Ramblings from the Ultimate Sports Sentimentalist

Someone asked me the other day why I’ve been voting TCU # 1 for the past few weeks, and how could I really think they are best team in the country.  I therefore thought it might be worthwhile to answer that question with a blog entry based on a hypothetical conversation between me and a prototypical BCS conference elitist.  Yes, we all know those types.  These are the guys that think bowls are wonderful, the BCS is great, Notre Dame is still one of the top teams in the country, and that any football played outside of the top 6 power conferences might as well be 1-AA.  However, I’ve got the facts and figures here to put that guy to shame.  And while I’m at it, maybe I can convince someone out there to buy into my radical notion that TCU is far and away the best team in the college football this year.

BCS Elitist:  So, how could you possibly think TCU is the # 1 ranked team in the nation?

Me:  Well for starters, they’ve won 9 of their 12 games by 25 or more points, including their last seven, and two of those blowout wins came against top 25 foes.  On the other hand, your beloved Gators, Tide, and Longhorns have had to squeak out most of their games.

BCS Elitist: Well you only mentioned 9 of TCU’s games what about the other 3?

Me: One of those other 3 wins was their opener where they beat a BCS conference opponent by 16 points on the road.  There were two teams who actually did manage to stay within single digits of the Frogs this season, but TCU won both games, on the road, and neither of those opponents lost at home the rest of the year.

BCS Elitist: Ok, so you got some impressive numbers there, but you know TCU and the rest of those Non-BCS teams don’t really play anyone.

Me: Well, sir, I hate to break it to you but TCU has more wins over current top 25 teams than any other squad in the country.   All in all, they have three victories against teams currently ranked.  Bama has two and Texas and Florida only have one each.

BCS Elitist:  Well… tough road games are the true measure of how good a team is and TCU doesn’t  play any of those.

Me:Nice try, but the Frogs have 2 road wins over current Top 25 schools, which is exactly how many Florida, Texas, and Alabama have COMBINED.  Also, if you listened to me earlier instead of continuing to write your hate mail letter to the Playoff PAC, then you would’ve heard me point out that the Frogs have two road victories over teams who were otherwise unbeaten at home this year.  Bama only had one such win and Texas had none.  Also, keep in mind that the Frogs played more total true road games than any of your Big 3 squads, as TCU had to go into enemy territory 6 times this year.  Texas had to do it 5 times and Florida and Bama only 4. 

BCS Elitist: Well… Jiminy Cricket.  There’s got to be something I can come up with to expose your Frogs as inferior to the real superstars of college football.  Oh, I know.  What about common opponents?  I bet the big 3 dismantled any teams TCU played by a lot more points.

Me: Well, there aren’t that many of those actually because your national superpowers never actually play anyone decent out of conference.  Florida and Alabama only played one non-conference game against a team from a BCS conference, and Texas played zero.  TCU played two.  However, upon careful examination, there is one team that both TCU and Texas played.  Both squads went up to Laramie to play the Wyoming Cowboys.  TCU, however, won by more points than Texas did and also outgained Wyoming by a substantially greater margin than Texas.

BCS Elitist: Well, all I’ve got to say is that I grew up with bowl games, BCS exclusivity, and popularity-based national champions and that’s just the way things ought to be, so you’re TCU team isn’t going to make the cut.  There are clearly 3 superpower unbeatens this season, and 3 others who are beneath them.

Me:  Yeah, you’re probably right.  Three of the six unbeatens have five total wins over Top 25 teams coming by a combined 76 points; meanwhile, the other three only have four such victories by a total of 54 points.

BCS Elitist: See, there you go.   That’s a statistic I can buy into.  Florida, Texas, and Bama have more Top 25 winsthan Boise, TCU, and Cincy and have outscored their Top 25 opposition by more points.

Me: Actually, you’ve got it entirely reversed.  The first group I was talking about was TCU, Boise State, and Cincinnati, and the second group is Florida, Texas, and Alabama.

BCS Elitist: What?  You’ve got to be kidding

Me: Nope.

BCS Elitist: I’m done with this argument.  You’re just being a stupid sentimentalist in your love for “the little guy”.  I’ve got to finish writing protest letters to Orrin Hatch and the Playoff PAC and send a congratulations e-mail to my new president, Bill Hancock. 

Me: Bye then.  Have fun this weekend watching your semifinal game of a make-believe playoff that crowns a non-existent national champion every year.  But numbers don’t lie my friend, and far away in Fort Worth, Texas, there lies a football team that can beat anybody it plays.  A team that should go down in history as the greatest to never get a chance at the national championship.