Bowl invitations remain as controversial as ever

By Joshua Mason Daily Bruin Contributor

Bowl season has arrived, and with it the annual controversies
pertaining to the Bowl Championship Series rankings. With two BCS
bids, one to the Rose Bowl and one to the Fiesta, the Pac-10 is
seemingly in appreciation of their BCS fate. At least this year. So
too are Bobby Bowden and his Seminoles, who will compete in the
national championship game for the third straight year since the
BCS has been in existence. Other conferences, particularly the Big
East, are in disarray over the selection process. Virginia Tech was
denied a BCS invitation, despite a BCS ranking better than Fiesta
Bowl selectees Oregon State and Notre Dame. All this comes on the
heels of Big East champ Miami being deprived of a shot at the
national championship game, despite finishing No. 2 in both the AP
and Coaches polls. “Regardless of how it turned out, it
can’t take anything away from our great season,” Miami
coach Butch Davis said in a statement. “We had some great
games, against Florida State and then Virginia Tech. We’ve
won nine in a row and did everything we think we could have.”
Which brings into consideration issues of selection. Besides the
national championship game itself, which guarantees a matchup
between the BCS No. 1 and No. 2, the other three bowls feature a
combination of conference champions and at-large bids, giving the
bowl committees the ultimate say in BCS politics. It’s the
at-large bids that are the center of the controversy. The bids
themselves aren’t necessarily dependent on BCS or poll
rankings ““ rather, they are reliant on a combination of
factors, including ranking, matchup desirability, national
interest, regional consideration, and most importantly, expected
draw. The three teams that received at-large bids this season were
Miami to the Sugar Bowl, and Oregon State and Notre Dame to the
Fiesta Bowl. Miami’s selection is easily warranted, but
disagreements have arisen over the Fiesta selections. Many experts
felt a Virginia Tech berth was in the bag after a late-season win
over Virginia leap-frogged them ahead of Oregon State in the BCS
rankings. Media attention due to heralded quarterback Michael Vick,
was also considered an advantage for Virginia Tech over the
small-market Beavers. The Fighting Irish, though they possessed the
lowest BCS ranking of the three teams at No. 11, decidedly had an
advantage in the selection procedure because of their independent
status and massive national following. The Pac-10 put a spin on BCS
selection procedures, however, when conference commissioner Tom
Hansen suggested the Pac-10 pull out permanently if Oregon State, a
Pac-10 co-champion, were not selected to the Fiesta Bowl. A week
later the Beavers were invited to play Notre Dame in the coveted
Fiesta contest, which will garner each of the teams a payday of
around $12 million, which the Beavers will split with the Pac-10.
“We selected Oregon State because they deserved it and won it
on the field of battle,” said Fiesta Bowl president John
Junker in a statement. Junker denied the relevance of
Hansen’s threat as a consideration, and reinforced the notion
that the Beavers were the first choice for the Fiesta because their
season was “an incredible turnaround that somewhat mirrors
what Kansas State has done.” The Pac-10 argument has been
brewing in the BCS for a long time now. Many football fans perceive
East Coast bias in the rankings, more than likely coming from the
factoring in of both the AP and Coaches polls, which have
traditionally held a bias toward the dominant East Coast schools.
More coaches and writers come from the East Coast, and naturally, a
bias exists in relation to the tradition of the larger conferences.
An example of this bias was the difficulty Washington, Oregon and
Oregon State had in working their way into the polls’ favor,
despite all finishing the season with only one loss in one of the
toughest conferences in college football. Only one school,
Oklahoma, finished the season undefeated. “I’m glad
Oregon State was selected,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said.
“It’s about time the Pac-10 gets some of the respect
that it deserves.” Of course, next year will be an even more
chaotic time for BCS backers, particularly if a poll split occurs
when determining the national champion, a scenario that may be
possible with Seminole and Hurricane victories. Further, next
season Rose Bowl traditionalists will witness, for the first time
in most fans’ lifetimes, a New Years’ matchup in
Pasadena that won’t feature the Big 10 winner versus the
Pac-10 champion. Instead, the Rose Bowl will be the site of next
year’s national championship, making a Pac-10 BCS invitation
even harder to attain, especially if Washington and Oregon State
don’t live up to the expectations of this bowl season.
“There will definitely be some pressure on the Pac-10, but
there’s always pressure on us to win,” Toledo said.
“Winning those bowls would definitely help give us the
credibility we’re talking about.” By losing a $13
million payoff and potential claim to the national championship,
the Big East may have a legitimate right to complain this season,
but prospects seem much drabber for the already excluded Pac-10
next season.

BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES COLLEGE FOOTBALL
RATINGS AP POLL USA TODAY Coaches
Poll Poll Average Strength of
Schedule Ranking Strength of Schedule Numberical
Ranking Losses BCS 8 Poll
Computer Average Total 1.Oklahoma 1 1 1.0
11 0.44 0 1.86 3.30 2.Florida St. 3 3 3.0 2 0.08 1 1.29 5.37
3.Miami Fla. 2 2 2.0 3 0.12 1 2.57 5.69 4.Washington 4 4 4.0 6 0.24
1 5.43 10.67 5.Virginia Tech 6 5 5.5 14 0.56 1 5.14 12.20 6.Oregon
St. 5 6 5.5 42 1.68 1 6.50 14.68 7.Florida 7 7 7.0 1 0.04 2 5.71
14.75 8.Nebraska 9 8 8.5 18 0.72 2 7.00 18.22 9.Kansas St. 11 9
10.0 29 1.16 3 10.14 24.30 10.Oregon 8 11 9.5 24 0.96 2 11.86 24.32
SOURCE: Yahoo! Sports Original graphic by VICTOR CHEN Web
adaptation by MIKE OUYANG/Daily Bruin