College Football Week 12, in which Les Miles reads Houston Nutt's will

I totally agree that Houston has and deserves no shot, but thinking about those facts just fires me up all over again about the state of college sports, realignment and the treasure that comes with being knighted as "significant" by inclusion in a major conference.

 

Oh, trust me: Don't get me started on preseason rankings.

But you see my point.

 

Houston's schedule is horrible, worse than anything Boise's ever had. But with Keenum and that stud receiver they have (Patrick Edwards, I think), plus the addition of a running game the last couple years, I think the Cougars have a puncher's chance against anyone.

 

Never said it would, message board grammar cop.

I said that Notre Dame was better than USF.

Notre Dame is better than USF. Considerably better than USF.

 

Without disagreeing with your point, those types of schedules won't happen, because schools in the Sun Belt, MAC, WAC, etc. need to schedule one or two six-figure paydays at a BCS school each year.

But those games are all about revenue, not for strength of schedule.

The beef many people have with the BCS system is that, of the 120 Division I-A schools, half of them are nothing more than cannon fodder for the rest. They're ineligible to compete for the national title, regardless if they win all their games or not. Houston is one of those schools.

 

Before BCS those schools were worse off. Now at least they can get into major Bowl and get paid. Three loss Notre Dame would trump undefeated Houston or Boise.

 

2011 Houston = 1998 Tulane, only now, unlike in 1998, the BCS reserves a spot in the big bowls for a team like Houston. Otherwise, UH would be doing something like Tulane did, which was play BYU in the Liberty Bowl.

 

Yes. If you don't like it, subdivide further. But if it's a season championship for FBS teams, then every FBS team should be able to win it by winning the games in their season.

 

To be fair, while I'm on your side, they do have to travel to 8-3 Tulsa and, if they win, beat 9-2 Southern Mississippi on a neutral field next.

 

Here's the difference though -- in 1998, before the bowl games here were the options besides Tulane: Undefeated Tennessee, 11-1 Florida State, 11-1 Kansas State, 11-1 Arizona, 10-1 Ohio State, 10-1 Wisconsin, 10-1 UCLA.

There is a chance that there could be fewer than half that number ahead of Houston in two weeks. Right now there are only seven one-loss/undefeateds. There were more at this time back in 1998 (Air Force, Marshall, etc.)

 

C-USA championship isn't played at a neutral site. It would be played at Houston.

And anyone who tries to make the argument that Houston's schedule doesn't disqualify it from being a serious national title contender forfeits his right ever to make fun of an SEC nonconference schedule again.