by Matt Groom
I wanted to cover the MLS during this debate, but that can be done anytime. A new debate in the sports world popped up, and I think it is a good one.
Argument: There is no way Northern Illinois belongs in the Orange Bowl!!
Background
This debate was inspired by the comments some fans gave on espn.com regarding this issue. According to the BCS rules, if a champion from a non-automatic qualifying conference (Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Western Athletic) finishes in the top 16 of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings and finishes ahead of an automatic qualifier (AQ) (Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big Twelve, Pac-12, Southeastern), then that team will get a berth in a BCS Bowl game. In the final BCS Standings, Northern Illinois finished 15th, while Louisville finished 21st and Wisconsin finished unranked. That guaranteed Northern Illinois a spot in a BCS Bowl (which ended up being the Orange Bowl), and many think that took Oklahoma out to play in a non-BCS Cotton Bowl.
Arguments Against Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl
Flat out, Northern Illinois doesn't deserve it. These voters who voted them in the top 25 have no idea what they are doing. This rule is stupid. There is another rule that made it impossible for Georgia or Texas A&M to get a BCS bowl, but you're going to leave out Oklahoma and Clemson in favor of a team whose strongest competition is Kent State, Iowa, and Kansas? Also in their conference are Massachusetts and Eastern Michigan who are the two of the worst teams in college football. Their schedule is WEAK, plain and simple.
This team lost to Iowa. Iowa! A team that finished 4-8 and is one of the worst in the Big 10. What is Florida State going to do to these guys? The Seminoles are going to beat them by at least 40. I keep hearing about a quarterback that the Huskies have, but who do they have besides him. Also, the NIU hasn't seen a team this fast. It will be a track meet, and the Seminoles are going to win it.
If that wasn't bad enough, the now former coach for Northern Illinois will not be coaching the game. He accepted a job at North Carolina State (which is another ACC school). The Huskies are going to have to hope that their offensive coordinator does a decent enough job to at least make it close. The last time a coach bolted a team that made a BCS bowl, the Brian Kelly-less, undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats got blown out by Florida.
Finally, this game is going to get low ratings. There is a reason all the other BCS bowls passed them over. Nobody wants to see this game, nobody wants to see this team. They should be content playing in the Little Caesar's Bowl where their students can see this game on ESPN 2 in the middle of the week, and the rest of us don't have to be bothered with it. I'll be checking the guide on my satellite system to find out what else is on that night. Maybe I can catch an episode of "Dancing With the Stars" or anything on Lifetime. I don't like those shows, but it beats the hell out of watching Northern Illinois.
I will close with a paraphrase of ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit quote. "Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl? This has got to be a joke!"
ARGUMENTS FOR NORTHERN ILLINOIS IN THE SUGAR BOWL
The most important reason why Northern Illinois belong in the Sugar Bowl is becuase the rules say if they finished in the top-16 of the BCS and finish ahead of an AQ team, they go to a BCS bowl. Both those things happened. In fact, they started last week at number 21 and had to jump 6 teams to do it. They did it. They finished ahead of Louisville and Wisconsin. How come no one is complaining that a 10-2 Louisville and an 8-5 Wisconsin are in a BCS Bowl game? If you don't like a rule, then change it. Don't complain that a small school got in by following the rules.
The biggest fallacy in college football is that the deserving teams get a BCS bowl. There are five games in the BCS, ten teams get in. There are six spots that go to automatic qualifiers. After that, the at-large teams are basically a popularity contest. Remember that Boise State finished 7th in the BCS last year? They got the Las Vegas Bowl. Even if you believe non-AQ schools are not deserving of a BCS game, Kansas State and Baylor were more deserving than two of the teams that got in, Michigan and Virginia Tech. Those two schools got in, becuase they are the most popular; not because they are the most deserving. If these bowls completely had it their way, no non-AQ schools would get in, and half of the AQ schools wouldn't get in, either. Finally in this point, does Oklahoma really deserve to be in after two losses (one being by blowout)?
Non-AQ schools in the BCS are 4-1 against BCS teams. Everyone outside of Boise, ID (except for Matt Groom) thought Oklahoma was going to blow out Boise State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. What happened? Boise jumped up to a 14-0 lead, and ultimately won in overtime. In 2008, everyone outside of Salt Lake City, UT (again, except for Matt Groom) thought that Alabama was going to blow out Utah. What happened? There was a blow-out, but it was the other way around. Utah blew out Alabama. TCU beat Wisconsin in last year's Rose Bowl. That is probably the reason why the BCS bowl coordinators were gutless the year both Boise State and TCU made a BCS bowl and made them play against each other. It is only one game, and Northern Illinois could create another BCS upset.
