The BCS legislature likes of Utah's Mark Shurtleff and Orrin Hatch will be paying close attention to what goes down in the next two weeks of college football. They are notoriously against the BCS since it is not a fair system through revenue or access. So far, the BCS has laughed off and say that Congress is wasting their time by meddling in collegiate sports, even having Big 10 President Jim Delany saying, "it must be that time of year" when then President-elect Barack Obama said college football should have a playoff.
Expect more noise if Boise State and TCU get left out of the BCS title game. If the top four schools win out then there is no chance for Boise State or TCU will get a shot at the title game, even though they would have won nearly all of their games and by a healthy margin. I would like to see Boise State and TCU get into the title game if Auburn or Oregon happen to slip up, but that would still leave one of the two undefeated on the outside looking in. Well, at least one would have a chance. However, my stance has changed a bit on what may be for the greater good of college football. If Boise State or TCU get into the title game BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock and other BCS honks will say see the system works. That will promote no change since the BCS system 'rewarded' a team for going undefeated, but if Boise State and TCU are both unbeaten as is Oregon and Auburn then the threat for legal action will take place and then maybe a discussion for at least a plus-one would be in place.
Other scenarios that might possibly help change the system from political pressure is if Boise State or TCU get a BCS bid (does not have to be title game) but then are chosen over a lesser team in the rankings. If a BCS conference team is ranked third or fourth and not a conference champ they get in, but if Boise or TCU are sitting in that spot and not do not get the auto-bid then they are tossed in the at-large pool. If the second non-BCS team is not chosen to a BCS bowl they will fall to either the Las Vegas Bowl for TCU or the Humanitarian Bowl for Boise State, and will take on most likely a team from the MAC conference.
That will cause some big outrage by fans, some media and some people in Washington. However, a third scenario would cause the most outrage of them all and that would have a one-loss team gets ranked ahead of Boise State or TCU and gets to the title game. LSU head coach Les Miles has already planted the seed by saying that he thinks the highest ranked team in the SEC deserves to be in the BCS title game. He is hoping that if Auburn loses either of their last two games which would make LSU the highest ranked SEC team, and thus by his logic LSU deserves a title shot. Dream on Les.
The option where a one-loss team gets ahead of Boise State or TCU for the second spot is Auburn. For example, if Auburn loses a close game to a no. 11 ranked Alabama then Auburn may drop to four or maybe five in the BCS. Lets say they are fourth in the BCS standings leading up to the SEC title game and then rout a South Carolina team who should be ranked (assuming they beat Clemson this weekend) anywhere between 15th and 18th in the BCS.
Next week, TCU is off while Boise State travels to Utah State to finish out their season, and they have little way to increase their computer numbers or hold off agaisnt Auburn's better win. The SEC is the best league in the country, but I have a hard time seeing the human voters move them back up to the number two spot. Even if they do it would be barely ahead of Boise State (or TCU). The computers are another thing, right now Auburn is first in all computers except for the non-math guy Richard Billingsly who has them fourth. The computers are not impressed so Alabama's computer numbers are not that great, but include South Carolian and then Auburn has played two top 20 teams in a row.
The computers might be able to push them back into the two spot, but it will be tough. Plus, will human voters just put them back at two just because they won the SEC? If that does happen then the BCS will be under more fire then it has ever seen.
For an effort of change to be made it would be better that Boise State or TCU do not get into a title game and if Boise or TCU fall all the way to the bottom rung of the bowl ladder if the BCS rejects them for an at-large bid. I would not like that, but right now that is the only thing that may force some change.
Even with that happening I doubt change would occur.
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