Deciphering the BCS

[Water Pony]

10 Things you need to know about the new format, Rick Reilly

Posted: Tuesday May 2, 2006 Sports Illustrated.com

BCS coordinator Mike Slive acknowledged last week that he and his colleagues need to do a better job of explaining the bowls' new "double hosting" format to the general public. Judging by my inbox recently, I'd say he's right.

The general impression I get is that most college football fans are aware that the BCS is undergoing changes this season but are either unaware or utterly confused as to what those changes are. And if the fans are confused, you'd better believe coaches and players are as well.

So, as a personal favor to Mike -- and as a public service to the college football populace -- I will now attempt to explain the sport's impending postseason makeover in a quick, easy-to-follow fashion. Call it The 10 Things You Need to Know About the New BCS:

1. The national title game is now a separate entity from the four existing BCS bowls.

In the past, the BCS championship game rotated annually among the Fiesta, Sugar, Orange and Rose bowls. Starting this season, the title game will be played after those four bowls but will continue to rotate among the same four cities. This year's championship will take place Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., site of the new Arizona Cardinals stadium, to which the Fiesta Bowl is moving from its old site, Sun Devil Stadium. Following the 2007 season, the game will be played in New Orleans, home of the Sugar Bowl; the next season, in Fort Lauderdale (Orange Bowl); the next season, in Pasadena (Rose Bowl).

2. The No. 1 and 2 teams will not play in one of the existing bowls.

Think of the title game as a fifth BCS bowl, even if it won't have a bowl-sounding name. (Organizers have yet to announce it, but the game is expected to be called the BCS National Championship Game.) It is not a so-called "plus-one" game, where teams would advance to the title game by winning their bowl games, an idea that had previously been discussed as a possibility. There will simply be two additional BCS berths, bringing the total to 10 -- the champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC, as well as four at-large teams.

3. It will be easier for teams from "non-BCS" conferences to gain access.

In the past, teams from the Mountain West, MAC, WAC, Conference USA and Sun Belt had to finish in the top six of the BCS standings to be guaranteed a BCS bowl berth. The only such team to meet that standard over the past eight seasons was 11-0 Utah in 2004. Starting this season, a champion from one of those leagues, or an independent, can earn a guaranteed berth either by finishing in the top 12 or by finishing in the top 16 if one of the major-conference champions is ranked lower. If the new standard had been in place last season, 10-1 TCU would have earned an automatic berth because it finished 14th while ACC champion Florida State, at 8-4, was 22nd.

4. More teams will be eligible for an at-large berth.

In the past, teams that did not gain an automatic BCS berth -- either by winning one of the six major-conference titles or by meeting other criteria for a guaranteed bid (a top four finish for major-conference teams, top six for others) -- were required to win at least nine games and finish in the top 12 of the BCS standings to be eligible for an at-large berth. Starting this season, teams that win at least nine games and finish in the top 14 will be eligible. Notre Dame, meanwhile, is guaranteed an at-large berth if it finishes in the top eight.

5. Notre Dame will be guaranteed an at-large berth if it finishes in the top eight.

Seriously.

6. Fox is taking over for ABC as the BCS' primary television partner.

If you're thinking to yourself, "Hmm, that's strange, I don't remember seeing much college football on Fox in the past," you're absolutely correct. As of now, the network of Homer Simpson and American Idol is not scheduled to show any college football games during the regular season, but will be airing the national title game and Fiesta, Sugar and Orange bowls for at least the next four seasons. (The Rose Bowl retained its own separate deal with ABC.) As a result, the majority of promotion for the BCS games will take place during Fox's NFL telecasts, the games will be announced by commentators not normally associated with college football (Thom Brennemen, for one), there will be lots of funky graphics, and ...

7. The BCS games will be spaced farther apart.

The only constant in the BCS schedule over the next four years is that the Rose Bowl will be played in its traditional Jan. 1 time slot. The timing of the other games is up to the discretion of Fox, whose first priority is its NFL broadcasts. This year the Fiesta Bowl will be played on Jan. 1, the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 3 and the title game on Jan. 8. Besides the later title game, it's not that different a lineup than in years past. Depending on how the NFL schedule falls in future seasons, however, at least one non-title game could be played as late as Jan. 5.

8. Besides the title game, there will be three other new bowls next season.

Cities continue to fall all over themselves for the right to host a bowl game. Joining the mix this winter will be the International Bowl (Toronto), the Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl and the New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque), brining the total number of games to 31. It will be 32 if the financially strapped Houston Bowl can resurrect itself by June. With the sport changing to a permanent 12-game schedule this season, the NCAA recently ruled that 6-6 teams will be eligible for the postseason, and wins over I-AA opponents now count toward eligibility. There will now be 62 (possibly 64) spots available for 119 Division I-A teams. The last time I-A played a 12-game schedule, in 2003, 69 teams finished 6-6 or better.

9. Numerous conference bowl partnerships have changed.

Nearly all bowl contracts with conferences expired after last season, and several leagues reshuffled their lineups to maximize potential revenues. For instance, the Big Ten will now send teams to the Insight and Champs Sports bowls rather than to the Sun and Music City bowls. The SEC added a tie-in with the Liberty Bowl, the ACC with the Music City and Emerald bowls. Also, in a new twist, the Big 12 and Big East will "share" partnerships with the Gator and Sun bowls, with each league sending a team to each bowl twice over a four-year period.

10. We are no closer to a playoff.

The five-bowl BCS model is in place for at least the next four seasons. There has been some speculation that the new format, in which the title game is played a week after New Year's, could lend itself to an easy transition toward a "plus-one" model beginning in 2010. There remains little to no movement among university presidents, however, toward examining a full-scale playoff model.

So get ready for more controversy when four teams finish 11-1 this fall.