B-C-S.
But do you really know what the Bowl Championship Series is or how it works?
For those who don’t, here is a basic BCS primer:
What is the Bowl Championship Series?
It is an alliance of the four most prestigious bowl games — the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.; the Orange Bowl in Miami; the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans; and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. — with the six most powerful conferences. It was devised in 1998 as a way to determine a national champion in college football without completely dismantling the traditional bowl system.
The top two teams in the final BCS rankings play each other in a national championship game. Until 2006, one of the four BCS bowl games was designated to be the title game each year, but there now is a separate national championship game, scheduled this year for Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif. The Rose Bowl, also in Pasadena, will be Jan. 1 with the Sugar scheduled for Jan. 1, the Fiesta Jan. 4 and the Orange
Jan. 5.
Despite its good intentions, the BCS continues to be much maligned and a source of controversy. Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com has referred to it as “a triumph of the needs of the powerful over the wishes of the masses.”
Why is the BCS a big deal?
These are the marquee games of the 34-game bowl season. All of them are played in early January in prime time and are on ABC or Fox, which means you don’t need cable or a satellite dish to watch them. And they are much more lucrative financially for the participants. While many bowls pay the competing teams $1 million or less — barely enough to pay expenses, in some cases — the payouts for BCS games are $17.5 million.
How does the selection process work?
The 10 teams participating in the five games are comprised of the champions of the Big Ten (Ohio State), Big 12 (Texas or Nebraska), SEC (Alabama or Florida), Big East (Cincinnati or Pittsburgh), ACC (Georgia Tech or Clemson) and Pac-10 (Oregon), plus four at-large selections chosen from among the top 14 teams in the final BCS standings. Those standings blend two opinion polls — the USA Today coaches poll and the Harris interactive poll — with computer rankings.
If a team from a non-BCS conference is ranked in the top 12, it automatically qualifies but only one team can get in that way.
The Big Ten and Pac-10 champions are locked into the Rose Bowl unless they make the national championship game. The same is true of the Big 12 champion with the Fiesta, the SEC champion with the Sugar and the ACC champion with the Orange.
After the two championship game participants are determined, the other bowls go through a predetermined selection process to fill their berths. Because the No. 1 team in the final rankings this year is likely to be the winner of the SEC title game, the Sugar Bowl picks first. If Texas wins the Big 12 title game, it is likely to be No. 2, which would give the Fiesta Bowl the second choice.
How might this year’s selections play out?
Ohio State and Oregon are locked into the Rose Bowl. If the championship game is Alabama or Florida vs. Texas, the selection order would go as follows:
1. Sugar: Expected to take the Florida-Alabama loser.
2. Fiesta: Probably would pick Iowa or Penn State.
3. Orange: TCU or Boise State, depending on whether Georgia Tech or Clemson wins the ACC. (TCU previously played Clemson, and they want to avoid a rematch.)
4. Fiesta: TCU or Boise, whichever one the Orange does not take.
5. Sugar: The Big East champion.
Why would the Fiesta pick Iowa or Penn State over unbeaten teams?
Because it wants at least one team that will bring hordes of fans. Boosting local tourism is, after all, one of the primary reasons that communities host bowl games. TCU, Boise State and Cincinnati, though very good teams, aren’t likely to bring as many fans as a top-tier Big Ten team.
How could the Fiesta possibly pick Penn State over Iowa?
No one ever said the BCS was fair. Penn State is lower in the rankings and lost to the Hawkeyes on the field, but it has great marquee value because of legendary coach Joe Paterno. Nevertheless, most national experts expect the folks in Arizona to pick Iowa.
What happens if Nebraska beats Texas in the Big 12 title game?
Nebraska would get the Big 12’s automatic berth and would be locked into the Fiesta Bowl. TCU, fourth in the BCS standings, probably would jump to No. 2 because two of the teams above it lost. It would be in the championship game against the SEC champion.
Texas, still a valued commodity, probably then would be in the Orange Bowl against the ACC champion and either Boise State or Iowa/Penn State would be left out of the BCS. Since Nebraska will bring tons of fans, there might be sentiment for picking unbeaten Boise over the Hawkeyes or Nittany Lions.
