2011 Bowl Games: There's a Lot Not to Like About the BCS Bowl Matchups

The 2011-2012 bowl selections have been made. The BCS Bowls are set. We're getting a rematch between LSU and Alabama for the National Title, Michigan fills an open spot in the Sugar Bowl and Oklahoma State gets shuffled to the Fiesta Bowl.

The debate over whether or not Oklahoma State could do enough to unseat Alabama for a spot in the National Title game has been answered. They couldn't, despite a 44-10 thumping of then-No. 10 Oklahoma.

Is it right? That depends on how you look at it.

Is it fair? No, but then again, neither option would have been completely fair.

What about the other selections? Was Michigan really the best choice to slip into the Sugar Bowl? What about Virginia Tech?

And yet again, we can debate the Big East's status as an automatic qualifier. Does a 9-3 West Virginia team that ranks No. 23 in the BCS standings really deserve an Orange Bowl appearance while 11-1 Boise State, 10-2 Kansas State or 9-3 Oklahoma are locked out?

No doubt, there will be some pretty good games and we'll talk about these bowl games in great depth as they approach.

However, there's a lot to be disappointed about with these bowl selections as well.

Rose Bowl, Jan. 2, Pasadena, California

Game Time: 5 P.M. ET

Network: ESPN

Match-Up: Wisconsin vs. Oregon

Now that I've set the stage for a BCS lambasting, I have to turn the other cheek on this one. The Rose Bowl is the only BCS bowl without any real controversy.

Then again, it's pretty well impossible to screw up the Rose Bowl. It's the only bowl with two conference tie-ins, featuring the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions.

The only way this game gets screwed up is if one or both conference champs are playing in the National Title Game. Since that isn't happening this year, the Rose Bowl match-up is exactly as it should be.

The only remotely controversial thing about this bowl game is how Oregon got here. They beat 6-7 UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship Game to get their slot.

Well, that and the fact that they lost to USC 38-35 on Nov. 19.

Their "real" conference title game came when they beat Stanford 53-30 on Nov. 12.

That's an excessively minor gripe though. The Trojans aren't bowl eligible due to issues of their own doing (sanctions) and the Ducks beat the only other team that could have challenged them for this bowl selection.

All's good in the "Grand-daddy of them all."

Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 2, Glendale, Arizona

Game Time: 8:30 P.M. ET

Network: ESPN

Match-Up: Oklahoma State vs. Stanford

Okay, here we go. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said his players were "excited about this bowl game" and that they were happy to get a BCS bowl.

I'm sure they're happy to get a BCS bowl, but this isn't the bowl they belong in.

Yes, they lost to Iowa State, on the road, in double overtime. And yes, Iowa State finished the season at a lowly 6-6. Still further, Alabama's only loss was to LSU and it was by just three points in overtime.

Let's not forget that it was at home.

Beyond that though, the Cowboys have defeated more teams with winning records (seven) than Alabama (three). The Cowboys have beaten more ranked teams (three) than Alabama (two).

If it weren't for the fact that the team they lost to was thoroughly mediocre, there would be no doubt that Oklahoma State's resume is better. However, because their loss was to Iowa State and not someone named LSU, the Cowboys are kept out of the National Title Game.

Don't tell me that it's absurd to think Oklahoma State could be better than Alabama. It's absurd not to question whether or not they're better. Losing to Iowa State doesn't help their cause, but the overall body of work for the Cowboys is still more impressive than Alabama's.

Stanford is a good selection here. Though they didn't win the Pac-12, they are easily good enough to be a BCS at-large team.

However, if the Cowboys win, the debate over their worthiness for the National Title Game will continue. I would rather that question be answered on the field in New Orleans than in the polls.

Sugar Bowl, Jan. 3, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game Time: 8:30 P.M. ET

Network: ESPN

Match-Up: Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

This is potentially one of the worst match-ups of the whole selection process.

I understand why Michigan is there. It's a money deal.

The Wolverines have put together a solid 10-2 record, so it's not as though they aren't deserving of a spot somewhere. Likewise, Virginia Tech has a 11-2 record and has only lost to one team. They were defeated by Clemson twice.

