The automatic qualifiers were thought to be a thing of the past, and while they technically are they really are not going away. There will be six major bowl games once the 2014 season gets underway with two of them hosting a semifinal with the other four being for certain the Rose Bowl, Champions Bowl and Orange Bowl then possibly the Chic-Fil-A, Capital One, Cotton, Fiesta Bowl are among the favorites.
Leagues that have contracts with major bowls will still keep those automatic bids if they win their league and it makes sense. However, what doesn't is that the Big 12, Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC -- all of who have contracts with major bowls -- earn a BCS major bowl bid even if their respective champion is outside the top 12 and their host bowl is in the semifinals.
When ACC inks deal w Orange Bowl its champ is guaranteed "BCS" game spot even if the Orange is a semifinal and champ is rated below 12
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) June 29, 2012
While there are no more official AQs, the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC basically are b/c of their individual contracts w/ bowls.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) June 28, 2012
So, you see there is still automatic qualifiers due to bowl contracts. So, what is the point of a selection committee when there are auto bids to be handed out to teams that do not deserve it. First, I don't see this happening very often, especially not with the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 or Pac-12. But what happens if there is an upset in the ACC title game and the champ is an 9-4 team ranked No. 21, and even in a year where their Orange Bowl is set to be a semifinal that champion still gets to go to a major bowl game.
So as much as things look like they are changing they really are not.
For more Mountain West Connection Follow @JeremyMauss