Big 10 Expansion: With At Least 12 Teams, Should Big Ten Get Two BCS Bids?

Since the re-alignment of the NCAA is changing the way teams will be divided, it's only natural to take the next step and speculate if these moves will change the way BCS bids are awarded.

The Big Ten Conference features a lot of storied schools in the Heartland of America. While competition for the top spot will increase, it's fair to say in the current system that at least one of the teams in the Big Ten (or 12, or 16 as the case may end up being) will be cheated out of a BCS bid almost every year.

Whether it's Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, or the soon-to-be-inducted Nebraska, somebody is going to be the subject of heated barroom conversations for all the wrong reasons.

Since expansion may not be over with, let's take it one step further.

What if Notre Dame joins the Big Ten, and one year they finish with Purdue with identical winning records? Whoever ends up on the losing end of that decision will be storming the gates of BCS headquarters, demanding an explanation.

The fact is, the NCAA is taking slow steps toward a playoff system, whether that is in two years, three years, or 10 years. So if the BCS system is going to convert to a playoff format, now is the perfect time to add "Wildcard" teams to the conferences.

By adding the "Wildcard," it recognizes the fact these conferences are becoming too big to have just one team with a chance at a BCS Bowl bid.

The current system always will have its defenders, who point out that every week of college football is a "big week" because one loss can ruin a team's chances of getting a BCS bid.

Lose a game to a top-ranked team early in the season, and the rest of the season becomes a competition for second place, unless said top-ranked team then falters.

Taking a perfect record into the last week of the season means nothing if you lose that last game, and the list of last-week losers who missed out on a big Bowl game is long and distinguished.

At the end of the day, anything the NCAA and the BCS do will revolve around the amount of money they can make, and by adding a Wildcard to the Big Ten Conference, they stand to make a lot of money.