More on Hawaii  

Fair points. First, I'd like to correct myself. Hawaii and Ohio State both have exactly ONE win over a BCS top 25 team. Yes Ohio State also had Illinois on the schedule. The same Illinois team that whooped them up and down their own field.

Now on to the other points. First of all, it is imperative that people understand that Hawaii is not "our" team here at the323. We are not from Hawaii nor are we Hawaii fans. Actually we live in Boston, so there is no bias here whatsoever.

Second, I never meant to imply that the Big 10 was worse than the WAC. That is simply absurd. BUT what everyone seems to forget is that Hawaii has one less loss than Ohio State. Yes the Big 10 schedule was better than the WAC, but in order to put Ohio State ahead of Hawaii you would have to make the argument that the Big 10 was sufficiently better to overcome a loss. I just don't see it. The Big 10 was down this year.....very down. Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, all traditional powers, all down this year. Are those teams better than Boise State, Nevada, and Fresno State? Yes. Are they far and away better, so much so to make up for Ohio State losing to Illinois at home? I contend no, and there is definitely an argument to be made there.

We mention the SoS of WVU and Ohio St. to point out that it is not necessarily strong enough to make up for a..... LOSS! They lost a game. Don't forget this. Hawaii did not.

We're saying: Perfect Record + Lousy SoS > One loss + mediocre SoS.

If not now, when? If Hawaii can't play for the title this year, when so many crazy things have happened, and if BCS opponents refuse to schedule Hawaii. Then we are basically saying that it is impossible for Hawaii to win a title. It simply can't be done. Well, that is not fair, and is the final nail in the coffin for the BCS, a system obviously designed to reward the powerful over the weak.

Third, no means are we trying to hide the fact that Hawaii's schedule was the worst in college football. It was awful, we know this. And I think we've made it clear that in ANY other year they would be nowhere near the national title game. But this season there are no dominant teams that ALSO have a great schedule. Every team from the BCS conferences has at least one loss, and those that have only the single blemish (Kansas, WVU, and Ohio St notable) have a significantly weaker schedule that you'd expect from a BCS conference team. Bottom line, it's a perfect storm for Hawaii this year. Any other year and I'd agree that the team with the weakest schedule in the nation should be nowhere near the title game, but 2007 has been unlike any other year ever. Why not give Hawaii a shot when nobody else has been able to do what they're one win away from doing.....win every game they are supposed to!

Finally, we're picking on Ohio St. because this is a team that was obliterated in the title game last year, doesn't have an impressive win, LOST a game, and will very likely play for the title.

We also pick on WVU because they will likely play for the title as well, and are equally undeserving. The Big East is worse than the Big Ten, and South Florida is certainly no better than Illinois.

Notice we haven't talked trash about Missouri at all, that isn't an accident.