Remembering the BCS, even if I’m the only one who wants to

Those who crave to see the BCS die are finally getting their wish.

The Bowl Championship Series, introduced for the first time in 1998 as a way to match the nation’s top two college football teams in a national championship game, is clinging to life support. After the 2013 season, a 16-year run comes to an abrupt end as it gives way to a four-team college football playoff in 2014.

At this point, criticism is as synonymous with the BCS as longevity and consistency is associated with the San Antonio Spurs.

Whether it’s President Barack Obama, college football announcer Brent Musburger or Boise State fans, the BCS is deemed a fatuous and frustrating system that relies on a formula too complicated and complex for casual fans to understand (and even serious ones, too).

Six computer rankings — with names like the Colley Matrix and Jeff Sagarin — are combined with the Coaches Poll and the Harris Interactive Poll to determine an average ...

Stop? Yeah, OK, the point is, the BCS formula is a few steps way beyond basic math. It’s complicated to wade through.

Back in 1998, though, the BCS was a radical departure from a sport that had never truly found a way to ensure No. 1 played No. 2 to end the season.

The Bowl Coalition (1992-1994) and the Bowl Alliance (1995-1997) were both close. But it wasn’t until the Bowl Championship Series that the Pac-10 and the Big Ten joined forces with Notre Dame, the SEC, the ACC, the Big 12 and the Big East with the idea that two top-rated teams would square off in a rotating national championship game.

For the past 15 years, the BCS has been tweaked, adjusted and reformulated again and again. At the same time, complaints flied in from the likes of Auburn — undefeated in 2004, yet denied an opportunity to play in the national championship — mid-majors (Utah and Boise State) and, well, just about everybody else.

At the same time, however, college football’s popularity took off like Alabama did once Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.

The Alabama-Notre Dame national championship — or “the game that shot reality back into Irish fans’ hearts” — was the second-most watched program in cable history. How high would the rating have soared if Notre Dame had shown up?

Instead of concentrating on how the BCS made the game more expansive, ensuring a fan from the SEC would focus on the fortunes of an Oregon Duck or Oklahoma State Cowboy, the system became identified with its computers and upset alumni convinced their team deserved a better bowl game than the BCS provided.

Was it a perfect system? No, of course not. The biggest issue with the BCS was who made the other BCS bowl games. Too many times we were left with Michigan versus Virginia Tech instead of No. 5 Boise State (relegated to the Maaco Bowl) matched up against No. 6 Arkansas (went to the Cotton Bowl).

But the BCS was designed to pit No. 1 and No. 2 in a battle, and it did that spectacularly. And as far as a playoff goes, we have one of those in the current system that’s been given a death sentence — it’s called the regular season.

It’s 581 days until the College Football Playoff is born. By that point, I might be the only one worried about burying the BCS.

