Pinkel and Moe Disagree on BCS Championship

The Missourian‘s Vinnie Duber asked Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel and wide receiver T.J. Moe if Alabama, which lost 9-6 to LSU earlier in the season, deserved to play against LSU in the national championship game.

Pinkel, who ranked LSU and Alabama No. 1 and No. 2 in his vote in the coaches’ poll, said Alabama is the second-best team in the country:

"“The BCS got it right,” Pinkel said Sunday night. “Whether people want to admit it or not, they got it exactly right. I think they have the two best teams in the country. … The system was designed to get the two best teams playing. And it worked.”"

Moe was less than impressed with the selection, saying Alabama already had a chance to beat LSU.

"“Coach Pinkel thinks so. I think Alabama had their shot,” Moe said. “The thing is, when you (Oklahoma State) have an offense that good, you never know what’s going to happen. I haven’t seen anyone slow down Justin Blackmon this year, or Brandon Weeden. They’re always getting their points. It’s hard to stop. I know OSU’s good, we’ve watched them dominate all season long. Now, we’re going to watch more field goals here.”"

“More field goals” doesn’t necessarily mean a bad game – casual fans may not like low-scoring games, but a low score doesn’t mean the game is a bad matchup. From personnel match-ups, halftime adjustments and field-position battles, plenty of important factors are on display in a football game even when a lot of scoring isn’t happening. Also, the BCS’s job isn’t to give the most teams a chance to beat the No. 1 team. It’s supposed to put the best two teams against each other.

The real question is whether Alabama is better than Oklahoma State or not. Instead of the question being answered on the field, the question has, as per tradition, been answered by computers and voters.