An amusing bit of propaganda arrived in the mail the other day from something called the FBA, or Football Bowl Association.

(What is it with acronyms in college football these days? We have the BCS, FBS. FCS and now the FBA. And that doesn’t even include the ACC, WAC, MAC, SEC or C-USA. Talk about an alphabetical explosion.)

Anyway, the purpose of the missive was to remind me just how great the bowl system is. The glossy, four-color piece included plenty of photographs, data on just how everyone benefits from the bowls and testimonials extolling the virtues of the entire experience. If John McCain’s people had produced a similarly slick paean to their candidate, he might well have won. After reading it, I was tempted to get on the phone and order tickets to the Congressional Bowl.

Then came Sunday afternoon, and the FBA mailer looked more like the comics section than a serious attempt to promote the current post-season configuration. The announcement that Oklahoma had surpassed Texas in the BCS standings and would play in the Big 12 title game Saturday night rendered every shaky argument made by BCS supporters laughable. All that talk about how “the regular season is the playoff” was wiped away by a conglomeration of voters and numbers-crunchers that decided OU’s win over Oklahoma State was sufficient to wipe out the Sooners’ loss to Texas.

So much for that playoff line of reasoning.

Thanks primarily to the Massey, Sagarin and Wolfe rankings, which decided the Sooners are the best team in the land, the Sooners leapt past UT in the BCS rankings and “won” the three-way tie with the Longhorns and Texas Tech in the Big 12 South. The prize? A trip to Kansas City to play Missouri in the conference playoff tilt and a shot at one of the coveted positions in the BCS “national championship” game Jan. 8.

If a conference wants to use the BCS standings to choose its champion, that’s its prerogative. The rest of us can’t get caught up in intramural dealings. For all we know, the Big East’s seventh tie-breaker evaluates relative fashion strengths of teams’ uniforms, based on panelists from “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” If that’s what they want, have at it.

The problem here is that the BCS got it wrong this time. If, as we are reminded constantly by TV partners, various flaks and other misguided voices, “every week is a playoff in college football,” then why didn’t Texas’ Oct. 11 win over the Sooners — at a neutral site, no less — decide the argument and eliminate OU? If the regular season is “the playoff,” then the Red River Shootout, er, Rivalry was a first-round game. Two teams matched up in a stadium evenly divided among supporters of each is the perfect way to stage an elimination game. And, since that’s what we’re told the regular season is about, why didn’t it matter in late November?

You don’t have to think too hard to find the answer, at least for the pollsters. Since OU played Saturday night, two days after Texas eviscerated Texas A&M, it made the final argument. True, the Sooners looked darn good whipping up on Oklahoma State, but the fact remains that they lost to the team against which they were being compared. (Forget about Texas Tech; the Red Raiders’ loss to OU two weeks ago eliminated them from the argument, even though they finished with the same record as OU and Texas.) If you are going to argue that the thing making college football so great is its highly-meaningful regular season, then you can’t have the loser of a head-to-head matchup ranked higher than the team to which it lost. If you do, it is proof positive that the system in place is flawed and needs to be eliminated.

The funny thing about this is that the poll thought most irrational and sometimes even silly — the Harris Interactive — actually had it right, ranking Texas ahead of Oklahoma. It was the coaches’ poll, along with the four of the six geeks, that lifted the Sooners over UT. How ironic is it that the group of people who most loathe any kind of predictions or forecasts by others — coaches — would choose to speculate about which of two teams is better, rather than look at the results on the field? Only in college football.

Hey, but that’s what makes the game so great, isn’t it? Why get caught up in actual results of games when we can argue about what teams deserve to play for the “national title?” That’s what they say about boxing, too. And check out the parallels between college football and that other bastion of competitive integrity: figure skating. Both rely heavily on opinion and math to determine their champions. If you’re judged by the company you keep, college football had better find some new friends.

Which brings me back to the FBA’s campaign brochure. Within it are stats on financial payouts, community support and even how many cheerleaders take part. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love the bowls. The color and pageantry are unmatched. Hunkering down in front of the TV on New Year’s Day to watch the games is a four-decade tradition for my family. And clearing time from the busy holiday schedule to take in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is as important as decking the halls and buying those last-second gifts. But let’s be real about this, people. Using a system devised to attract tourists to cities during traditionally slow travel months to choose a champion is asinine. Recruiting coaches, analysts and computers as accomplices is borderline criminal, especially when so much money is at stake.

Future records will show Oklahoma as the Big 12 South champion. The Sooners might even end up number one overall. But there will be no mention of the fraud perpetrated in pursuit of that end. It will just go down as another footnote in BCS history and erode college football’s credibility that much more. But as long as the FBA keeps promoting itself and willing broadcasters and writers abet the crime, nothing can be done.

In the meantime, pay a little less attention to those regular-season games. They don’t mean quite as much as we thought they did.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Alabama vs. Florida (Atlanta), Saturday, December 6, 4 p.m. (CBS)

The undefeated Crimson Tide continue to get no respect, coming in as a double-digit underdog to the Gators. This will be a matchup of ‘Bama trench strength against the Florida speed, which might be compromised if Percy Harvin (ankle) can’t play. The Gator spread attack is operating at full throttle, thanks to an infusion of speedy backs that makes the option aspect crackle. The Tide must find a way to stop the run without giving Florida QB Tim Tebow too many opportunities against single coverage. That’s a tall order but certainly not one that’s impossible. Still, the lack of a sophisticated passing game could be Alabama’s downfall. Florida wins but not handily

Florida 23, Alabama 16

BUMPS AND RUNS

Some are surprised Clemson stuck with Dabo Swinney, but his 5-2 record as an interim coach, with special note going to last Saturday’s 31-14 whipping of South Carolina, made a strong case for him. Swinney’s biggest ally was AD Terry Don Phillips, who championed him from the start.

Many are mystified by Tennessee’s decision to hire Lane Kiffin. Kiffin has never run a program, has coached almost exclusively on the West Coast (and graduated from Fresno State) and was a coordinator at the college level for just two years. It helps that he’s likely bringing his father, Monte, to run the defense, but many are wondering how Kiffin will recruit in the tough SEC.

The hottest name on the interview circuit is Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly, who is a big favorite of Washington, was in the running at Tennessee and could even get a look at Notre Dame, if Charlie Weis is forced out. An interesting sidelight to Kelly’s success is that UC officials are quite aware that this year’s Big East title was accomplished largely with former coach Mark Dantonio’s players — especially on defense — and they have expressed gratitude to the current Michigan State boss for his role in the title.

When Sylvester Croom resigned last Saturday as Mississippi State’s head coach, that left only three African-American head coaches in Division I-A (Miami’s Randy Shannon, Buffalo’s Turner Gill, Houston’s Kevin Sumlin). That’s not to say the number will stay there. Maryland assistant Mike Locksley is rumored to be a prime candidate at Syracuse, and Louisville assistant Ron English is interviewing at Eastern Michigan. If neither gets a job, there could be a firestorm of protest.

Purdue defensive coordinator Brock Spack is rumored to be the early favorite at Bowling Green, while Miami (OH) will look at a bunch of alums, including Michigan State OC Don Treadwell.

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