The Big Five Bowl Games
The Bowl Championship Series, which has existed in its current form since 1998, has for that decade raised the ire of talented mid-major teams with a slim chance of ever playing for a national championship. The BCS includes five conferences – the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC – and is affiliated with four bowl games – the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl. Successful teams from any conference can also rate invitations from one of 27 non-BCS bowls, but those games are inconsequential in the search for a national champion.
BCS Busters
Although the original BCS format excluded any teams except those in the five designated conferences, changes to the system in recent years have cracked that door open, and several schools have tested the waters. After going undefeated in 2004, the University of Utah became the first to buck the system with an invitation to the 2005 Fiesta Bowl.
In 2006 – the year an additional BCS Championship game increased the potential spots for BCS busters – Boise State ran the table (12-0) and earned a spot in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The Broncos went on to defeat Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime. The third non-BCS squad to test the rarified air of a BCS bowl was Hawaii in 2007-’08. The Warriors also went 12-0 in their regular season and advanced to the 2008 Sugar Bowl, where they were defeated by Georgia.
Undefeated Record Required
For potential BCS busters, there is almost no margin for error. The only three schools to buck the system so far have been flawless in the regular season, and one loss is enough to downsize mid-major boosters hopes from BCS appearance to the Papajohns.com Bowl or the Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl.
Because the standard is so high, TCU can probably write off its BSC hopes, even though its only loss was to Oklahoma, ranked No. 1 at the time of their meeting. But the other three schools – Boise State, Utah and BYU – were undefeated by week 7 of the regular NCAA season, with visions of Sugar, Fiesta and Orange dancing in their heads.
Utah-BYU Matchup
As with anything in the BCS, however, there is one major catch – the Nov. 22 meeting between instate and Mountain West rivals Utah and BYU. After that date, no more than two undefeated mid-majors will be vying for the BCS brass ring. And if recent history is any indication, only one of 10 spots will be occupied by a BCS-buster, a Bronco, a Ute or a Cougar.
