Another School with BCS Beef

[outrunner]

Wisconsin is school with real BCS beef

"Michigan or Florida" is the obvious hot topic of the day. Chris Leak/Chad Henne; The Auburn/Ohio State losses; Percy Harvin/Steve Breaston; Dallas Baker/Mario Manningham; The Swamp/The Big House; SEC/Big Ten.

Take the next few hours  hell, take the next few weeks (the non Glendale-bound fan base surely will), and scream your head off over which of the two teams belong in the BCS Championship Game on January 8th. Watch the talking heads on TV  the ones who probably saw each team play three or four games over the course of the college season  lose their voices yelling.

It's the BCS. It's chaotic. And that's all good and well.

But there's another issue at hand today that nobody seems to be discussing.

Though most of the noise this morning is coming from Gainesville and Ann Arbor, you may hear the sounds of some shoulders slouching and some hands scratching heads out of Madison, Wisconsin too. The USC loss threw a major wrench in the BCS Championship Game picture. The USC win last week should have thrown one in the Sugar Bowl's.

Unfortunately, there are no arguments to be made against Notre Dame today. No voices to be lost.

Let's take a look at which teams are in the BCS bowl picture already, which teams are 99% in, and then the final spot  the one open space still waiting to be filled. The spot that should be up for grabs this evening:

Automatic bids

Ohio State, Big Ten champions

Florida, SEC champions

Oklahoma, Big 12 champions

Louisville, Big East champions

Wake Forest, ACC champions

USC, Pac-10 champions

Boise State, mid-major team ranked in BCS top 12 (Rule 3a of the BCS Selection Policies and Procedures)

Definite at-large bids

Michigan

LSU

Ten BCS bowl berths. Nine teams accounted for.

One open spot. And who's going? 11-1 Wisconsin? 10-2 Auburn?

Nope. Notre Dame.

You see, at the bottom of the official BCS Selection Policies and Procedures, there's a clause that reads: "No more than two teams from any single Conference may play in BCS games in a single year, regardless of whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large picks."

Say what you want about college football needing a playoff system, it's not happening anytime soon. But if there's going to be a BCS process  and a laundry list of rules along with it  let's at least make those rules sensible.

The two teams per conference rule is beyond absurd. Wisconsin may not deserve a Sugar Bowl berth over Notre Dame. But they at least deserve the opportunity. Why penalize a conference for having too many good teams? More importantly, why penalize a school for being in that conference?

The difference between a BCS bowl berth and a spot in the Capital One Bowl is more than just millions of dollars for the school. It's national recognition. It's a prime-time event on a weeknight for the entire country to see. It's a recruiting chip for high school players on the fence over which school they'd like to spend their next four years. To keep Wisconsin out of the BCS picture because of some throw-away rule, well, that's what we should be losing our voices over today  not whether Florida's out-of-conference schedule trumps Michigan's.

I'm not saying Notre Dame shouldn't be invited to the Sugar Bowl later this evening. The Irish had a tougher strength of schedule than Wisconsin, beat several of the same teams the Badgers did by even larger margins, and had gutsy come-from-behind wins over UCLA, Georgia Tech and Michigan State. Moreover, putting the Irish on national television will undoubtedly put more fans in front of the tube than a game involving the Badgers would. The Irish will be playing in the Sugar Bowl, and there's no real question about it.

And that's an utter shame. To prohibit Wisconsin from the BCS bowl picture because of a random clause at the bottom of a list of rules? Well, it just doesn't make sense.

Let's break it down from the Badgers' side of things.

Entering this weekend, Wisconsin had a better BCS ranking than Notre Dame (7 to 10) and only one loss on the season  that loss coming on the road to Michigan. They've won eight straight games. Meanwhile, Notre Dame had a lower BCS ranking than the Badgers, two losses on the season, with one of those losses coming in a blowout to Michigan at home. Again, I'm not saying Wisconsin is more deserving than Notre Dame.

