SI.com - SI On Campus - The Vent: 11/26/2006

12/01/2006 11:53:00 AM

Untangle the BCS Puzzle

Can somebody explain why Brady Quinn and his 12th-ranked Fighting Irish deserve to play in a BCS Bowl.

Photo by AP

It's championship weekend and when all is said and done we'll see what the BCS spits out. Who will meet Ohio State in the title game and who will get left out of the party completely? Whatever happens, a lot of people will be unhappy. Stewart Mandel explained some of the nuances of the selection process in his mailbag, but to a lot of people, it's still a jumbled mess. For instance, what if UCLA beats USC and Florida gets blown out by Arkansas, does that mean Michigan earns itself a rematch with Ohio State for the national? What if UCLA beats USC and Florida loses to Arkansas in the last minute? Does that mean the Gators get the nod to face the Buckeyes?

And I'm still waiting on an explanation on why the 12th ranked, 10-2 Fighting Irish are likely to get a BCS bid over more deserving teams like Wisconsin or whoever loses Saturday's Florida-Arkansas matchup. All in all, the BCS continues to be the most confusing system in sports. How do you see some of these matchups playing out? And what will the computers say?

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11/29/2006 12:14:00 PM

Is This the Best Freshman Class Ever?

Paul Pierce and the rest of the freshman class of '95 is SIOC's choice for best ever. What's your all-time best freshman class?

Photo by AP

The college hoops season is just a few weeks old, but one of the early main themes is the strength of the freshman class. This isn't a huge surprise since this is also the first year that high school players didn't have the option of going directly to the NBA. Still, the talent level is staggering. They may not be household names right now, but guys like Ohio State's Daequan Cook and Mike Conley (we're assuming you've already heard of Greg Oden), Washington's Spencer Hawes, Texas' Kevin Durant, and North Carolina's Tywon Lawson and Brandan Wright will be soon.

But is this the best freshman class of all time? It just may be. Here are some other memorable classes:

1979: Isiah Thomas (Indiana), Dominique Wilkins (Georgia); James Worthy (North Carolina), Ralph Sampson (Virginia)

1981: Michael Jordan (North Carolina), Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) Ed Pinckney (Villanova), Chris Mullin (St. John's)

1995: Stephon Marbury (Georgia Tech), Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison (North Carolina), Paul Pierce (Kansas), Chauncey Billups (Colorado)

For our money, 1995 is the best of the bunch, but our answer may change in April when we see whether this season's class lives up the hype. Which freshman class is your all-time best?

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11/27/2006 12:13:00 PM

How Much do you Hate the BCS?

Despite being manhandled by USC Saturday night, Notre Dame is likely headed for a BCS Bowl. Is this fair?

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

SIOC isn't going to lie: The BCS is awful. Ten days ago, Michigan was everyone's darling and now it's USC. What did the Wolverines do? Nothing, but lose a close game to the nation's top team? Meanwhile, Notre Dame proved it doesn't belong in a BCS bowl, yet the Irish are likely headed for the Sugar. Florida, which is certainly deserving of a title shot if it wins the nation's toughest conference, the SEC, has to pray that UCLA upsets USC and the Gators beat Arkansas impressively enough to jump Michigan. We could write an opus on how dumb the whole system is, but we'll leave that to you.

How much do you despise it? Fire away.

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