Illustrating why they actually play the game things didnt turn out as scripted

Okay, technically it looks like the powers that control the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) got exactly what they desired: an undefeated champion from the SEC against an undefeated champion from the Big 12 Seemingly a dream come true. Yet, thanks to a lackluster performance by the Texas Longhorns, that dream has turned into a bit of a nightmare. After enough situations over the years when teams like Penn State (multiple times), Alabama, and others finished seasons undefeated, but without even a share of a national title, this concept seemed to make sense. However, what has become painfully clear over the last decade is that it only works when there are clearly two teams that are better than all the rest. The formula worked to perfection following the 2005 season when an undefeated Texas squad defeated a previously undefeated USC team in a game for the ages.

However, in other years, when two teams have not clearly been better than the rest, the system has received great criticism. For most of the 2009 season, it appeared that the BCS formula was going to work out perfectly. Unlike recent years, when the top three spots in the BCS standings often proved to be a revolving door, in 2009 the three teams ranked at the top of the BCS standings in late October were all still there heading into the conference championship weekend. With a pair of undefeated teams in the SEC and an undefeated Texas squad in the Big 12, it seemed clear that if Texas did as expected and annihilated Nebraska, then the Longhorns would face the winner of the Alabama-Florida game for the title in another epic matchup. While those looking for big television ratings would have probably preferred a victory by Tim Tebow and the defending national champion Gators, a dominating win by Nick Sabans Crimson Tide was still palatable.

However, what ended up leaving a bitter taste for the BCS happened later Saturday night. The Big 12 title game seemed to be lined up as a coronation for Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns. After finishing second in the Heisman voting a year ago and suffering as his Longhorns were left out of the Big 12 title game and BCS title game, McCoy was going to seize both opportunities with a huge performance against an over-matched Nebraska squad. Illustrating why they actually play the game, things didnt turn out as scripted.