Big Ten Expansion: The First Step Toward the Big East Losing Its BCS Bid

OK, so this expansion may not be a disaster for all of the Big East. One member might get to keep a BCS bid and get a big pile of money.

The Big Ten is looking to move up to 12 teams, and rumor has it they are looking right at Rutgers, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh.

They want a conference championship game to put them on par with the big boys, the SEC and the Big 12.

For the Big East, losing a team, any team, would just be terrible.

At the beginning of every season, pollsters must think the Big East is comprised of a bunch of JV squads with asthma. While other conferences are busy polishing their numerous top-25 rankings, Big East teams can find their players quietly muttering angry thoughts of disrespect in between hits off their inhalers.

Perception is reality, especially in college football, and the relatively small Big East is currently perceived as inferior and undeserving of an automatic BCS bid. Just imagine how losing a team would affect its reputation.

But let's forget about the Big Ten liberating a team from the Big East. Let's say they just expand with Missouri or Nebraska or whomever else. Another conference with a championship game and more conferences looking to expand as well? All of those people clamoring for the Big East to give up its BCS bid will be louder than ever.

To be fair, this situation is marginally better than losing a team. The popular solution (or inevitability), in either scenario, is to follow suit and expand. Suggestions have been made to add teams like Memphis or Temple. I know the Owls are coming off a good year, but they do not bring instant credibility.

The only real chance this conference has of retaining its automatic BCS berth is to win games. Winning games as a conference and perennially boasting a top-10, zero- or one-loss team are keys to changing these lowly perceptions. Even performing above expectations may not be enough to quell the doubters, but it's all they have.

To make matters worse, time is short. Sweeping changes are afoot for college football in the next two to three years, and being left behind is a tough road. The Big East boys have a lot of work to do; better refill that Albuterol prescription and get at it.