There's exciting news today in the world of college football, folks. 65 sportswriters and broadcasters got together, did a little math, and eliminated 54 teams from national championship contention.

And yes, that includes you Brigham Young. No one might come out and say it - still want to get the asses in the seats and all - but you're ranked sixteenth. And as we saw last year with Hawaii (preseason rank 23rd), there's nothing you can do now. The fix is in, and you're just not in the right conference. You can go out and run the table this season, only to be leapfrogged in the polls by such football titans as the Virginia Cavaliers. Twice. After all, the Rainbow Warriors were the only team to win every game last year, and their prize was a whopping thirteen spots up in the poll. Ergo, the best the Cougars can hope for is third, and this is America son, where only the 1st and 2nd place teams mean a damn. Just like the Olympics, which are all about handpicking what 65 guys think are the best two competitors in a given sport, and not giving anybody else a chance.

Before you feel too bad BYU, take heart in the fact that most likely a lot more than 54 teams have been eliminated today.  If UNC goes undefeated this season (as is incredibly likely), they won't be playing in the historic, tradition-laden BCS Championship either. (Hi, Auburn '04!) Unless, of course, nobody else goes undefeated. So in actuality, all but about twenty teams have been eliminated from title contention, but officially it's just 54 at this point.

So have a wonderful, meaningless season BYU. Play hard, do well in school, and take comfort in the fact that it doesn't matter at all on the national stage. Now go have fun.