Column: MU was robbed
Published Dec. 4, 2007
Dear Orange Bowl Selection Committee,
Thank you for corrupting the sanctity of college football while shattering some hopes and dreams along the way. After a 13-week football schedule consumed by parity and never-ending upsets, your once prestigious committee pulled the biggest fast one of them all. When you chose the Kansas Jayhawks over the higher-ranked, battle-tested, Big 12 North champion Missouri Tigers, you not only undermined the purpose of the ranking system but also general common sense.
On Saturday, the consensus was Missouri was the No. 1 team in the country. In less than 24 hours, they dropped from National Championship-hopeful to overqualified contenders in the Cotton Bowl. Admittedly, the Dallas-based Bowl is a big step up from last year's Sun Bowl.
However, your committee had the unique opportunity to take a remarkable Missouri squad, a team whose only downfall was their inability to beat the third-best team in the country, and place them in the Orange Bowl in Miami.
So I ask the following question: why choose Kansas over MU?
On paper, the Tigers were better than the Jayhawks. In all three major voting polls — The Associated Press, Coaches' and Bowl Championship Series — Missouri was ranked higher. Going by the BCS-favorite "strength of schedule," where computers measure the difficulty of one's opponents, MU was No. 2 out of 119 Division I-A teams. Kansas was No. 109.
Additionally, Missouri defeated three ranked teams and now Rose Bowl-bound Illinois. To contrast, the Jayhawks' biggest was a 30-24 victory against then-No. 24 Kansas State on Oct. 6, a team Missouri beat much more convincingly. Oh, yeah, there was also the head-to-head matchup in the Border Showdown in Kansas City, Mo., where Missouri won 36-28.
The only rational thought that comes to mind to justify your terrible decision is that you honestly believed the Missouri fan base could not afford you the ratings you desired. So another Midwest state university whose fans are even further west from Miami will do better?
To be fair, KU has only one loss, while MU has two. But the only reason why Kansas didn't have a chance to lose Saturday is because they lost to Missouri.
For the first time in years, a major bowl game had a chance to correct one of the glaring mistakes made by the BCS. And the Orange Bowl only furthered an already flawed system, where the date on which you lost matters more than who you lost to, where playing in a conference championship only disadvantages teams, and where idle teams can overtake teams that have already beaten them in head-to-head showdowns.
So, Orange Bowl Selection Committee, because of your careless disregard for making a logical and considerate decision, the consolation prize for the Border Showdown was approximately $10 million, as the runner-up will make that much more in their bowl appearance than will the winner. In a season with no undefeated teams from major conferences, two bad one-loss teams, and several two-loss teams vying for a shot at BCS recognition, your committee dropped the ball. And now, I'm dropping orange juice.
Love,
Brad
bmm34c@mizzou.edu