It was the strength of schedule factor that forced No. 2 Virginia Tech to sweat through the end of the year in 1999, as it enabled No. 3 Nebraska to get within striking distance. Although the Hokies schedule was significantly weaker than the Cornhuskers, most polls and computer rankings still placed Virginia Tech far ahead of the Nebraska due to the dominance that the Hokies demonstrated on the field every week. But the overemphasis on strength of schedule in the BCS allowed the Cornhuskers to get closer to the No. 2 spot than they ever should have been.

It was the strength of schedule factor alone that put UCLA at No. 2 in the BCS rankings for most of 1998. That year the Bruins had one of the worst defenses statistically in Div 1-A, and they struggled to beat both Stanford and Oregon St., the two cellar teams in the Pac-10 that year. For those and other reasons, both major polls had UCLA ranked below the other two undefeated teams at the time, Kansas St. and Tennessee. But the BCS enabled UCLA to be No. 2 in the country, and only a few hundredths of a point away from the top. Thankfully, Edgerrin James and Miami dealt the Bruins a season-ending loss, deservedly knocking them out of national title contention.

I'm certain some BCS-lovers believe that the polls and the computer rankings underemphasize strength of schedule, that the BCS rankings are merely the righteous compensation, and that anyone who disagrees suffers from some anti-Nebraska or anti-UCLA bias. Even if this opinion is remotely accurate, none of these followers can possibly justify the inherently flawed way that the strength of schedule rankings are calculated.

Although the media as a whole does not recognize this, the BCS narrowly avoided a major disaster with Michigan's ranking in 1998. I like to call the following scenario the Michigan-Hawaii dilemma.

Defending national champion Michigan (8-3), after finishing its grueling Big Ten schedule with a disappointing loss to Ohio State, played a final 12th game against winless Hawaii (0-11).

Most teams in Division 1-A college football play 11 games before bowl games, but some teams often end up playing 12 due to conference championship games, "pre-season" games such as the Kick-off Classic, and other commitments. In this case, the Michigan schedule-makers decided an extra game in Hawaii would be good for the team in 1998.

The game went pretty much as expected. The Wolverines built a 41-3 lead in the third quarter, and then sent in its reserves to preserve a 48-17 victory over the hapless Rainbows.