Sixth District All-Star game roster

Last Name	First Name	School	Jersey	Position	Ht	Wt	Awards	Plans after HS
Nelson	Kaleb	Ririe	52	LB/OG	6'1	190
Zeller	Austin	Ririe	27	DB	5'8	145	1st Team All Conf. DB/WR	Hopes to Walk On at Utah State
Leckington	Chad	Shelley	10	QB	6'3	220	1st Team All State QB	Football at Weber State on Scholarship
Cannon	McKay	Shelley	1	WR	6'0	170	1st Team All State WR, DB	Basketball at Weber State on Scholarship
Smith	Garrett	Shelley	75	OL	6'7	295	All-Conf. 1st Team, All-State 2nd Team	Play Football on scholarship at ISU
Gillstrap	Konnor	Shelley	78	OL	5'11	230	1st Team All Conf, 2nd Team All State	Attend Idaho State
Trost	Zach	South F	44	LB	6'1	190	1st Team All Conf RB	LDS Mission
Stoneburg	Kaden	West J	27	RB/LB	5'7	160
Orme	Mitch	Firth	5	WR	6'1	175	2A Player of the Year, All-State 1st Team	Undecided, LDS Mission
Lindberg	Matt	Firth	68	OL	5'10	175	All-Conf OL, DL 1st Team	Idaho State
Boyer	Braden	Firth	45	TE	6'2	180	All-Conf 1st Team LB, TE, All-State 2nd Team	LDS Mission
Neuerburg	Caden	Hillcrest	29	RB	5'11	190
Woodland	Dillon	Hillcrest	8	DB	6'1	185	All-Conf QB	LDS Mission
Smith	Clay	Bonneville	55	LB	6'0	270
Vielma	Jordan	Bonneville	1	LB	5'11	215	Team MVP, All-Area 1st Team	Undecided
Walker	Trae	Bonneville	33	RB	5'9	170	1st Team All-Conf. RB	Undecided
Neslon	Zach	Bonneville	4	LB	5'11	225
Lindley	Tyler	Bonneville	64	OL	6'3	260
Johnson	Kaleb	Bonneville	60	DL/OL	6'6	200		Serve an LDS mission
Howard	Riley	Bonneville	3	LB	5'11	190	2nd Team All Area	Football at Rocky Mountain College on Scholarship
Honeycutt	Tanner	Bonneville	12	WR	5'11	170
Drefs	Austin	Bonneville	79	DL	6'4	290		Undecided
Brewster	Mark	Teton	63	DL	5'9	220	1st Team All Area	Undecided
Street	Tanner	Teton	18	RB/DB	6'0	170	2nd Team All Area RB	Undecided
Nelson	Jason	Teton	52	OL	5'10	175	1st Team All Conf. OL	Attend Boise State
Zaugg	Keanu	Madison	33	DL	6'2	225
Marcellin	Sem	Madison	1	DB	5'11	175
Madrigal	Andre	Skyline	4	CB	6'0	185	All-Conf DB	Undecided Baseball Scholarship
Kuns	Justin	Skyline	5	OLB	6'1	230	All State K, All Conf 2nd Team LB	Undecided
Olson	Craig	Challis	7	WR/LB	6'2	190	Challis High Athlete of the Year	Lane Community College
Robins	Dylan	Challis	23	DB/K	5'8	170		Plans to walk on at Montana Western
Straub	Jonathon	Challis	58	OL	5'8	220		Attending Idaho State, Undecided on Football
Smith	Devan	Sugar-Salem	85	WR	6'5	180
Parkinson	Kellon	Sugar-Salem	56	WR	6'2	175
Campbell	Austin	Blackfoot	5	DE	6'3	235	All-Conf 1st Team DE, TE, All-Area, All-State 2nd Team	Undecided
Turner	Brandon	Blackfoot	64	OL	6'2	250	1st Team All-Conf, 2nd Team All-State	University of N. Texas
Pearson	Colby	Blackfoot	4	WR	6'1	175	All-State, All-Area, All-Conf 1st Team	Walking on at BYU
Moore	Carlton	Blackfoot	7	DB	5'9	155	All-Conf.	Idaho State
Lamb	Hagen	Blackfoot	54	OL	5'10	255	1st Team All-State, All- Area, All-Conf	Idaho State
Murdoch	Ryan	Blackfoot	43	LB	6'0	210	All-Conference 1st Team, All-Area	Playing football at Pacific Lutheran University
Martin	Mitch	Blackfoot	20	FB	5'11	205	1st Team All-State, All-Area, All-Conference	Playing football at University of Utah
Ramos	Alonzo	Blackfoot	2	DB	5'10	150	4A Player of the Year	Big Bend Community College, Basketball
Peoples	JonRyheem	Rigby	8	OL/DL	6'6	340
Coaches:
Hobson	Travis	Shelley	Head Coach			4XL
Armstrong	Fred	Bonneville	Offinsive Coordinator			2XL
Monahan	Jake	Shelley	Defensive Coordinator			XL
Birch	Brody	Teton	RBs, DL			2XL
Stewart	Josh	Ririe	LBs			XL
Anderson	Robbie	Teton	WRs			2XL