However, Michigan leapfrogged over Michigan State after the Spartans narrowly lost the Big Ten Championship Game to Wisconsin. The Spartans spanked the Wolverines 28-14 during the season. They were the Legends Division Champions.

Michigan was selected because they haven't been to a BCS caliber bowl since 2006 and have such a huge fan following that the bowl selection committee heard "cha-ching" when they pondered the Wolverines.

Besides Michigan State being a quality candidate for this bowl, what about Boise State? Say what you want about the Broncos, but this team put together an 11-1 record and defeated Georgia at the beginning of the season. Their loss to TCU was as narrow as it gets and TCU is ranked No. 18.

The exact same argument can be made about Virginia Tech in this case. And what about Kansas State or Oklahoma?

Both teams are 10-2 and Oklahoma State is the only Big 12 team in a BCS bowl. Either team could have been selected and the computers have loved the Big 12 this year.

Why do either the Big Ten or the ACC get two BCS bowl bids this year while the Big 12 only gets one and the non-AQ teams are locked out?

Orange Bowl, Jan. 4, Miami, Florida

Game Time: 8:00 P.M. ET

Network: ESPN

Match-Up: Clemson vs. West Virginia

There really can be no argument against Clemson in this game. They won the ACC outright and won their spot in the Orange Bowl with a 10-3 record that included two wins over Virginia Tech, a win over Auburn and a win over Florida State.

However, there can be a lot of argument against West Virginia.

I know, they're the Big East Champions and, as such, get an automatic bid into a BCS bowl. They're 9-3 and meet the eligibility requirements for a BCS bowl.

However, their losses are against No. 1 LSU (47-21), 5-7 Syracuse (49-23) and 7-5 Louisville (38-35). They didn't actually win the Big East outright. They're co-Champions with Cincinnati and get the bid based on their ranking and the fact that they edge out Cincinnati in a head-to-head match.

Once again, there are far better match-ups for Clemson than this Mountaineer team. I could rehash the same names of Boise State, Kansas State or Oklahoma.

I haven't even mentioned Baylor, Michigan (here rather than Sugar Bowl), or TCU. All have put together a better body of work than West Virginia.

I get that the Big East has only been truly down for a couple of years, but it seriously diminishes the bowl experience when the fans know there were better teams available for these games that still would have met BCS bowl eligibility (not more than two teams from the same conference).

BCS National Championship Game, Jan. 9, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game Time: 8:30 P.M. ET

Network: ESPN

Match-Up: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama

So, I'm going to sound like a broken record. However, are we really sure Alabama is the second best team in the country?

There's no question about LSU. They've played one of the toughest (if not the toughest) schedules in all of FBS college football and have come through undefeated. They've knocked off the No. 2 team (Alabama) and the No. 3 team (Arkansas) and are still standing tall.

If anyone thinks LSU doesn't belong in this bowl game, they're either an insufferable homer or they just haven't been watching college football this year.

Alabama isn't so clear.

Yes, they played LSU and narrowly lost in overtime. Nobody else on the Tigers' schedule has even come close to doing what Alabama did. No question about that.

However, Oklahoma State never got the chance to show what they could do against LSU. I can already see now that there will be comments arguing that LSU would destroy the Cowboys.

You don't know that. You may think you do, but you don't. You believe that, and there's a big difference between what you believe to be true and what might actually be true.

I've already argued that Oklahoma State's body of work is actually better than Alabama's. They've beaten more than twice as many teams with winning records and have beaten more ranked opponents. They slaughtered Oklahoma to make their case.

Yes, they lost at Iowa State, who finished 6-6. So what? They laid up one week. Narrowly. In double overtime. On the road.

The rest of their season has been more impressive than Alabama's.

Is Oklahoma State a better team than Alabama? I don't know. We'll never know. That's the problem.

The BCS is supposed to pit the two best teams against each other. But what if there aren't two clear "best teams" to pit together? What if there's only one clear choice and the other is murky?

The fans got cheated in this one. Sure, the SEC is happy as a lark. They'll win their sixth straight National Title regardless of who wins this game.

The rest of the nation? Not so much.

We've already seen Alabama play LSU. We could have had a more interesting debate than the one we're having now had the Cowboys gotten their shot at No. 1.