I think the Fiesta would take a big-12 matchup over Hawaii if faced with the choice.
This is what Dan Wetzel says about it.
I have no idea how much money teams get from the bowls.
My part about playing the semis at the home of the higher ranked team was based on that column and the idea that travelling to 2 different locations about a week apart would be damaging to the teams’ effectiveness. (And that playing earlier than, say, Dec 29, would diminish their importance. But I may be way off on that. Do you think that it would be OK to play the semis before Christmas? What if they actually kicked off the bowl season? That would give them ~2.5 weeks to prepare for each game.)
Why was there a recent change to the BCS system, where there is a BCS Title Game that is not one of the 4 majors? Was it to try to preserve some of the traditionality of the bowls? (ie. SEC in Sugar, Big 10 and Pac-10 in Rose, etc.)? Because, if so, I doubt that any of those 4 bowls would be happy hosting a rotating combination of the top 4 teams.
If we go to a conference-champion-based system of 8 (like omniscient suggested) or 16 teams (like The Wetzel Plan ), then those 4 majors could be involved in the first round.
But in a +1 system, where we’re going on the top 4 ranked teams, no matter what conference they’re in, I think that the 4 major bowls don’t need (or probably want) to be a part of it. [If such a thing is possible. But I see it as an expansion of the current system.] Just like the Rose Bowl won’t get Ohio State and the Sugar Bowl won’t get LSU, they would get their regular picks, except excluding the top 4 (instead of top 2, like now).
Since Hawaii got a Sugar Bowl bid, I guess it will be OSU/LSU in the BCS. That will put Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to sell the tickets.
Well, well. It looks like Hawaii was at least a 3rd pick for the Sugar Bowl…Interesting…
ETA: They probably didn’t want a UGA/WVU rematch from 2 years ago, plus the fact that WVU took a giant piss last night…
There’s no reason to think that. Hawaii was almost certainly going to the Sugar bowl, no matter who was playing in the title.
No, I was looking at the schedule wrong. The Sugar bowl got the last pick this year.
Wow, Mizzou shut out, Kansas in…Wow!
So, now the drama is either UGA or LSU v. OSU in the title game, huh?
Missouri lost to one team all year. Sucks to be them.
Championship game: Ohio State @ LSU
Rose Bowl: USC vs. Illinois
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
Orange: Kansas vs. Va Tech
Sugar: Georgia vs. Hawaii
Well, hell, I’ll throw out my thoughts:
Championship game: Ohio State @ LSU — Really? Seriously? How in the hell did LSU get up and in this game? That’s a travesty. I have some concerns with Ohio State’s strength of schedule, as well as the fact that they lost late. But at least they only lost once. The voters threw LSU up there for basically no reason as far as I’m concerned. Just proof positive that the BCS doesn’t work.
Rose Bowl: USC vs. Illinois — Rose Bowl goes with tradition. Oh well. As hot as USC has been in the past few games, I would have rather seen them play a more challenging team. That said, I’m happy for Illinois. Beating the #1 team in the nation (Ohio State) ought to pay out some dividends.
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia — This, to me, is the most intriguing matchup. Hopefully Pat White will be healthy so we can see what happens. Oklahoma is playing extremely well now that Bradford is healthy as evidenced by their dismantling of Mizzou last night. But Pat White is a tough guy to simulate in practice. Could be another wild Fiesta Bowl!
Orange: Kansas vs. Va Tech — Wow. Mizzou got hosed. And Kansas got rewarded for their crappy schedule. I think Va Tech is playing well enough now that this won’t be a very interesting game.
Sugar: Georgia vs. Hawaii — Bah! As a Georgia fan I realistically thought we didn’t have a shot at the National Championship, but I hoped to get to play a bigtime team. I DO think that Hawaii deserved to be included after going undefeated, but I wanted a shot (especially considering the way the Dawgs are playing) at USC or Oklahoma.
So that’s where I’m at. What do you guys think out there?
Ended up exactly as I predicted last night. The NCG will be a good game, LSU deserved it as much as anyone else imo. The Fiesta will be fun to watch but I predict blowouts in the Orange and Sugar. My brain tells me USC will win the Rose but I still believe my Illini have a chance.
Another year of proof we need a playoff, another year we go without.
Also, just wanted to add, there are quite a few interesting matchups in the non-BCS bowls. Some highlights after a cursory glance at the schedule:
Capital One - Michigan v. Florida
Gator - Tx Tech v. Virginia
Cotton - Mizzou v. Arkansas
Peach - Clemson v. Auburn
Music City - UK v. FSU
Sun - South Florida v. Oregon
Alamo - Penn State v. A&M
Holiday - Az State v. Texas
Speaking as a Missouri alumnus, I’m speechless!
I’m 100% with Doctor Who
Last year, Louisville won the Big East, went to the Orange Bowl, and beat a fairly bad Wake Forest team. I went to UL at the time, and we were pissed that we didn’t get a chance to play against a higher quality team. And then when we won, we actually went down in the polls! That pissed me off, and I hope The same thing doesn’t happen to UGA this year. That’s a damned good football team, probably the bsest in the country right now, and they get stuck with The Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii (I know that’s not there name anymore) instead of a decent team.
And Kansas over Mizzou is indeed a travesty. The Fox show had their SOS at 109 out of 119. They get to go to to a BCS game just because they lucked out and never had to play OK?
Playoff! Playoff!
Playoff! Playoff!
Playoff! Playoff!
Playoff! Playoff!
WE WILL DESTROY THEM!!!
C!
A!
T!
S!
CATS! CATS! CATS!
People that want a playoff scream every year no matter what happens. Playoffs would be a disaster for college football, and I hope I never ever see it. I’m not a huge fan of the BCS, but it’s so much better than a playoff.
I can’t explain the fairness in a game where if Mizzou wins they are in the NCG and if they lose in the Cotton bowl vs 8-4 Arkansas.
Well, my prediction for the National Title is a win for Ohio State.
Les Miles is 0-1 in bowl games against Ohio State while considering a new job. Maybe this time, he won’t be working on contract details during halftime instead of making adjustments.
Not a great cite, but I couldn’t find anything to get behind a comment by Gundy that he and another coach were the only ones in the locker room at halftime, the rest of the group that eventually went to LSU was elsewhere.