BCS Rankings Reaction: Northern Illinois Proves System is Flawed
By Brian Spaen
It’s the second-to-last year of college football fans having to suffer with the BCS system, and it could be two years too many. The national title game and multiple teams in BCS bowls were already set, but a huge surprise from a “BCS buster” school shocked many who believed there wouldn’t be any mid-major school making any of the major bowl games.
Nov 30, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies head coach Dave Doeren holds the championship trophy after defeating Kent State Golden Flashes 44-37 in double overtime to win the 2012 MAC Championship at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE
With the MAC championship and only losing one game to Iowa by one point to open up the season, Northern Illinois finishes 12-1 and 15th in the BCS rankings. That’s enough to catapult them as a final at-large BCS bid that has to be taken if they finish in the top 16.
The rule is in place to give mid-majors a chance to play in the BCS bowls. But with all the good mid-major teams heading to BCS eligible schools, there’s no reason to have this rule in place anymore. In fact, it’s disgusting that Northern Illinois plays in a BCS game and a team like Oklahoma gets snubbed and heads to the Cotton Bowl.
Actually, make that pathetic, which is what the BCS is. Honestly outside of Oregon’s matchup against Big 12 winner Kansas State, are any of the games even worthy of getting hyped up over? Notre Dame backs into the national title game and Alabama looks as vulnerable as ever after the SEC championship. Louisville vs. Florida is only intriguing to those who believe the Gators are still frauds, and Stanford vs. Wisconsin can’t fill any sort of desire when we all know Ohio State is the best team out of the Big Ten.
When the Cotton Bowl could possibly have the best matchup of the postseason with Oklahoma facing former Big 12 foe Texas A&M (and potential Heisman winner Johnny Manziel), you know there’s something seriously flawed with the BCS system. And the fact that all these teams should be in a 16-team playoff anyway.
But for those that love having the regular season mean so much more than any other sport (because no one is watching the NFL, right?), I hope you enjoy your bowl slate this year. With a bunch of glorified exhibitions and a national championship that may not even have the best two teams in college football, I’ll make sure to get my popcorn ready.
Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Autzen Zoo. See his banter with other FanSided writers and love for his favorite west coast professional teams by following him on Twitter.