Nebraska Football: BCS Poll and Bookmakers Get It Wrong About Cornhuskers

(Taylor Martinez, having trouble explaining to his Spanish class how Nebraska is rated higher than Wisconsin)

Welcome to another edition of the Husker Hotwire, the sometimes-weekly, sometimes-funny look at Husker athletics!

The Husker Hotwire staff is accused of many things, a number of which cannot be commented on due to pending litigation. But the one accusation against the Hotwire that is fair is that the staff don't usually get around to watching a lot of football before writing about football. After all, there are free buffets to eat at, bosses who need kowtowing, and post-work parties that need recovering from.

So regular Hotwire readers shouldn't be surprised when things appear in the Hotwire that don't make a lot of sense based on the what's actually occurred on the field. But when the non-Hotwire football world puts out nonsense, it's a little more shocking.

So, when last week's BC$ standings were released, more than a few Hotwire eyebrows were raised when Wisconsin fell to 15th after their last-second loss to Michigan State in East Lansing. The steep fall was surprising enough, but more surprising was the team one spot ahead of them—Nebraska.

Yes, Nebraska. The team with the identical record, overall and in conference, as Wisconsin. And the team that Wisconsin embarrassed 48-17 just three short weeks ago. The accumulated wisdom of the BC$ believes that, when two teams are equal, Team A should be rewarded over Team B for losing to Team B by 31 points.

Ordinarily, that kind of result would make the eyes of the Hotwire staff hurt. But it's the BC$, and by this stage no one can really be surprised when nonsense comes out of the system. You can rest assured, though, that the ranking made money for someone running a bowl game somewhere. That's pretty much how the BC$ rolls.

What was more surprising was when the early gambling lines for entertainment purposes came out on the weekend's games. Nebraska was posted as a four-point favorite over Michigan State. Yep, you read that right. Michigan State, the team that just beat Wisconsin, is a four-point underdog to Nebraska, the team that Wisconsin beat by 31.

Expecting nonsense from the BC$ has become such a common occurrence that it's almost cliche. But gamblers for entertainment purposes bookmakers usually know what they're talking about. So perhaps the Hotwire staff will take a break from not watching football and take some time gambling on investing in this weekend's contest.

BEEONEGEE CONFERENCE UPDATE

We at the Husker Hotwire are committed to bring you ongoing coverage of Nebraska's new opponents in the B1G Conference. Buckeye Hotwire is thrilled to report on a story that doesn't involve some form of cheating or covering up of cheating at Ohio State.

Admittedly, the story is about a running back suspected of punching a man in the face, but still, it's not about tattoos! At least, not yet...

AROUND THE HOTWIRE NETWORK

Mountaineer Hotwire reports that West Virginia will receive an invitation to the Big 12 10 9 ?? 12 Conference, conditional on Missouri's leaving the conference. Which seems a bit like asking a girl to the prom and telling her that you're asking as a backup in case another, hotter girl turns you down. And yes, that means West Virginia is the "desperate girl" in this analogy.

Curmudgeon Dennis Dodd writes that Notre Dame could be joining the Big 12 10 9 ?? 12 Conference. OMG, huge news! Except that the story is about Notre Dame joining the conference for everything but football, which is a little like dating Kim Kardashian for everything but her money and looks.

And, to complete the trifecta of conference realignment updates, Cougar Hotwire reports that Houston's athletic director isn't saying anything at all about stories swirling around that the Cougars are one of six teams the Big East is considering adding in an attempt to survive as a BC$ automatic qualifier. He does say that Houston is a "proud member of Conference USA," which in realignment-speak means "we'll be in the Big East as soon as our lawyers figure out how to make sure we don't get sued too badly."

Want more of the Husker Hotwire? Follow us on Twitter @huskerhotwire and you'll get more! Not a lot more, because we're kind of lazy, but a little more! And if you have a hot story tip (or just want to yell at us), you can send an e-mail to [e-mail]!