Fifth District All-Star game roster

Last Name	First Name	School	Jersey	Position	Ht	Wt
Anderson	Cody	Malad	61	OL/DE	6'1	230
Martin	Chris	Malad	31	LB	5'7	155
Davis	Braxton	Malad	4	LB/FB	5'5	160
Finlayson	Helaman	Soda Spr	40	LB	5'11	190
Pugmire	Nick	Soda Spr	21	DE	5'11	180
Duncan	Kailyn	Soda Spr	10	QB	6'1	180
Karn	Nick	Pocatello	32	LB	6'2	190
Kempworth	Tim	Pocatello	55	C	5'11	220
Jang	Dehaun	Pocatello	7	RB	5'9	170
Vega	Pablo	Snake R	69	OL	5'10	235
Martin	Nate	Snake R	22	RB/LB	5'10	175
Pope	Daniel	Century	64	OL	6'0	265
Freeman	Aaron	Century	42	DL/LB	6'1	230
Ray	Tyler	Century	6	FS	5'11	165
Johnson	Tate	Preston	15	RB/LB	6'0	200
Iverson	Tyeson	Marsh	7	RB/DB	5'10	160
Jewell	Neil	Highland	3	QB	6'0	198
Baseris	Mike	Highland	13	RB	5'10	175
Shreve	Colton	Highland	32	TE	6'5	205
Rammel	Ryland	Highland	43	DE	6'2	185
Anderson	Sheldon	Highland	53	DE	6'2	207
Ryan	Thomas	Highland	50	LB	6'2	235
Bravo	Rodrigo	Aberdeen	23	LB	5'10	200
Cerna	Brian	Aberdeen	5	FS	5'10	155
Jolley	Brendan	Aberdeen	22	DB	5'8	165
Rosales	Erik	Aberdeen	20	RB	5'10	150
Horrocks	Austin	Aberdeen	10	TE	6'2	200
Guzmon	Carlos	Aberdeen	28	DB/K	5'11	160
Stegelmeier	Paul	WestSide	70	DL/OL	6'1	215
Smart	Jaxon	WestSide	69	DE	6'0	210
Hyde	Garrett	Bear Lake	54	OG/DE	6'0	220
Teeples	Josh	Bear Lake	23	RB/DB	5'11	175
Lynch	Ryan	Bear Lake	21	WR/CB	6'0	180
Raschle	Derek	Highland	68	OL	6'2	240
Thompson	Aaron	Highland	89	WR	6'3	187
Coaches:
Jason Taylor		Head Coach	2XLT
Gin Mariani		O Coordinator	3XL
Warren Whittaker		O Line	XL
Cory Hollingsworth		D Coordinator	2XL
Aberdeen		D Line	XL
Aberdeen		D Backs	XL

Gambling pays off for Snake River

Call it crazy, call it guts. Call it faith, call it instincts. Or maybe it’s wildly unbelievable luck.

Whatever it is, Rich Dunn, Snake River High School’s girls basketball and baseball head coach, loves to gamble, especially when the stakes are the highest.

And why not? He’s been spot on in two state title games separated by three months.

Dunn had the state’s best 3A team in basketball. Apart from a home loss to Soda Springs and a road defeat at Marsh Valley, the Panthers rumbled through the regular season with a vicious man-to-man defense.

Snake River’s winning formula: pressure ball handles, stuff passing lanes, swat passes, force turnovers and race in the open court to score quickly once an opponent succumbed to the suffocation.

The Panthers’ identity permeated from its man defense. It defined them. It was so good that even when they weren’t hitting shots — like in the 33-32 semifinal victory against Parma — Snake could scratch out a victory.

But then in the championship game, Dunn and the Panthers dumped the man-to-man like a used wrapper and switched to a zone defense.

I’ll repeat that.

A team that hadn’t played zone in a game all season — never, not once — decided the best time to unveil it was in the state championship.

And, of course, it worked. The Panthers hadn’t abandoned their man principles. With a clever scheme, Dunn and his players slyly disguised their new defense, finding different ways to cause havoc.

Filer finished with its lowest scoring output of the season while shooting 27 percent from the field and coughing up 22 turnovers.

Can you imagine Jim Boeheim giving up his fabled 2-3 zone defense in the Final Four, to, you know, shake things up?

But Dunn wasn’t just guessing. The Filer Wildcats were big and lacked perimeter shooting. Snake’s zone offset their strengths.

I would’ve guessed that taking one gamble was enough for Dunn. But, no, he couldn’t resist going all in one more time.

It just happened last Saturday, so I’ll spare you some of the details. Here’s the Cliff Notes version: Snake River versus Fruitland. Total distance traveled: 310 miles for the Panthers and about 310 feet for the Grizzlies.

Fan attendance: Snake River with a few dozen and the town of Fruitland encompassing everyone else.

