A great blog post by Ivan Maisel at ESPN.com, comparing BCS hopefuls to the candidates they most resemble. I would swap Benito and Hillary, since Ohio State is (in my opinion) the most overrated BCS contender and will lose when the game is actually played — just like Bentio in a primary dominated by conservatives. LSU works well for Hillary because they’re the only 1-loss team that controls their own destiny (if they win the SEC championship game, they’ll edge out Oregon).

Ohio State - Hillary Clinton. The Buckeyes don’t make waves. They go out of their way not to be controversial, including not scheduling anyone this season who could beat them. They hope to bland their way to the nomination.

LSU – Rudy Giuliani. The Tigers are strong on defense, and their fans aggressively promote their qualifications. They gloss over their past missteps, hoping everyone focuses on their willingness to take on anybody.

Oregon – John Edwards. A good-looking team with an engaging personality, but the Ducks’ stance on defensive issues is wanting. Do they have the substance to go all the way?

Oklahoma – Barack Obama. Here’s a team that looks like BCS material, and it has all the resources in the world. But its potential continues to outweigh its performance. Maybe the next race?

Kansas – Mike Huckabee. A plucky candidate that can’t get anyone to pay attention, the Jayhawks keep hanging around, charming people and slowly moving their way up the polls.

West Virginia – Mitt Romney. The Mountaineers have great numbers and a wide-open attack, but they have done nothing to assure the voters they have the gravitas to make it to the top.

USC – Fred Thompson. The Trojans get a bump from their Hollywood connection, but once they got on the stump, they looked nothing at all like a BCS candidate.

Hawaii – Ron Paul. No matter how the Warriors perform, no matter how much support they drum up among the public, the opinion-makers never will take them seriously.