Episode 097: Annual Post-Season BCS Ranting
Jonathan Tannenwald from Philly.com
The Military Bowl was one of many bowl games to lack a full house. Photo: Kevin McGuire, via Flickr.
You do not have to look far to find people willing to speak out against the Bowl Championship Series and the bowl system in general, the odds are probably better than the Super Bowl betting odds for the Houston Texans that you know plenty of BCS haters. Certainly the anti-BCS sentiment is nothing new, but when I have a guest who offers to come on the show to talk about the topic, who am I to turn him away?
One of the handful of people in my neck of the woods in the Philadelphia region who truly understands and appreciates college football (we live in a pro-sports dominant town after all), Jonathan Tannenwald, sent me a message Monday night offering to go off on the BCS. Naturally, I agreed.
Tannenwald holds a few responsibilities with Philly.com, including writing about local college football, basketball and more in Philadelphia with his Philly.com blog, Soft Pretzel Logic. We squeezed in our conversation as Tannenwald was preparing to leave for Kansas City to cover the Major League Soccer draft, as he covers the Philadelphia Union and the soccer world with The Goalkeeper on Philly.com.
Attendance was down. Ratings were down. Simply put, the BCS appears to be losing klout.
Not only do we take another look at some of the flaws in the BCS and bowl system, but we put ourselves in charge of changing the system and making some adjustments. We both are in favor of a playoff format but we reside to the fact that this may not be in the cards as the BCS powers meet and discuss potential changes. Instead we look for ways to make some slight changes to the overall picture, including the addition of the Cotton Bowl to the BCS and the condensing of the schedule so that the big BCS games are not as spread out, and some of the games are not being played weeks before Christmas.
To continue the theme from yesterday’s podcast with Michael Felder, we also revisit the discussion with what we’ll take from the 2011 season and what we will remember most as well as take a peak toward 2012 and what we are looking forward to. Tannenwald throws in some Maryland and Penn State conversation and what a possible addition of Ralph Friedgen would mean for both schools (this idea has been reported to not be happening but we discuss it anyway).
Have a listen to the podcast below, then make sure you are subscribed in iTunes, and following the show on Get Glue! Follow Tannenwald’s Pretzel Logic on Twitter @pretzel_logic (follow me too). And don’t forget, this podcast can be heard at anytime on Stitcher Radio (and click here for a promo code to get started and a chance to win $100)!
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