Dear Ohio State Faithful,

I am sorry.  Most of you have made your presence known in my constant battering of your team.  I have received emails, phone calls and comments, regarding my stance on the Buckeyes.  And through it all, I have remained hard-headed in my belief that the Buckeyes did not deserve a national championship.

My reasoning has always been two fold. 

Ohio State’s non-conference schedule was a joke.  Youngstown State, Akron, Washington and Kent State have a combined record of pitiful.  Hawaii’s schedule was just as embarrassing, but unlike Ohio State, the Warriors were punished for it.

The Buckeyes did have one difference compared to Hawaii, they are in the Big 10.  A team that goes 11-1 in the Big 10 deserves to be in the national championship picture.  But it shouldn’t this year.  The Big 10 dropped games to Missouri, Appalachian State, Iowa State, Western Michigan, Duke, Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic, and North Dakota State. 

In terms of power rankings for conferences, the Big 10 ranks fifth behind the SEC, Pac-10, Big 12 and ACC.  That’s why I held strong in my belief that OSU did not deserve to play in the big game. 

After watching championship weekend, my thoughts have changed.

For the third time this year, and the second straight weekend, the top two teams have lost.  For the 13th time this year, a top five team has gone down to an unranked opponent.  West Virginia’s loss to Pittsburgh marked the sixth time number two has lost to an unranked opponent.

For any team to make it through the year with two losses or less is impressive, no matter who you play.  This season has validated the old cliché, “any team can beat any other team on any given day.”

Although I still believe Ohio State is being rewarded for a lackluster schedule, the Buckeyes are 11-1.  There are only three schools with equal or better records, and they share meager schedules.

What I’m trying to say is, “Buckeyes, I’m sorry.  You deserve to be in the big game, not because of your play on the field, but for your ability to avoid the upset that plagued every other team, except for one.”

Now get out there and prove it against LSU.  The BCS once again has given us a disputed national championship game with fishy BCS standings.  However, this week’s AccuScore Top Ten smells like freshly cut lilac.

10) Kansas – Missouri’s losing to Oklahoma further exposed Kansas’ inefficiency.  The Jayhawks’ only victory over a top 25 team was Kansas State back on October 6 and the Wildcats finished the year 5-7.

The Jayhawks finished the year ranked sixth in offense and 14th in defense, but are those high rankings a result of KU’s weak schedule?  Kansas didn’t play Oklahoma or Texas, and the Jayhawks looked like a second rate team against Missouri.

One question (of many) for the BCS is, “why did you select Kansas over Missouri, when the Tigers beat the Jayhawks and finished with a higher ranking?

9) Missouri – Sadly, Missouri went from a potential National Championship berth to the Cotton Bowl.  The Big 12 championship game showed two things:  Oklahoma is the best team in the Big 12, and Missouri and Chase Daniel are not as good as people made them out to be.

In the biggest game of the year, Daniel had his worst game of the year accounting for only 245 yards of total offense.  While other spread quarterbacks have proved invaluable to their offense (Tim Tebow, Juice Williams, Dennis Dixon), it looks as though Missouri is only as good as Daniel AND Jeremy Maclin.

Illinois and Kansas, who both lost to Missouri, will play in BCS bowls.  Missouri finished sixth in the final BCS standings, two spots ahead of Kansas and seven above Illinois. Furthermore, the Tigers are the only team in the BCS top 10 not to get invited to one of the five biggest games. 

8) West Virginia –How do you define a choke artist?  Pat White.  The Mountaineers had to beat 4-7 Pittsburgh to make it to the national championship game.  During West Virginia’s second loss, White disappeared and even put on street clothes because of a dislocated thumb on his non-throwing hand. 

You are playing for a national championship spot and you don’t stay in the game?

This team is one of the most explosive offenses in the country, but were pitiful against Pittsburgh, finishing with just 104 yards rushing, the lowest output since 2001.  White proved he lacks the killer instinct and drive to be a competitive player in the NFL.

White also shares the blame with head coach Rich Rodriguez, who oversaw another big game sub-par performance.  He only rushed Steve Slaton nine times! Are you serious?  Rodriguez lost his playmaker for the majority of the game and marginalized his other playmaker by not giving him the necessary touches to make a difference.