Reputation factor: Let’s see, Fruitland won the two previous titles, and I’m not sure which is bigger, the Grizzlies’ Joe Martarano (6 foot 3, 230 pounds) or his notoriety as an MLB baseball prospect and a Boise State football recruit. Snake’s reputation, well, aren’t they more of a football and basketball school?

Game breakdown and Dunn’s second big gamble: Fruitland’s lineup is brutal. The Grizzlies had scored 69 runs in their previous six state tournament games. So it makes sense to strut out your best pitcher, right?

What if it’s two days after he had just thrown seven innings in a four hit, 14 strikeout 7-0 shutout against Payette in the first round?

If you’re Dunn, yeah, apparently. And like the zone defense, Zane Stephenson was the right move. He was only supposed to pitch an inning, maybe two, a maximum of three.

But seven innings later, Stephenson was still whipping pitch after pitch, finishing off Fruitland with three straight strikeouts. Snake won 8-4 and were the first 3A opponent to knock off the Grizzlies this season.

Both gambles paid off. The zone shut down Filer and Snake won the girls’ first title.

Stephenson’s unreal durability — 14 innings pitched, nine hits, 23 strikeouts and two wins — held on just long enough to outlast Fruitland.

In truth, it wasn’t crazy and it wasn’t luck. Dunn’s instincts were to trust his gut and allow his athletes to come through in the biggest moments. That’s coaching, friends.

Guess he wasn’t really gambling at all.

We all want to see it — a Highland-Bonnneville baseball matchup

I’m a nice guy, so I want to do us all a favor. Call it an early birthday present, a belated Christmas gift, heck, Mother’s Day is coming up, it can be for that.

The two best baseball teams in Eastern Idaho are the Highland Rams and the Bonneville Bees. Each competes in a different classification so, sadly, with the regular season dwindling away and districts looming, we’re not going to see them compete on the same field.

But this is a present I wish to give all of you.

Highland versus Bonneville.

Bees versus Rams.

Bo Burrup, a junior, a stud, a guy who makes hitting home runs look as easy as creating teen-maternity-reality shows on MTV. The 6-foot-5 lefty, a BYU commit, would take the mound for the Rams.

And he’d face Bonneville’s Kohl Hostert, who’s doing his best Justin Verlander impression this season. Hostert is the ace of a staff that’s catapulted the Bees to a perfect 21-0 record.

Shutout after shutout, Hostert has been stellar and nearly unhittable. After beating Blackfoot 5-0 last Tuesday, where he whiffed 10 Broncos in a complete game, his ERA dropped to a measly 0.48, according to the Post Register.

Hostert’s been great, but the Bees’ lineup is stacked, too. We should stop comparing the Washington Nationals to the ’27 Yankees. The Bees bare a far better resemblance with power and speed filtered one through nine.

Bonneville isn’t just beating teams, either. The Bees have dominated, outscoring opponents by nearly 10 runs a game.

The Rams, however, are no slouch. Highland hasn’t lost since March, winning 14 straight. While Bonneville’s pitching has been untouchable, the Rams’ batting order never provides a break.

Aaron Pope, hitting leadoff, has both speed and power. Kade Hall, batting second, was nearly hitting .500 halfway through the season. And Greg Casper, slotted fourth, right behind Burrup, never — and I mean never — strikes out. His first called third strike of the season was in the 15th game of the year.

Bonneville versus Highland.

Rams versus Bees.

I guess I’m the one asking for an early birthday present. Bonneville, the No. 1 seed in the 4A Fifth-Sixth District tournament starting Tuesday at Melaleuca Field in Idaho Falls, is more concerned with keeping an unblemished record unblemished.

And you can bet Highland and head coach Mike Green are more concerned with Monday’s first-round game in the 5A Fifth-Sixth District tourney rather than a hypothetical matchup with the Bees.

But as a state can’t we come together to make this happen?

Would Hostert handle Highland’s hitters as easily as he has everyone else this season? Would Burrup — who the last time he took the mound he struck out 17 and was a first-inning error short of a perfect game — avoid giving up the long ball to Bonneville’s hitters?

The Rams and Bees are more concerned with district and state titles, but, honestly, I just want to find out on the field where the best team in Eastern Idaho resides first.