Big East should not get automatic bid
The 2010 Big East Conference competition has been forgettable, as the eight clubs have struggled to remain consistent and are expected to end the season with less than stellar records. Nonetheless, the Big East will be receiving an automatic bid to the Orange
Bowl at the end of the year.
The Bowl Championship Series has six major conferences, who receive automatic bids to major bowl games at the end of the season.
The four major bowl games are the Rose Bowl, The Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The Pac-10 and Big 10 are given automatic bids to the Rose Bowl, the Big 12 is given an automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl, the SEC is given an automatic bid
to the Sugar Bowl and the Big East’s bid changes each season.
In 2010, the Big East champion will meet the ACC champion in the Orange Bowl.
The Orange Bowl is one of the biggest bowls in the college football series and pays out $17.5 million. Giving this opportunity to the Big East in favour of a more deserving team, through an at-large bid, will keep a skilled side from winning and possibly
developing its program.
At the moment the Big East has five teams who have achieved bowl eligibility, having managed the six wins necessary to qualify. Unfortunately, there are only two teams in the conference who have managed more than six wins. Nevertheless, one of these teams
will be competing in one of college football’s most prestigious games.
The Big East conference is currently being led by the Pittsburgh Panthers, who sit at 6-4 with a conference record of 4-1. The Panthers only have two games left on the schedule, both against conference opponents.
They will face-off against the West Virginia Mountaineers in week 13 and then meet the Cincinnati Bearcats in week 14. While the game against West Virginia will be difficult, the Bearcats are 4-6 with a 2-3 conference record. Their current record and end
of year schedule makes the Panthers the significant favourite to appear in the Orange Bowl.
To put the Big East’s weak season in perspective, the Florida State Seminoles and the Virginia Tech Hokies lead the ACC with records of 8-3 and 9-2 respectively. Meanwhile, the Oregon Ducks lead the Pac-10 with a 10-0 record and the Michigan State Spartans
lead the Big Ten with a 10-1 record.
In addition, Pittsburgh suffered their four losses this season to the Utah Utes, the Miami Hurricanes, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Connecticut Huskies. Out of those four teams, the Utes are the only team that has won more than seven games this
season and is currently ranked in the BCS standings.
In fact, the Big East does not have a single BCS ranked club. The only team that received any points in the AP Top 25 Poll are the Mountaineers with only 26, a full 72 points out of 25th spot.
As the Panthers move towards their automatic bid in the 2011 Orange Bowl, one has to question the validity of the BCS system. Mid-majors such as the Northern Illinois Huskies, who sit at 9-2 and Utah, who defeated the Panthers and sits at 9-2, will not be
given an opportunity to play in a major bowl game this season.
Moreover, teams such as the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers could finish the season at 11-1 and not see a high-profile match-up. But the Panthers, by grace of their Big East membership, will enjoy the benefits that go along with an Orange Bowl
appearance.
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