7) Virginia Tech – Had the Hokies been able to hold off Boston College the first time, they would probably be playing for a national championship.  This is a different team than the one who got shellacked by LSU earlier in the year and they have finally found their niche.  The Hokie defense is one of the best units out there and the offense does just enough to get the win. 

Virginia Tech’s defense is currently ranked in the top five in every defensive category except pass defense.  The offense has been a different team since Tyrod Taylor emerged to form a two-headed quarterback demon-child with Sean Glennon, averaging over 33 points in their last eight games.  33 points per game against 15 points allowed equals a very good Hokie team.

6) USC – The Trojans had a chance to really make a statement and jump into the national championship picture.  USC easily handled the Bruins, but failed to impress anyone with a 24-7 win.

It’s unusual to look at the team rankings and not see the Trojans offense near the top.  That has been the one thing preventing USC from running the table and going to New Orleans, the lack of a dynamic player. 

The Trojans defense has been as good as advertised.  The defense ranks second in total defense, as well as fourth in rushing and scoring defense.

Had Pete Carroll and the Trojans replaced John David Booty and his broken finger against Stanford, we might be seeing USC in New Orleans rather than listening to Pete Carroll cry for a playoff. 

5)  LSU – Much like the Trojans, the Tigers really didn’t prove much in their 21-14 win over Tennessee.  But unlike the Trojans, LSU will be playing in the title game.  Deservedly so.

Look at how the Tigers stack up statistically:

LSU is the best team overall, but coaching has been a dicey situation all year long.  The Tigers two triple overtime losses were both games they should have won.  An Arkansas fourth down and long conversion doomed LSU two weeks ago, and a failed fourth down conversion against Kentucky proved to be the difference in October.

LSU gets one more chance and lucky for Les Miles and it’s against Ohio State.  How do you think the state of Michigan will react for this game between Miles and their hated rival Ohio State?

4) Georgia –Georgia had the most momentum in the polls heading into championship week, but did not benefit from the two top teams losing. As a result of being idle, the Bulldogs were jumped by three teams and actually dropped in the polls despite everything seeming to break in their favor.

There was no hotter team in college football the past six weeks, beating three ranked opponents.  For the BCS, “it’s what have you done for me lately” and Georgia not playing for an SEC championship was the ultimate drawback.

3) Hawaii – After Hawaii dropped to a 21-0 deficit in the first quarter I received this email from an anonymous sender named “Hogtied”:

"Hawaii finally plays a real team, and is getting their
(butt) kicked, 21-0 IN THE FIRST QUARTER, just like
every thinking man on the planet knew would happen.

Will you FINALLY SHUT UP about them?!"

Actually, I won’t because, for those who watched the entire game, they saw a good football team come back with 21 second quarter points and hold the Washington offense scoreless in the second half.

You can say Hawaii’s schedule is weak, you can say they’re in the WAC, but you can not downplay the fact that they won every game they played.  In a season where a one-loss team and a two-loss team are playing for a national championship, its time respect is given where its due.

But why does it stop there, why can’t they be up in the discussion for a national championship?  According to the USA Today’s Sagarin Rankings, the Big 10 is the sixth best conference and the WAC is eighth.  It seems we are set in our ways in granting the BCS conferences golden tickets and providing mid-majors mere sniffs of big games.  This season should have an undefeated team in the national championship game. 

We will see against Georgia how good Hawaii truly is.  If they win handily, a co-national championship is deserved.

2) Oklahoma – The Sooners thumped the number one team in the nation.  Isn’t that enough?  Obviously not.  With Sam Bradford at the helm, Oklahoma is the best team in the nation.  Bradford is the nation’s most efficient quarterback and leads the third best scoring offense.

The defense may not be one of the best in the nation statistically, but they were pretty good in stifling Daniel and the Tigers for the entire second half.

BCS Question:  If Oklahoma has the same record as LSU, shouldn’t the Sooners be ranked higher for beating the number one team in the nation?

1) Ohio State – De(fault) Ohio State made it official, backing in to the national championship game despite losing in its second to last game.  Like I said earlier, however, to make it through this season with just one lost is worthy of a shot. 

I just wish the same ideals were given to the only undefeated team in the nation.