The Scenario the Commissioners Feared: Hawaii Warriors in the BCS Championship?

Last night, while announcing the Kansas-Missouri game, the great Brent Musburger asked Kirk Herbstreit a very interesting question—one the "elite" conferences of college football do not want to hear the correct answer to because it will destroy the status quo of college football as we know it.

"If Missouri and West Virginia both win next week, then both will go to the championship game. If one loses, then Ohio State will get in. But what if both lose? Then who plays Ohio State?" Herbstreit could do nothing but shrug.

Why do the “elite” conferences not want to hear the answer to this question? Because their country club known formally as the "BCS Championship" will be invaded by someone from a conference who wasn't invited to the party.

The most deserving team at that point would be the Hawai’i Warriors.

Look, we’ve heard it all. Thus far Hawai’i has defeated only two teams with winning records—the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Boise State Broncos. They whipped two I-AA teams and squeaked out some narrow victories on the road. They never thoroughly dominated any team.

But does that really mean that they shouldn’t be in the title game, especially when no one has thoroughly dominated the NCAA this year?

If not Hawai’i, then who?

The teams ranked ahead of Hawai’i in the BCS right now are the following:

-Missouri
-West Virginia
-Ohio State
-Georgia
-Kansas
-Virginia Tech
-LSU
-USC
-Oklahoma
-Florida
-Boston College

If West Virginia and Missouri both lose next week, then Ohio State will certainly be No. 1 in the BCS. But who should be Ohio State's opponent?

First off, any team that has lost three games should not be playing for a national championship, especially when there is an undefeated team. That eliminates Florida right away, as well as either Virginia Tech or Boston College, depending on which team loses the ACC Championship Game.

Secondly, any team that does not win their conference championship should not be eligible for the championship game. That would eliminate Missouri, Georgia, and Kansas. In fact, Georgia and Kansas did not even win their division, which disqualifies them twice.

The third point takes us back to 2001, when Oregon was infamously left out of the title game in favor of Nebraska, who had just been creamed 62-36 by Colorado. Many people claimed that Oregon should have been in over Nebraska, since Oregon was the Pac-10 champion, while Nebraska did not even win the Big 12 North.

Many other people were claiming that Colorado should have been in the title game instead of Nebraska, since they had beaten them, won the Big 12 North, and then went on to win the Big 12. After Oregon comfortably defeated Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl (38-16), followed by Miami’s shellacking of Nebraska in the Rose Bowl (37-14), we all saw that Oregon was the more deserving team.

Before the bowls were played, the great Lee Corso stated in no uncertain terms why Colorado should not have been in the title game: “Colorado has two losses. Period.”

If our aforementioned scenario occurs, then the following teams will have two losses and not deserve to play for the national championship: West Virginia, the ACC Champ, Oklahoma, LSU, and USC. Period.

That eliminates every team ranked between Ohio State and Hawai’i in the BCS Standings. Ohio State and Hawai’i are both conference champions—one is undefeated, the other has one loss.

If Hawai’i gets blown out, how will that be any different than the BCS Championship Games for the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2006 seasons? Or the Bowl Alliance Championship Games for all three years of its existence (1995, 1996, and 1997)?

Of course, if Missouri and West Virginia both win Saturday, this conversation will all be moot, which is exactly what the conference commissioners want.