BCS still a big mess

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A show of hands, please.Who thinks Alabama is the best college football team in America?OK, now, those of you who raised your hands, answer me this: Why?Why do you believe Alabama, ranked No. 1 in all the meaningful polls this week, is better than Texas Tech, which is No. 2? It can't be because the SEC is a better conference than the Big 12. It isn't. Not this year.Nor can it be because Alabama has beaten better teams.It hasn't.Alabama's marquee wins have been Clemson, an ACC also-ran, and Georgia, which just got mauled by Florida. Texas Tech has beaten then-No.1 Texas, which, despite last week's last-second loss in Lubbock, still is as good as anyone.So what is it, exactly? The polls? The rankings?The polls are a joke. They give way too much weight to reputations and those silly preseason rankings. The computer rankings are a farce, too, relying too much on numbers and ignoring the human element.The entire Bowl Championship Series is a fraud.Most years since its inception, this fatally flawed format has produced more controversy, ill will and trumped-up title-holders than legitimate champions. And, looking at the potential mess ahead, there's a real chance we'll get more of the same this season.There's a real chance the nation's two best teams won't play for the national championship.Again.Already, we've got three of the game's most successful coaches -- Penn State's Joe Paterno, Southern California's Pete Carroll and Florida's Urban Meyer -- griping about the BCS.Not that any of them have a compelling beef.Florida is 7-1, but lost at home to Ole Miss. Southern Cal is 7-1, but lost at Oregon State. And though Penn State is 9-0 and ranked No. 3 in this week's BCS poll, the Nittany Lions haven't beaten any championship-caliber opponents.But unlike Alabama, which probably will run into Florida in next month's SEC championship game, Penn State's next challenge shouldn't come until January.Possibly in the BCS title bout.That doesn't mean, however, that Penn State, even if it rolls through the remainder of its schedule, would deserve a shot at the title. Nor would it mean the Nittany Lions are one of the nation's two best teams.It means merely that, under this bogus BCS system, a lot of Paterno's coaching buddies would vote to give the 81-year-old legend one last hurrah -- perhaps to make up for those past seasons when Penn State went unrewarded for finishing undefeated.But is that fair? Is that the way the BCS is supposed to work? Is that the way you want it to work?If so, fine. There's no reason to change anything. There's no reason to push for a playoff. There's no need to have the championship decided on the field.But for those of us who want to see the two best teams play for the title -- those of us who believe college football should have a real champion -- this thing stinks.There's something very wrong with a system that could allow an unbeaten Penn State to ride a weak schedule to the national title game while shutting out a one-loss Texas or Texas Tech, Florida or Southern Cal, Oklahoma or Oklahoma State.And that could happen.Or, maybe, the BCS will get lucky. Maybe Alabama and Texas Tech will win out. Maybe the Red Raiders will beat Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and win the Big 12 Championship Game. Maybe the Crimson Tide will prove it can beat a top-tier team.Maybe we'll get a true No. 1-vs.-No. 2 pairing.But I doubt it.Too much can go wrong for me to believe the BCS will get it right.How about you? A show of hands, please.(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. On the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)