What's with this week's Rivals Football Roundtable Question?

The College Football Roundtable headline:

Roundtable: Which fallen power on the rise?

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: With the season fast approaching, which program will start to again make annual visits to the top 10 first: Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame or UCLA?

I am sorry, but what does a basketball power, UCLA, have to do with a commentary about fallen football powers? How is UCLA labeled a football power?

I'll take Iowa's college football resume over UCLA's for practical purposes. Since 1981, coaches Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz have elevated Iowa's football resume ahead of UCLA. Why don't you throw in the University of Minnesota, while you are at it, especially, if you are tossing UCLA into the category?

While we are at it, what has Alabama or Notre Dame really ever done in the BCS? Notre Dame does get a huge break, due to no conference affiliation. The modern BCS really began, when both the Big Ten and Pac Ten conferences joined the system ten years ago. The new BCS Title Game format, since 2006, has elevated the format, while preserving the bowl traditions a little better.

Jumping off topic for a moment: I would make one change: make the BCS Title Game a +1 system, after all the bowls are played. This would allow the bowls to maintain to preserve their historical bowl tie-ins. It would also use the BCS scoring system for what it was intended to do... match #1 vs. #2, nothing more.

Clearly, the list of football powers this decade doesn't include Alabama or Notre Dame. Today's Top Football powers of the decade and since the BCS began it's format in 1998 are:

1. LSU (2 BCS titles, 4-0 in BCS)
2. USC (1 BCS title, 5-1 in BCS)
3. Oklahoma (1 BCS title, three title game appearances)
4. Ohio State (1 BCS title, three title game appearances)
5. Georgia (could this be the year for coach Mark Richt?)
6. Florida (1 BCS title)
7. Texas (1 BCS title)
8. Michigan (new coach Rich Rodriguez hopes to keep them on the list)
9. Miami-FL (1 BCS title)
10. tied Florida State (3 title game appearances) and Tennessee (each, with 1 BCS title)

Notre Dame has three appearances and is 0-3 in BCS bowls. Alabama hasn't been seen, since it's lone appearance in 1999, a loss to #8 Michigan in the Orange Bowl. UCLA's lone appearance was in 1998, a loss to Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Clearly, Miami-FL and Florida State need to improve or they will see themselves slide off this list, but each having a BCS Title is certainly a plus over the three other teams mentioned by Rivals.com.

peace