My Predictions

National Championship Game: Alabama vs. Texas

Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Oregon

Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Cincinnati

Fiesta Bowl: PSU vs. Boise St.

Orange Bowl: TCU vs. Ga. Tech

Looks good, but I would give the nod to Iowa over Penn State.

One of the experts on TV today predicted a TCU-Boise Fiesta Bowl. Hope that doesn't happen...I'd like to see them matchup against teams from BCS conferences.

TCU-Boise won't happen. That guy is an idiot. If Texas wins, and they will, that will be your lineup.

I agree 100% No one wants to see them play each other. I think PSU gets the nod because of $$$$$, but I would say Iowa should go before them. It seems like teams that travel well usually get to go. . .

So is Penn State gonna get an at-large bid over Iowa because the Fiesta Bowl thinks they'll bring more people?

Iowa dismantled PSU at Happy Valley. They should be in over PSU.

EDIT: Beat me to it, Quint.

ironman02 wrote: So is Penn State gonna get an at-large bid over Iowa because the Fiesta Bowl thinks they'll bring more people?

Iowa dismantled PSU at Happy Valley. They should be in over PSU.

Both teams would travel well, but Penn State might travel a little better, abd Penn State would definitely bring higher TV ratings. If they have to take Boise State, they are going to need a big draw on the other side to make up for it, and Penn State is a bigger draw than Iowa. Iowa deserves the spot, but won't get it.

Hahaha. . . personally. . . I don't think the Big Ten deserves two teams in the BCS games. They have been a pretty crappy conference this season.

Yeah you're right, it ultimately comes down to TV ratings and revenue.

I think it would be a huge injustice to take PSU over Iowa, but the driving factor is money, so it could very well happen.

How bad would you feel if you're Iowa in that situation?

iowa travels better than psu historically. they don't really take ratings into account when selecting teams, its the only game on so people will watch. they pick teams who will sell tickets and stay in the city for awhile and spend money there.

dave wrote: iowa travels better than psu historically. they don't really take ratings into account when selecting teams, its the only game on so people will watch. they pick teams who will sell tickets and stay in the city for awhile and spend money there.

This is not true at all. The Boise State/Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl and the Virgina Tech/Cincinnati Orange Bowl are by far two of the lowest rated BCS bowls ever. People will not watch if someone isn't playing that they want to watch. Travel is a huge factor, possibly a bigger one than TV ratings, but both are considered and are the two biggest factors when choosing a bowl participant.

Gotta love some Ohio State fans for dissing another team (in this case PSU) for whether or not they deserve to be in a BCS game! :rolleyes:

However, I do agree Iowa deserves to go over PSU..It's just the irony I find amazing.

dave wrote: iowa travels better than psu historically. they don't really take ratings into account when selecting teams, its the only game on so people will watch. they pick teams who will sell tickets and stay in the city for awhile and spend money there.

Opinion or best silly wild ass guess?

Cleveland Buck wrote:

dave wrote: iowa travels better than psu historically. they don't really take ratings into account when selecting teams, its the only game on so people will watch. they pick teams who will sell tickets and stay in the city for awhile and spend money there.

This is not true at all. The Boise State/Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl and the Virgina Tech/Cincinnati Orange Bowl are by far two of the lowest rated BCS bowls ever. People will not watch if someone isn't playing that they want to watch. Travel is a huge factor, possibly a bigger one than TV ratings, but both are considered and are the two biggest factors when choosing a bowl participant.

you are proving my point. that fiesta bowl was sold out, and every projection you see shows them picking boise again this year. they don't care about the ratings as long as the team brings in money to the community.

if all things are equal then sure they will take the team who would bring in higher ratings.

believer wrote: Gotta love some Ohio State fans for dissing another team (in this case PSU) for whether or not they deserve to be in a BCS game! :rolleyes:

However, I do agree Iowa deserves to go over PSU..It's just the irony I find amazing.

dave wrote: iowa travels better than psu historically. they don't really take ratings into account when selecting teams, its the only game on so people will watch. they pick teams who will sell tickets and stay in the city for awhile and spend money there.

Opinion or best silly wild ass guess?

why would i say historically and just make it up? its a well known fact if you are familiar with the big 10.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/296629-the-case-for-the-big-ten-at-large-candidates-iowa-vs-penn-state

dave wrote: you are proving my point. that fiesta bowl was sold out, and every projection you see shows them picking boise again this year. they don't care about the ratings as long as the team brings in money to the community.

if all things are equal then sure they will take the team who would bring in higher ratings.

This is the list of teams that will be eligible to be picked for the last spot.

Boise State
BYU
Virginia Tech

BYU won't even be considered. Virginia Tech won't travel to Arizona any better than Boise State will, and while they would get slightly better ratings, it wouldn't be enough to offset the headache from leaving an undefeated Boise State out of the BCS.

If Nebraska were to win tonight you would have a Nebraska/Penn State Fiesta Bowl.

It's not like Boise packs the stadium either. Boise traveled better than expected for a mid major, but they didn't bring fans like a Penn State or Iowa do.

If there was anyone else worth picking available, Boise State would be left out again.

I agree that the Big Ten probably doesn't deserve two team in the BCS this year, but I'm not sure what other conference does.

The rule is that no conference can send more than two teams to BCS bowls. There are 4 at-large spots. Remembering this, let's break down the possibilities.

TCU and Boise State deserve and will get two of the at-large slots.

The SEC clearly deserves two bids.

If Texas wins (which is in doubt at the moment) there is no other team in the Big XII who comes close to being deserving of an at-large bid.

The ACC is just bad and no team outside of the conference champ comes close to deserving a slot.

After Oregon in the Pac Ten there are a lot of really good teams, but no other great teams. Besides Oregon, no one has more than 8 wins.

Had Pitt won today and gotten the auto-bid in the Big East, Cinci would have been 11-1 and I think they would have gotten the last at-large slot. But at 9-3 Pitt does not deserve an at large bid.

That leaves the Big Ten with Penn State and Iowa, both of whom have 10 wins. Outside of the Big Ten, the SEC is the only BCS conference with more than one 10-win team.

So now tell me, who deserves an at-large bid more, Iowa or Penn State, or 9-3 Virginia Tech, 9-3 Oklahoma State, 9-3 Pitt, 10-3 Houston, 10-2 BYU?

When you really think about who else is being considered for that last at-large spot, Iowa and Penn State really have the best resumes.

Hey Krambman. . . Great post! I was trying to figure out who else deserved to go, but you saved me the trouble.

Oh God. . . My prediction is starting to look like crap! HAHAHA