The Outrage Bowl

Scripps Howard: Even though it failed to win its own conference championship, Oklahoma will play LSU on Jan. 4 for the hypothetical national championship of college football.
This has outraged football fans who feel entitled to a national-championship game, even though colleges and conferences don't seem much interested in the playoff system needed to make that happen.
Until recently, the national title was chosen, not always satisfactorily, by the consensus of various polls. Then, to bring some sort of order and science to the process, the major colleges settled on the Bowl Championship Series, a computerized formula that crunched other polls, quality of victories, strength of schedule, strength of opponents' schedule -- it's so geeky it could be baseball -- and, of course, losses.
Big loser
On Saturday, Oklahoma lost and lost big -- by four touchdowns -- to Kansas State. Nonetheless, on Sunday the BCS deemed Oklahoma No. 1 even though polls conducted by actual humans placed the Sooners no higher than No. 3. Spurned in this process was Southern Cal, which actual humans rated No. 1.
The BCS might not survive its scheduled expiration in 2005; it has formidable critics, including Congress and the football have-not schools. But whatever takes its place won't be immune to controversy.
There are 28 bowl games between Dec. 16 and Jan. 4, meaning that almost half of the 117 schools that play Division I football will be invited to a postseason contest, but only four of the bowls pay really big money. Oklahoma and LSU will divide something over $14 million, as will Southern Cal for the diminished honor of playing Michigan.