In the first four segments of this series on how to fix the Bowl Championship Series, some important and rather dramatic proposed changes have been outlined. The series has called for all conferences to tally up at least 12 teams and play a conference championship game. It has called for the removal of special BCS rules that favor the University of Notre Dame. This series has proposed that all Automatic Qualifier conferences not be quite so automatic. In fact, this series has called for the Big East’s status as an Automatic Qualifier to be revoked permanently.

So far, the series has taken shots at the big boys of college football. By requesting the elimination of the Big East from the pool of Automatic Qualifier conferences, taking on Notre Dame, and demanding that the Big XII replace Colorado and Nebraska with two other schools in order to keep their AQ status, nobody can say that I’m favoring the elite programs.

But be prepared; it’s coming.

Texas Christian University saved the BCS from a real “You gotta be kidding me” moment. I don’t know that the BCS could have survived two such moments this year- UConn being forced upon the Fiesta Bowl was clearly the first. But had TCU not had another dream regular season, the Rose Bowl would have been forced to take Boise State who was sitting at 11th in the BCS standings at the time. (Boise State later found a mathematical error that would have had them sitting at 10th.)

That brings us to change number five for the BCS:

5. Remove the “Top 12” Rule for Non-AQ Conference Members for BCS Selection

The current rules state that any team in the top 12 of the BCS that is not a member of one of the Automatic Qualifier conferences gets an automatic berth into the BCS unless another Non-AQ school earns an automatic berth. This year, TCU- a member of the Mountain West- finished in the top four, getting themselves a guaranteed spot into the Bowl Championship Series. Their matchup with Wisconsin is highly anticipated by many and rightly so.

But with TCU’s automatic selection to the Rose Bowl, Boise State was guaranteed nothing. And here is the nasty truth for Bronco fans:

They shouldn’t have been.

Boise State finished 7-1 inside their conference, the Western Athletic Conference. So did two other teams. Nevada and Hawaii also won a share of the WAC championship. Here is a news flash: If you can’t win the WAC outright, and in fact share it with not just one, but two teams, you do not deserve a BCS invitation. Blame it on the kicker trying to kick with both hands around his neck. Blame it on bias. Blame it on the rain. It doesn’t matter. Boise State blew it, and they didn’t get what they didn’t deserve.

If this were the year 2013, just two seasons removed from where we are, we wouldn’t have TCU as a saving grace. As a member of the Big East, TCU would take UConn’s place as the Big East champion (good). But Boise would be in the top 12, the highest rated non-AQ school, and would be forced upon the Rose Bowl (bad).

Imagine this for a moment. Because of the rules, the BCS would have been forced to take Boise State at 11-1 over teams like Arkansas (10-2), Michigan State (11-1), LSU (10-2), Missouri (10-2), and Oklahoma State (10-2). Nuh-uh. Can’t have that. The rule needs to change.

Nobody can make a reasonable argument why the Broncos deserve a BCS bid over Arkansas, Michigan State or LSU. Yet, that is exactly what would be likely to happen if TCU were a member of the Big East or had lost a game or two along the way in the regular season. In an effort to be politically correct, the BCS has managed to get it wrong. Being politically correct does not make you actually correct.

The purpose of the BCS should be to put the best ten teams in the biggest bowls. That is tough to do when you give someone a guaranteed spot if they finish inside the top 12. Some people will say that this is just another example of people wanting to keep programs like Boise State from breaking through the glass ceiling of college football. It’s just another article piling on the Broncos.

In fact, this is a call for common sense. It’s a call for realism and not sensationalism. Logic over daydreaming.

It might be a tall order. Common sense and logic are in short supply as it pertains to the BCS system.

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