Column:

ACC, Big East could make a mockery of BCS

The teams from the ACC and Big East won't even be in the top 15.

By JJ Stankevitz

Published Nov. 18, 2008

By a contractual obligation, the BCS must take the champion of the ACC and Big East to play in a BCS Bowl. The ACC winner will play in the Orange Bowl, while the Big East champion will play in a BCS Bowl that is yet to be determined.

That doesn't sound all that bad. I mean, the ACC has had some good teams over the last few years, such as Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech, while the Big East has sported a good West Virginia team for the last few years. But this year, the fact that the ACC and Big East will have automatic BCS berths is just a joke.

If the standings stay the same for the rest of the year, Cincinnati (8-2) will earn a BCS berth from the Big East and either Miami (7-3) or Maryland (7-3) from the ACC. None of these teams will be in the top 15, and they may not even crack the top 20. And yet, they will make a BCS bowl over the likes of Oklahoma and Georgia thanks to the BCS rule that no conference can have more than two teams in the BCS.

I'm not trying to take away the accomplishments of Cincinnati, Maryland, Miami or any other Big East or ACC team. But when far better teams are going to be left out of the BCS over a team from each conference, there's a problem.

It probably won't hurt Oklahoma (or Texas, if they finish as the third-best in the Big 12) or Georgia that much. Both programs are NCAA powerhouses and won't have a problem getting back to the BCS in the future. But if Texas Tech gets left out, they may not have a shot at getting back to the BCS for a long time. And, while there's no shame in playing in the Cotton Bowl (I don't think I'm just telling myself this), it's not the same as playing in a BCS Bowl.

There's an obvious solution to this: matching up the No. 1 vs. No. 2, No. 3 vs. No. 4, etc. all the way up to No. 9 vs. No. 10 in the BCS standings. Conferences and bowls (mainly the Rose Bowl) will never go for that, though, because money is more important to them than the good of the game. But there at least should be a stipulation that a team has to be in the top 15 to play in a BCS Bowl, at-large berth or not.

However, it's not going to change this year. The Cotton Bowl will certainly be far more exciting of a game than the Orange Bowl. Too bad it's on at 10 a.m. on New Year's Day. Can we move the Orange Bowl to that time slot and put the Cotton Bowl in primetime? Please?