Wednesday, January 12, 2011

BCS Rankings Embraced By TCU After No. 2 Finish In The Polls

The TCU Horned Frogs finished the 2010 season undefeated, capped with a win over the Wisconsin Badgers in the Rose Bowl. It was, in many ways, a dream season for the Horned Frogs, despite being left out of the BCS Championship Game. For their efforts, TCU was ranked No. 2 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls on Tuesday, and will likely be in the same position when the final BCS rankings are released.

You'd think TCU would be upset about missing the opportunity to play for the national championship. The Rose Bowl is a nice consolation, but an undefeated season should earn them the right to play for the title, right? According to TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte, the Horned Frogs are still happy with the BCS, and are embracing the "imperfect system."

"But until they get a system that is going to be absolutely perfect so they can figure out a way to determine those things, we need to celebrate the system we currently have right now."

Is it surprising that TCU is fine with the system? Not at all. Consider the Horned Frogs still played in a BCS bowl and still finished the season at No. 2 in the final polls. Now consider that TCU, a former BCS-outsider, will find itself on the inside when it joins the Big East in 2012.

TCU is simply shying away from biting the hand that feeds it. In 2010, the Horned Frogs saw the financial windfall a BCS game gives, the exposure of playing in one of the biggest bowls out there and the added bonus of a win over one of the "big boys." When they become an automatic qualifier, in 2012, TCU will immediately see an increase in revenue from the BCS every year, no matter if they make a bowl or not.

Simply put, it's not embracing the system, it's keeping those that write the paychecks happy. It's the same reason you see every major conference championing the system. Money talks.

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