PASADENA, Calif. – A popular topic in many of the interviews after TCU's victory in the Rose Bowl was the idea that the team was playing this game for more than just their school. The Horned Frogs were playing, this story goes, for the little guys – programs from non-automatic qualifying conferences (like themselves) who don't get a chance to play for a national title.
With their win, some pundits will say (and TCU players, coaches and fans might have you believe), the Horned Frogs validated all of these non-AQ teams. By beating the champions of major conferences – like TCU beat Wisconsin and Boise State beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl – they argue programs in conferences like the Mountain West and WAC deserve a shot at the national title game.
But here's the thing: That's not the way it works.
The 2011 Rose Bowl validated the 2010 TCU Horned Frogs. It showed that Tank Carder is an extremely talented linebacker capable of making huge plays on the biggest stage. It showed that Andy Dalton can hurt one of the best defenses in the country (he was the game's leading passer and led his team in rushing). It showed this TCU team was one of the best in college football, and worthy of a shot at the national title.
It did not, however, prove that every team that steamrolls a weak conference deserves to play for college football's grand prize.
Because of the schedule TCU played, there was no way to know how good they would actually be when they faced Wisconsin. The criticism is, by now, played out – the Horned Frogs put up gaudy statistics, but they did so against weaker opponents in a soft conference.
Questioning whether or not Dalton or TCU's defense would hold up as well against Wisconsin was perfectly legitimate, but it's clear the Horned Frogs passed that test with flying colors.
The next time a non-AQ team knocks on the door for a BCS championship (and there will be a next time), that team will face the same questions, and justifiably so because chances are they will not have proven themselves the way TCU did Saturday.
Given the much-maligned way college football determines its national champion, we can only tell if a team is worthy – if their players are ""that good,"" if their statistics stand up – once they play a tough opponent from a major conference. And that only happens in bowl season, when it is too late to put them in the talk for a national championship.
The 2007 Fiesta Bowl and 2011 Rose Bowl only validate the teams that play in them, and showed they are in fact worthy of their high ranking. But it doesn't do so for every program from a non-AQ conference the way some have suggested.
Until those conferences start providing good competition every Saturday in the regular season (like the Big Ten and SEC do) it's hard to make the case for their champions being better than those from a power conference.
If WAC team San Jose State, for instance, went undefeated next year, are they more worthy of a trip to the national championship game than a Pac 10 team with an equally unblemished record? The answer is no, because while the Pac 10 school proves its mettle each week thanks to its conference competition, the Spartans might only face one or two tough teams in their season. Perhaps San Jose can beat a team from a major conference in a BCS game and show they in fact were one of the best teams in the country all along, but by then it is too late.
It's the same story with the Horned Frogs. By Saturday evening we knew TCU was good enough to play for the BCS championship, but we didn't know that on Friday, and much of the college football world did not believe it when the last BCS rankings came out a month ago.
TCU head coach Gary Patterson was right when he said after the game, ""Today we proved we have just as good of players as anybody else in the country.""
The Horned Frogs were the better team Saturday, and they are certainly good enough to compete with any team in the country for a national title. But just because they are, that does not mean the next team in their shoes is. Until college football fixes its postseason the best a non-automatic qualifier program can hope for is to sit at home watching the national championship game, having beaten a ""power conference"" team and knowing they are good enough to play for the title.
How can college football fix its postseason so teams like TCU have a chance to prove they deserve a shot at the national championship? E-mail Nico at savidgewilki@dailycardinal.com.
