Auburn Latest BCS Victim

The final BCS rankings are in for the 2003 college football season, and despite posting an undefeated season, the Auburn Tigers have been left without so much as an opportunity to play for the national championship. Once again, we've been given a perfect illustration of why the BCS does not work. There's just no solution or backup plan for three undefeated teams at the top of the polls.

Also posting unblemished records are the USC Trojans and Oklahoma Sooners, who will meet in the Orange Bowl to decide the national championship. The two teams are ranked either No. 1 or 2 in the AP and Coaches Poll as well as in the computer rankings, while Auburn is listed at No. 3 across the board. But the overall difference in these teams is so miniscule that it is unfair to say that any of the three is not deserving of a title shot.

Granted, with a playoff system someone is always going to feel left out, but I would feel a lot more comfortable with something as simple as a four-team playoff so that more deserving teams would be given an opportunity. The system wouldn't be perfect, but it would result in a better chance of crowning a legitimate champion.

Also getting the shaft by the BCS is the California Bears, who lost just one game by less than a touchdown to the No. 1 team in the country, yet the Texas Longhorns, who were shut out by the No. 2 team in their lone loss, leapfrogged the Bears in the final standings.

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