BCS Bowls

Since the creation of the BCS, the Big Ten is 28-34 in bowl games and 6-9 in BCS bowls. The last two years, in four BCS games the Big Ten has been outscored 160-73 in four losses. No conference can have more than two teams picked for the BCS bowls (sorry Texas Tech). Each bowl makes the pick that benefits that particular bowl itself. BCS bowls, we can wait on that. Our bowl game that we are playing in, we can wait on that.".

In 2001, the four BCS Bowls combined to reach a record television audience of 127 million viewers. The average attendance for the games was 77,765. BCS Bowls are nice for travel, fun, money coffers, and exposure - benefits which are nice but not fundamental goals in the way that championships are. Everyone's got their own preferences, so pick where you hope we wind up and root for that. Under the old bowl system, those institutions shared in none of the revenues from the BCS bowls.

Prior to the 2006 season eight teams competed in four BCS Bowls. The BCS replaced the Bowl Alliance (in place from 1995?1997), which followed the Bowl Coalition (in place from 1992?1994). We remember BCS bowls for what happens on the field, but many games are shaped and decided by the coaches prowling the sidelines. Boise State coach Chris Petersen reached play-calling nirvana in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, making an intrepid series of creative calls as the Broncos rallied for an overtime win. Sure, there are five BCS bowls to close out the season, but everyone knows that only one that really matters. Is the BCS supposed to put the most deserving teams in the championship, or the team that is playing the best at the end of the year?