Poor Move

I haven't blogged seriously about sports since probably my first post, but thought I'd switch it up from my usual lacking attempts at comedy.

The poor move in question? TCU's move to the Big East.

Is it good for TCU? Yes. Is it good for the Big East? Yes.

Is it good for College Football? An emphatic NO.

Personally, TCU has lost my respect with this move. Teams like TCU, Boise State, BYU, and Utah were the champions of trying to usher in a new and more equal NCAA Football.

Yet, within the next few years, TCU will be in the Big East (A BCS Automatic Qualifier), Utah in the Pac-10 (A BCS Automatic Qualifier), and BYU will become an Independent, leaving a team like Boise State, who is joining the Mountain West, in the same position they're in now in the WAC.

Sure, the jump to a BCS conference will help TCU a little, but if they were in the Big East this year, with the exact same undefeated record and a better strength of schedule due to the stronger conference opponents, they'd be in exactly the same spot. Hoping either Oregon or Auburn loses to get a chance to play in the National Championship game.

TCU was one of the teams that was bringing credence to allowing non-BCS schools a shot to play for the National Championship. But, this move says "We" deserve to play for a National Championship, not "You" other non-BCS schools. It says we deserve better than the rest of you beneath us, the same kind of treatment TCU and Boise State typically get. Talk about hypocrites.

And don't think this would only affect the non-BCS teams. TCU could still technically end up playing for the National Championship. And what if they won? That would be the strongest statement for creating a playoff to determine the National Champion. A playoff, which everybody, not just non-BCS schools want.

Instead, if TCU were to somehow end up in the National Championship and win, the fact that the one team to throw a wrench in the system is joining the Big East, a BCS conference, would allow the system in place now to stay that way.

Personally, I just think it's a cowardly move. They're getting all the credit they deserve this year, and they are perennially one of the non-BCS teams to consider in terms of BCS bowls. Was joining the Big East, a conference that most think doesn't even deserve their Automatic Bid to a BCS bowl game a smart move? What if the Big East were to somehow lose their Automatic Bid? Very unlikely, but TCU wouldn't be in much better shape then they would be if they stayed MWC. Especially considering that conference would have Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State, and Air Force.

So, if you want to blame someone for the lack of a playoff in a few years because your team isn't getting the chance it deserves to compete for a National Championship, you can look to TCU's jetting to the Big East as just another one of the moves that will ensure things stay the way the are in College Football.