BCS snubs smaller conferences

By Fred Guzman
MauiNow.com

I am convinced that a team from a non-BCS conference will never play in a BCS title game.

That’s because the big-time conferences, which created and dominate the process, will never allow it to happen. And neither will the voters who take part in the two polls that comprise two-thirds of the BCS formula. It’s college football’s version of a glass ceiling.

In the go unbeaten throughout a season, BCS busters will be allowed to take part in one of the other big-money bowls, just not the one used to determine the national title.

Such has been the recent case with the likes of Boise State, Hawaii and Utah – with mixed results.

Boise State stunned Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and Utah soundly defeated Alabama 31-17 in last season’s Sugar Bowl and, after the fact, was ranked second in the country.

But UH showed it was not ready for prime time when it was hammered, 41-10 by Georgia, in the Sugar Bowl two season ago.

We can cross Houston off the BCS buster list for this year after the No. 12 Cougars were beaten 58-41 by UTEP and dropped completely out of the latest Top 25 rankings.

That leaves Boise State and TCU as the only unbeaten non-BCS teams. Despite improving its record to 5-0 against D-I-AA UC Davis, Boise State of the WAC slipped a spot in the rankings to No. 6. TCU of the Mountain West moved up one place, to No. 10, following a win over SMU.

All of which goes to show once again that, if you’re a quality team from a second-tier conference, there is absolutely no margin of error if you hope to earn a berth in one of the elite bowl games.

That’s just the way it is, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.