an evolving mathematical process or public outcry? The computer-driven BCS formula, designed to create a national championship game in college football, became on Thursday either easier to figure out or more complicated to digest. BCS coordinator John Swofford said teams will now receive bonus points ranging from 1.5 to 0.1 for beating opponents ranked in the top 15 of the BCS standings. However, point totals for margin of victory will be diminished under the new system. Under the new system, Miami instead of Florida State would have played Oklahoma in last year's title game. The BCS standings use The Associated Press media poll and the USA Today-ESPN coaches poll, eight computer ratings, strength-of-schedule and win-loss records in determining its overall point total. The BCS formula went unchanged for two seasons. But controversy arose in 2000 over whether Miami or Florida State, each with one loss, was the worthy opponent to play undefeated Oklahoma for the national title. The Seminoles, despite a loss to Miami, ended up No. 2 by a narrow margin in the final BCS standings. But many fans believed the Hurricanes beat tougher teams, and the formula didn't take that factor into consideration. Oklahoma ended up defeating Florida State in the Orange Bowl, further fueling the debate about head-to-head competition. Swofford, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, refused to speculate if any changes would have been mandated had the Seminoles won the game. "I suspect the concerns would have been lessened, to be very frank," Swofford said. "But the fact of the matter is, that's not how it happened. You deal with situations as they happen." Swofford disagreed with an assessment that the BCS was reacting to what happened on the field last year instead of attempting to find the perfect formula. He said he computed this year's new formula over the past few seasons, and last year's title-game matchup would have been the only change. "The issues would have still been there; I just don't think they would have been quite as high on the radar screen publicly before the game," Swofford said. "The issues would have stayed on our plate in terms of the BCS. "We were pleased with the game and who was in it last year, but felt the these two issues needed to be addressed. That was our goal, not to come up with something that would have changed last year's game." This year's rankings will be released in the second week of October, which is one week earlier than last season. The quality-win component will be added to the final point total, factoring in games from August, September and early October. From that point on, points for quality wins over top 15 teams will be on a sliding scale depending on how teams move up and down the poll. For example, a win over a team ranked in September would get you no quality-win points in the final BCS standings if the team you beat drops out of the polls. In addition, teams with two wins over the same quality opponent would get credit for only one quality win. "It's an equity issue because some conferences have championship games and other conferences do not and therefore don't have that opportunity," Swofford said. Meanwhile, some coaches complained that the margin of victory portion of the formula was bad for the game and promoted running up scores against lesser opponents. To address that aspect, the BCS will replace two of the eight computer services next season, including the Dunkel Index, which depended heavily on margin of victory. Also out of the mix is The New York Times' computer ratings. The eight computer rankings to be used in 2001 are operated by: Richard Billingsley, Kenneth Massey, David Rothman, Jeff Sagarin, Scripps-Howard, Seattle Times, Peter Wolfe and Wes Colley. Of the eight, four do not factor in margin of victory; the others render excessive margins negligible. "It's a good balance and it gives us diversity with the polls," Swofford said. "You don't want to end up with eight polls that are all exactly alike. If you do that, you might as well have one." The BCS title game will be played Jan. 3 in the Rose Bowl.
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