But you can certainly make the argument that they are.

The need for a playoff system and the argument over Michigan or Florida will dominate college football headlines for the next several weeks. Talking heads will shout and sweat. Frustrated alumni will pull hairs. Sportswriters will pen 3,000 missives either way. And that's okay. But maybe the headlines, the frustration and thesis statements should be focused on a far more fixable problem: the two-teams-per-conference rule.

The NCAA dodged a bullet on Saturday. This could have been a far more glaring issue.

Hypothetically, let's say Florida lost Saturday night's SEC championship game against Arkansas. How could you keep the Gators out of the BCS? Well, you would have had to. In that unrealized scenario Arkansas would receive the automatic bid, and LSU would more than likely get that Rose Bowl berth. Florida would be on the outside looking in  the third horse in a two horse race. They'd be 11-2 with the toughest schedule in the nation. They'd have wins over up 10 bowl-eligible teams on their resume. And yet, with a loss on Saturday night, they would have been on the outside looking in. Not only Wisconsin, but Florida too, would have been locked out of the BCS in '06.

Wisconsin may not deserve a spot in the Sugar Bowl on January 3rd over Notre Dame. Hey, the Irish are certainly worthy. But the Badgers at least deserve the chance. Finishing third in one's conference shouldn't be a penalty. Especially when Ohio State and Michigan are those first and second place teams.

The BCS is an enigma, coded by formulas, numbers, and guarded human opinions. Trying to understand it will only drive you nuts. But there are some simple changes that can be made. Simple changes that are sensible. Simple changes that will improve an assumed "flawed" stystem. Getting rid of the two-team-per-conference rule isn't deconstructing the BCS. It's making it better.

Notre Dame will be bowling in New Orleans come January 3rd. And that's fine. But there's no reason the kids from Wisconsin shouldn't have their chance to play in the Superdome that night, too.

Alas, they'll be playing in Orlando instead. They'll leave their Big Easy dreams and the Mardi Gras beads at home  packing those Mickey ears in their duffel bags instead.

They're Capital One Bowl bound. They've known it for weeks, and there's nothing they can do.

After all, the rules are the rules.

But that doesn't mean the rules are right.

Fox Sports

[South_Florida_Flip]

Wisconsin has absolutely no "beef" with the BCS. They played absolutely no one OOC, they didn't have to play Ohio State, and the one  difficult game they did have (Michigan), they lost. Tough break.

[Joe]

This is what doo doo out of conference schedules get you. Hopefully they learn and at least schedule someone who normally has a pulse.

[Guest Sprtsfn627]

This is what doo doo out of conference schedules get you. Hopefully they learn and at least schedule someone who normally has a pulse.

Apparently it gets you berth in the national championship  

[Joe]

Florida played FSU who is normally ranked. Plus they had the # 1 SOS in the country. Wisconsin by comparision played 5 bowl teams and only beat 2 teams with winning records. They weren't even close.

[E.T.]

Mich. & Wisc. are very similar ... problem is that MI was ranked higher earlier and everyone gave Notre DANG love ... who did MI beat ?

It's a flawed system ... but I don't care too much this year because it has NO effect on our Beloved BULLS.

[RandyGator]

Wisconson played nobody except Mich. and lost.

Case closed!!!

[outrunner]

Florida played FSU who is normally ranked. Plus they had the # 1 SOS in the country. Wisconsin by comparision played 5 bowl teams and only beat 2 teams with winning records. They weren't even close.

The artile isn't just about the national title game. It's about how an 11-1 team can get shafted out of the 5 BCS games by a 10-2 team.

[Joe]

Ah, then you can blame it on the stupid 2 teams per conference rule.

[Matt]

yea wisconsin is way overrated.  they will probably lose whatever bowl game they play.

their schedule was weak.  played all the weak schools in the big 10 and their one game was a lost to michigan