ESPN Founder

Orators-debates- senators!  It’s that time of the year.  Lest you think I mean Obama/McCain, I have no interest in that arena.  The two presidential candidates are rookies compared to the oratory of the football coaches of America – their debates are too few to mention (just three every four years, compared to at least 13 every year for football coaches).  And college football even has its own Senator from Columbus, Ohio – the always fashionably attired Jim Tressel.
Let’s get to it!  The first BCS rankings are out and the debate is on.  Leading orator Pete Carroll always thinks USC should be or will be number 1 and play for the national championship.  While he gets points for believing in his program, he gets a little tiring year after year especially when he loses to unranked teams early in the season.  BCS rank in week one: 5. (he’s making points with the USA Today poll though – ranked 4th.
What about senator Tressel and Ohio State?  Ranked number 9 in the BCS and 10th in all the other polls, the Buckeyes have been humiliated by the aforementioned USC Trojans and knocked off such powerhouses as Youngstown State (3 - 6), Ohio University (2 – 5) and Troy University (4 – 2) enroute to a “glittering” 7 – 1 record.  Still, a win over Penn State this Saturday and a Big Ten title along with a few “senatorial” statements could catapult the Buckeyes into the National Championship game…maybe even a chance for a rematch with the Trojans – ugh!
Other one-loss teams will be polishing their images as well: Oklahoma (4); Georgia (7); Florida (10); and LSU (13).  The ranks of the one-loss teams will grow in the weeks to come and the flawed BCS system will give us a “Championship Game” between two of the top teams in the land, but, as history has proven, not necessarily the BEST two teams in the land.
The debate is on…what’s your projected BCS title matchup?