A week after the University Florida Gators were crowned the National Champions of college football, I took a second look at the Bowl Championship Series standings and decided that the right team was left out of the National Championship game. The Utah Utes of the Mountain West Conference was left out of their rightful spot in the championship game.
I don’t know if the Utes would have won the national championship, but I do believe they should have been one of the teams that were involved in the game.
The Utes were the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1-A) that finished the season undefeated at 13-0.
The Utes beat three ranked teams during the regular season; they defeated Texas Christian University, Brigham Young University and Oregon State University. The Utes beat those ranked teams by 30 points with a combined score of 92-62.
Utah knocked off two BCS conference eligible teams- Michigan Wolverines and Oregon State Beavers. The biggest win was a Thursday night thriller over Beavers.
The reason why it was the biggest win is because Oregon State was a team that was one victory away from a bid to the Rose Bowl.
I believe money played a role in Utah being left out of the BCS National Championship. Utah is not a historic football program like a Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas or Oklahoma. They were left in the cold because the NCAA felt they would not draw a major crowd or high TV ratings. The NCAA is an organization all about money and not about the fairness of the game. NCAA football seasons should be like NCAA basketball, not necessarily a tournament, but every team should have a chance to win the national title. The little man should have a chance to compete for a title and not worry about computers determining whether they are worthy to play in the national championships.
What more should Utah have to do for a spot in the National Championship? The Utes finished the season 13-0, they defeated four ranked opponents, beat two teams whose conferences get automatic bids to bowl games and won its conference championship.
Utah would have been in the BCS National Championship.
The Utes ran the table and beat everyone they played and showed they have the skills to compete with the best in the nation.
If I take a look at history, the Non-BCS schools have participated in other BCS games and performed well. The Utes undefeated record says enough so why not put them in the championship if they deserved it.