On Thursday afternoon Brad Edwards of ESPN was kind enough to lend The Week That Was College Football a few minutes of his time to discuss the current BCS situation and potential future of the BCS.

The most obvious question came out first, Texas or Oklahoma? And why?

“The BCS has no consideration to conferences,” said Edwards, “It was designed to get the two best teams in the country, not to figure out conference championships.”  Edwards went on to say that he feels the BCS will not make any major changes because of the Big 12 South situation; it is something the Big 12 will have to correct themselves.

When asked whether he foresees computers becoming a bigger part of the BCS equation next year, Edwards expressed some concern over the current human polls. “For the third year in a row, there has been evidence of a few loose cannons [among voters], manipulating their ballots trying to increase the chances of a certain outcome taking place that they’d like to see.” He continued, ”Texas had been handling opponents for weeks, yet all the sudden they jump Florida who had been doing the same?”

Florida lost 16 points in the latest Coaches Poll, while Texas gained 26. In the Harris Poll, Oklahoma lost 29 points, including 2 first place votes, which put them behind Texas.

And could Texas jump a Big 12 champion Oklahoma in the BCS? “Probably won’t happen,” stated Edwards, “The Big 12 South situation is resolved. Most voters will accept that now and move on.” He even felt that Texas might actually lose support if Oklahoma wins.  However, he made sure to point out that if Oklahoma’s victory is close and ugly, there is always chance.

Rematch? “It can happen, but it would take Florida beating Alabama in a highly controversial game, one they didn’t deserve to win.” Edwards believes a Florida victory over #1 Alabama will likely assure them at least 2/3rds of the 1st place votes in both polls, putting them well ahead of Texas and Oklahoma, thus barring a potential Oklahoma and Texas rematch in Miami.

We ended our conversation on a less controversial topic will a conference ever lose their bid? “No,” Edwards said, “the Big East has been there since the beginning.  This is a business and they will not abandon an original partner.” He does however believe that a couple great years the Mountain West Conference could earn them a regular spot in the BCS lineup.

As for a playoff, sorry, it’s probably not going to happen anytime soon.

TWTWCFB would like to thank Brad Edwards for the opportunity to talk to one of the best BCS experts out there.

Of course we’ll be here Monday with our recap from this weekend’s action, as well as an extensive bowl preview later in the week, with analysis from every match up.

Trey

Gator fan. Magic fan. Attorney at large.

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