BCS Tainted: Error Causes Flip Flop of Number 10 and 11 teams

I think the BCS dodged a freight train on this one because this isn't really a big deal this time.

Somehow, the domino effect from the omission of the Mountaineers' win from Colley's computer rankings – one of the six computer polls that make up a third of the BCS formula – was enough to bridge a razor-thin margin keeping LSU behind Boise State at the bottom of the top ten: When the final standings came out on Sunday night, the Tigers ranked 10th, and Boise State 11th. After independent BCS guru Jerry Palm caught the error in Colley's data, the revised standings moved the Broncos to No. 10, giving them their fourth top-10 finish in the final standings in five years.

Imagine if this happened with the No 2 and the No 3 team. Suddenly Oregon would be out and TCU would be in just like that. The only reason it would have happened is that some computer ranking service forgot to add Appalachian State beating Western Illinois 42 - 14.

What is worrying is that some BCS guru caught the error and not Colley's computer rankings. That means there is no self-checking in place and that these numbers could be tainted week to week. No one would ever know. The other 5 services guard their numbers, and their equations are proprietary, so even this Jerry Palm guy can't check them for accuracy.  Who's to say that they didn't include that same Appalachian State Game or maybe they omitted a different game instead.

This lack of transparency is a big deal IMO. We aren't talking about Pee-Wee football. Millions of dollars are at stake and this process needs to be beyond reproach. The difference between the BCS at large and the Las Vegas bowl is massive and should not be due to some shady computer model that goes on behind closed doors.

Instead we now have the idea in our heads that what other errors might lurking out there? And if there were errors did they get covered up? Did the 2004 undefeated Auburn team actually deserve to be #3 in the BCS or was there a computer glitch that robbed them of a title shot? What other teams were ripped off by these computers?

Of course there is only one answer to this mess and Ohio State's Jim Tressel has given it:

Tressel said that he thinks that we'll see change in the future with BCS. "Within five years we will be positioned for a playoff of sorts," Tressel said.

Yup a Playoff would settle all of this mess and provide some great games between now and New Years day instead of weeks of no college football with some teams having like 40 days off between the end of the season and their Bowl Game.