About the Cincinnati loss, I just have one thing to say about it. Cincinnati, with or without Brian Kelly, was overmatched by Florida. Their undefeated season was a product of their weak schedule. Granted, Northern Illinois's 12-1 mark could be a product of the MAC schedule, but they really could be the 15th best team in the NCAA, and just had a bad game against Iowa. The Huskies deserve a chance to find out which one is the truth. Amd as for low ratings, who wouldn't want to see another possibility of seeing David once again defeating Goliath?
I could go on, but I'll close with this. Kirk Herbstreit also said, "I can't wait until the BCS is gone and we get a playoff." I have some news for Mr. Herbstreit. College football will still have a system like this in addition to the four-team playoff. They're going to have another championship series. Under the new system, the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC winners will each get a spot. The sixth automatic spot goes to the top-ranked winner of the rest of the conferences. Guess who that spot would go to this year. That's right...Northern Illinois.
OBSERVATIONS
I do not think that Northern Illinois deserves to be in the Orange Bowl. However, it is not always about who deserves to go. The NCAA, especially the BCS needs to do a better job of rewarding teams who have great seasons regardless of the conference the teams are in. This rule that allowed Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl is necessary, because in the past, deserving non-AQ teams were left out, becuase they are not big names. A more deserving non-AQ team got passed over last year in favor of a big name. I personally believe that if the BCS coordinators allowed more deserving AQ and non-AQ teams in equally, then this rule may not have needed to be made; and possibly, Oklahoma would be in the Sugar Bowl (Louisville being in the Orange Bowl). Also, maybe for next year (being the BCS's final year), they should keep the rule, but make it the top 12 or top 14, instead of the top-16.
There is no need to cry over Oklahoma. The Sooners are in a bowl game. They are in a good bowl game, the Cotton Bowl against former Big 12 rival, Texas A&M. It is a good game, and will get great ratings. The team to cry over is Middle Tennessee State. I am always appauled when an 8-4 team is passed over so the 9th Big 12 or SEC team that finished 6-6 can get in a bowl game. If you turn down an invitation (Louisiana Tech), that is one thing. If you finish 8-4 and don't get a bowl game, because you decide the last minute to be a I-A team and pad your schedule of I-AA and Division II teams (Texas-San Antonio) and not get an invite, I'm ok with that, too. The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders finished 8-4 and got no invitation. There used to be a rule that no 6-6 team could get a bowl game until all 7-5 or better teams got an opportunity to get an invitation. That rule NEEDS to come back. The NCAA changed it, because power conferences complained that it is harder to finish 6-6 in the SEC or Big 10. That's crap. What most (not all) power conference teams do is stack their non-conference schedule with I-AA teams and teams from the Sun Belt Conference or the weak MAC teams to get 4 of the 6 needed wins and ride out the tough teams to get to the two winnable games (Duke and the mid-SEC east teams are great examples). I have noticed that a sign of a good non-AQ team is that if the SEC and good Big 10 teams duck you to play weaker competition (unless ESPN bribes them). That describes Northern Illinois.
Finally, Kirk Herbstreit hates the rule that limit conferences to two teams in the BCS bowls. Six of the top-10 BCS teams come from the SEC (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M, and South Carolina). This is a good rule. It prevents bias first of all. I always believe that at least two of those teams are not top-10 teams and the Big 12 always provides a tougher schedule, but that is not important, other than the fact I had to state that. He probably wanted all six teams in a BCS game, and if he didn't, people in the SEC states do. However, the BCS and NCAA are profit organizations, and are businesses. If it is an all-SEC affair, or close; then they run the risk of being a monopoly or could break other business practices and/or laws. There are people who accuse the BCS of being too monopolistic. I have accused them of robbing Boise State of millions of dollars by passing them over, even if they are deserving. Also, not many people outside of "SEC-Country" wants to see an all-SEC affair. Those who do can watch their regular season. The SEC might have some of the best teams in the country; but in a world of business, there comes a point where the NCAA cannot abandon the rest of the country in favor of one region.
I went off on a couple tangents in my observations, but my point in all of it is that Northern Illinois got into the Orange Bowl on a necessary rule. Who, besides me, cried when a deserving small school, like Boise State got passed over in favor of a less-deserving big-name school. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, the criers come in droves. Everyone needs to play by the rules, and if one year, that means a non-deserving small school gets in a big game, then so be it.
Note: The National Championship game, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl are BCS Bowl Games.
Next month's debate will be whether or not the MLS needs to ditch the playoff system.
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