[Cardinal96]

Why do you say no chance?  What proof do you have that there is no chance?

If Northern Indiana Parochial College falls hard in the polls, why couldn't it happen?  Anyone who pays attention to the BCS knows it comes up with crazy results all the time.  The polls don't account for head-to-head match-ups.  If more people vote Stanford higher on the last polls, Stanford will be ahead of Northern Indiana Parochial College, even with 2 losses, and a head-to-head one.  David Shaw will be able to make a very strong argument for why Stanford is more deserving than Northern Indiana Parochial College, namely the B.S. ref calls when his team got jobbed in South Bend, and the fact Hogan wasn't playing then.

This is the kind of controversy the BCS LOVES and I hate as a college football fan.  Again, it might not make logical sense, but the BCS isn't about logic.  It's about numbers. 

Plus, Stanford will be peaking at the right time.  The New York Giants were 9-7 in the NFL regular season in 2011.  They won the Super Bowl.  Stanford has just as much right to play for the BCS Championship with two losses as the Giants had to be in the NFL playoffs last year.

And I KNOW David Shaw would make that point while campaigning for Stanford to be ranked higher in the BCS rankings over the next two weeks, if there is an opening for Stanford to get to #2.  Absent a playoff, you can't play yourself into a championship, but the BCS can make an effort to reward the teams playing the best at the end of the year, regardless of record, and especially with the circumstances surrounding Stanford's two losses.

But my greater question is why is Stanford getting so little respect in the polls after knocking off Oregon and holding a team nobody thought could be stopped, to 14 points?  How the team Under Stanford Control was rewarded last year and Stanford wasn't, really bothers me, and I want answers!

Max Wittek (the QB replacing Barkley) could be the next Peyton Manning and lead USC to a 49-0 victory over Notre Dame next week.  Even if that happens, Notre Dame will be in the polls ahead of us because of (a) better record and (b) head-to-head result.  You can't lose any worse than Kansas State did last week and they are ahead of us in the polls.  Two wins over UCLA would not be enough for us to move ahead of Notre Dame in the polls.  And Notre Dame would also be higher in the computers than us; the computers love them.

I also don't think there is any legitimate way we pass the winner of Bama/Georgia in the SEC title game, even if they both lose next week.

I love your enthusiasm and would be thrilled to play for the whole enchilada.  But it just isn't in the cards this year.  I am thrilled because what is in the cards is a Rose Bowl appearance if we win two more games.  That is firmly in our destiny.

[Cardinal96]

Why do you say no chance?  What proof do you have that there is no chance?

If Northern Indiana Parochial College falls hard in the polls, why couldn't it happen?  Anyone who pays attention to the BCS knows it comes up with crazy results all the time.  The polls don't account for head-to-head match-ups.  If more people vote Stanford higher on the last polls, Stanford will be ahead of Northern Indiana Parochial College, even with 2 losses, and a head-to-head one.  David Shaw will be able to make a very strong argument for why Stanford is more deserving than Northern Indiana Parochial College, namely the B.S. ref calls when his team got jobbed in South Bend, and the fact Hogan wasn't playing then.

This is the kind of controversy the BCS LOVES and I hate as a college football fan.  Again, it might not make logical sense, but the BCS isn't about logic.  It's about numbers. 

Plus, Stanford will be peaking at the right time.  The New York Giants were 9-7 in the NFL regular season in 2011.  They won the Super Bowl.  Stanford has just as much right to play for the BCS Championship with two losses as the Giants had to be in the NFL playoffs last year.

And I KNOW David Shaw would make that point while campaigning for Stanford to be ranked higher in the BCS rankings over the next two weeks, if there is an opening for Stanford to get to #2.  Absent a playoff, you can't play yourself into a championship, but the BCS can make an effort to reward the teams playing the best at the end of the year, regardless of record, and especially with the circumstances surrounding Stanford's two losses.

But my greater question is why is Stanford getting so little respect in the polls after knocking off Oregon and holding a team nobody thought could be stopped, to 14 points?  How the team Under Stanford Control was rewarded last year and Stanford wasn't, really bothers me, and I want answers!

Max Wittek (the QB replacing Barkley) could be the next Peyton Manning and lead USC to a 49-0 victory over Notre Dame next week.  Even if that happens, Notre Dame will be in the polls ahead of us because of (a) better record and (b) head-to-head result.  You can't lose any worse than Kansas State did last week and they are ahead of us in the polls.  Two wins over UCLA would not be enough for us to move ahead of Notre Dame in the polls.  And Notre Dame would also be higher in the computers than us; the computers love them.

I also don't think there is any legitimate way we pass the winner of Bama/Georgia in the SEC title game, even if they both lose next week.

I love your enthusiasm and would be thrilled to play for the whole enchilada.  But it just isn't in the cards this year.  I am thrilled because what is in the cards is a Rose Bowl appearance if we win two more games.  That is firmly in our destiny.