NCAA Football Week 9: In Memory of the BCS

On Sunday, the BCS Rankings were released for the final, first time. The much mocked and hate-inducing ranking system is on its way out, soon to be replaced by a modified playoff system that will determine the national champion on the field.

I, for one, will miss the BCS.

It isn’t perfect. It isn’t even accurate. But there was something special about the BCS that made it feel right.

The way it used a confusing jumble of human polls and computer rankings, the way it refused to fully reveal the algorithms of said computer rankings, the way it changed the computer rankings to fit its needs, the way it made millions of dollars for faceless entities, the way it failed over and over again.

It was collegiate sports at its finest. Now it’s soon to be gone; vanished into the history books along with other past subjective attempts at determining the best team in America, only to be replaced by a boring, fair playoff system.

Just kidding. Can’t wait.

Bar to Spend 11 Hours of Your Saturday

Public Bar. Three levels, almost 50 televisions, projection screen, and located conveniently on the red line, this DuPont sports bar is a great place to watch the game. On Saturdays enjoy $3 Miller Lite and Coors Lite, $4 Blue Moon and Meroni, and/or a discounted food menu serving up Public’s classics. Just be sure to leave before Sunday, when the Oakland Raider fans invade!

Three Must See Games

Texas Tech (10) vs. Oklahoma (15)

FOX, 3:30 p.m.

Texas Tech enters Saturday as a surprising undefeated team; former star QB, turned head coach, Kliff Kingsbury has the Red Raiders clicking offensively, but they have yet to really face top competition. That all changes this week as they travel to play the Sooners, a team looking to bounce back from its disappointing blowout loss to Texas. I think Oklahoma is the better team and will win this one.

UCLA (12) vs. Oregon (3)

ESPN, 7:00 p.m.

Is this the first real test for the Ducks? Oregon is averaging just 57 points per game, and backing it up with the nation’s 12^th best defense, but the next two weeks will be the true test for the Ducks. Win at home Saturday and next week at Stanford, and the only thing stopping the Ducks from making it to the title game is a likely rematch against UCLA in the PAC-12 championship. Ducks win.

South Carolina (21) vs. Missouri (5)

ESPN2, 7:00 p.m.

For all the hype of the SEC—most of it deserved—the fact that two good, but not great former Big XII programs could so quickly rise to the top of the conference indicates that perhaps the league isn’t quite as dominating as it appears. It’s not like Texas and Oklahoma joined, we’re talking Mizzou and A&M. Credit to Missouri, though, who is off to a great start atop the SEC East. Look for the Tigers to remain undefeated, knocking South Carolina out of the rankings.

Season Prediction Record: 15-9.

Games to Watch Just Because It’s College Football

Tennessee vs. Alabama CBS, 3:30 p.m.

Penn State vs. Ohio State ABC, 8:00 p.m.

Stanford vs. Oregon State ESPN, 10:30 p.m.

Alumni Club

Penn State Metro Washington. There are many local Nittany Lion fans in the area; you’d be hard-pressed to walk into any bar on Saturday without seeing PSU colors worn proudly. But they’re more than just chanting “WE ARE” over and over again around town, the alumni chapter hosts numerous charity opportunities for its members (including next week’s Walk to Help the Homeless), along with a ton of social and networking events that bring a little bit of Happy Valley to D.C.

GIF of the Week

Courtesy of SBNation.

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