The BCS, having recently expanded is purview to ten teams, was facing down a potential issue: only two teams per conference can get in. With Notre Dame imploding and Hawaii vulnerable to a loss, that would mean four of the six BCS conferences would have to send a second team to complete the BCS. Problem: only teams in the top 14 of the BCS standings are eligible, and the Big Ten, ACC, and Big East are in serious danger of only placing one team in the eligible zone. Potential solution:
This is most relevant for the Illinois, which finished 9-3 and is currently 17th in the BCS standings.In an attempt to avoid a potential headache at the end of the regular season, the commissioners of the six BCS football conferences have voted to expand the pool of BCS at-large candidates from 14 to 18.
The new rule goes into effect only if there aren't enough teams among the top 14 of the final BCS standings to fill 10 slots in the BCS National Championship Game, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl.
The Pac-10, SEC, and Big Twelve will all send two representatives, leaving one open spot. For the Illini to make it, the following things have to happen:
- West Virginia beats UConn, thus winning the Big East, or loses both its remaining games and drops out of the top 18. Likelihood: very high.
- Virginia Tech wins the ACC, beating current #16 UVA and current #14 Boston College. Likelihood: fairly high.
- Hawaii loses. Likelihood: who knows?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-20-2007 @ 1:21PM
JefFlyingV said...
Geez...when are we going to expand to 26 teams? What we need are more valueles bowl games.
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11-20-2007 @ 1:33PM
John said...
It's not like the BCS is considering expanding to 18. The rules already says the eligible pool will expand is there are not enough eligible teams in the top 14 (and from 18 to 22 if not enough in the top 18).
But the scenario described above will likely put Illinois at No. 14 or 13 anyway which makes this moot. The expansion to 18 only matters if another Pac-10, SEC or Big 12 team currently not in the top 14 enter it at the expense of current No. 14 BC and DOESN'T win its conferences autoberth. This is highly unlikely.
It's far more likely that Hawaii / Boise gets an autoberth without even finishing in the top 12. If the top teams were to win out including Oklahoma over the Kansas / Missouri winner and USC over ASU, the Hawaii / Boise State winner has a high likelihood of finishing No. 14 in the BCS standings (jumping Virginia and BC, which would have taken a loss and, in Boise's case, idle Illinois). Hawaii / Boise would have to be the fourth at large bid because all other top 14 teams would either be autobids or in the same conference as two teams that have already made the BCS. It could easily happen.
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11-20-2007 @ 1:36PM
eska said...
how about dropping the 2 team limit on conferences instead? keep the quality up.
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11-20-2007 @ 4:45PM
John said...
Again, this decision was made before the season started. The only alternatives to making this decision are:
1) Cancel a BCS bowl game if there are not enough available teams - um, no.
2) Allow three teams from one conference to play in BCS bowls IF there are otherwise no eligible teams in the top 14
Instead, the pool expands by four IF there aren't otherwise four eligible at-large teams. One might reasonably prefer option 2) above, but this decision does not mean than any team in the top 18 can make a BCS bowl, allowing a bowl to bypass an otherwise eligible team at No. 14 for an undeserving 9-3 team at No. 18.
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11-20-2007 @ 7:43PM
Suss said...
Three words: play-in BCS game.
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11-20-2007 @ 9:00PM
Glenn Hinkle said...
Brian Cook - get a hair cut. You spend too much time stroking a keyboard.
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11-21-2007 @ 10:43AM
richard said...
hey brian, glenn's a moron, keep the hair. It's pretty awesome.
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11-21-2007 @ 2:37PM
Don said...
This is bullshit. Just opens up the pool of good teams to be skipped over by adequate 'brand' teams that bring in more travel/ad money for their bowls. Maybe they should expand it to 150, so they can book Notre Dame for another cash-grabbing postseason slaughter.
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