The 10-2 Oklahoma Sooners are headed to Dallas, Texas to play in the Cotton Bowl against Johnny Football and the Texas A&M Aggies. In a turn of events that no one saw coming: the NIU Huskies got their chance for a shot at the big boys and will be playing in a BCS bowl game, the Orange Bowl actually to play against Florida State.

Insert mass chaos by everyone and the end was result which the Cotton. Which is a great bowl for the SEC and Big 12 conferences. Those two usually draw the most attention as it is, so it’s fitting that they get a bowl like that one.

The Sooners haven’t played in the Cotton Bowl since 2002, where they met up with the Arkansas Razorbacks. It was a riveting  10-3 Sooners win. The last time the Ags and the Sooners met up was of course last season in Norman, where the Aggies would face them for the last time as conference mates. The final there was 41-25. Since Bob Stoops has been in Norman, he is 11-2 against the Aggies and normally wins by a 20+ point margin.

With a possible Heisman contender under center on the Aggies offense, this game is sure to be full of excitement. I know a lot of fans had started to make plans to be in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl and the prospect of being there instead of home probably looked pretty good. But if you were impulsive and already bought that plane ticket or booked the hotel room, NO FEAR! The Cotton Bowl is Friday, the 4th of January. You still have time to do both.

So there it is, the Cotton Bowl.

Yesterday was a banner day for the college football world, in the span of about 4 hours the BCS picture completely changed. SEC back in title talks and undefeated Notre Dame is going to be the No. 1 team in the land. *Insert the Mayans were right comment*

In what was the craziest time slot of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners scraped by the West Virginia Mountaineers, 50-49. The Baylor Bears stomped any chances Collin Klein had at a Heisman or the Kansas State Wildcats had at going to Miami. Stanford took the Oregon Ducks into over-time and the curse of the kickers came out and the Cardinal walked away with the win.

Saturday, the Sooners couldn’t stop WVU’s Tavon Austin and the ‘Eers couldn’t stop Landry Jones. Austin, who is the Mountaineers WR, lined up as a RB and completely shredded the Oklahoma defense. He had over 400+ all-purpose yards. Landry Jones also had a stellar night, with 550+ yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. He led the Sooners to a game-winning touchdown with about a min left on the clock, and the time remaining after wasn’t enough for the Mountaineers to retaliate. Both teams combined for over 1400 yards and Oklahoma allowed a staggering 778 yards on offense. If you know anything about me, you know that I love defensive, smash mouth football. This was none of that. If anything, defensive coordinator, Mike Stoops hopefully had nightmares of it last night. The Sooners have Bedlam coming this week and the Pokes would love nothing more than let their running game roam free all over Owen Field.

The chaos wasn’t really the Sooner game, it was the Baylor/Kansas State game. Baylor, who has the worst defense in the country performed a miracle last night. The Bears didn’t even give the Wildcats a chance, beating them on both sides of the ball all night long. The final beatdown ended up being 52-24.

With Baylor beating the Wildcats, the door to the National Championship game just swung wide open. And the Big XII? That’s completely up for grabs now, too.

If you aren’t a college football fan, why? This game changes every single week and is so unpredictable. And if you have a voodoo doll that represents the SEC and thought maybe you reversed their luck? Good try, good effort. Don’t ever count them out.

We knew it was going to happen, but now its official! The BCS Presidential Oversight Committee met on Tuesday and announced that the current system is now being replaced by a four-team playoff starting in the 2014-2015 season.

There will be six bowls, with the National Championship game still rotate from venue to venue. The 4-team playoff was approved for a 12 year deal.  The committee believes that the new system offers something unique and will add balance to the current BCS system in place. They are taking suggestions on what the new BCS playoff should be called, which I’m sure I could come up with some real interesting ones…

The controversy will continue, as always, even with a playoff system. You can already hear the Pac-12 fans complaining about the amount of SEC teams in the playoffs. The motto, “Every Game Counts” will now actually be true.

The details have yet to be released, like the selection process. but ESPNU is suggesting that it should be made up of former players and coaches, someone who actually has concept of the game. What a concept actual people who know the sport instead of a computer.

And as I write this, the people of social media are going in on what they would do to make the new system better. Why not let it ride out and see what happens? We don’t have any say or voice in what happens with it. There isn’t a need to keep complaining or from what I’ve seen, people making up stuff off the top of their heads. The 4-team playoff may not be the best model, but until the committee can actual come up with something that will work, it’s called trial and error. If the 4-team works, don’t you think they will add more games? I may be crazy, but that is where I see this going.

So until then, it is a step in the right direction.

After a crazy football season for the Big XII, conference athletic directors are all on board for having a playoff system instituted in the BCS. What’s with the mind changing?

It could possibly have something to do with the latest BCS bowl selection, where Oklahoma State should have been put against LSU in the National championship game, which unless you have been living under a rock, it went to Alabama.

On Monday, the athletic directors met and voted in favor of the plus one format, which is a four team playoff for the title. If this system had been in place since the induction of the BCS, teams that deserved a shot to play but got left out would have had that chance. Southern Cal would have had the chance back in 2003, Auburn in 2004, Texas in 2008 and Oklahoma State this year.

Oklahoma State may have gotten pounded by LSU, but they at least deserved a shot. They have better wins then Alabama had, though their loss to Iowa State was ugly. But their strength of schedule and quality wins surpasses Alabama’s by a long shot.

If you remember, the Big XII was one of the conferences that adamantly said NO to the Southeast Conference commissioner, Mike Slive’s pitch for a four team playoff back in 2008. The only conference to agree with it at the time was the ACC. Having the backing of the Big XII, could possibly change the face of the system. That is, if Slive still agrees with the plus one. His conference is about to make quite a bit of money in January, and having a playoff may have made the situation completely different.

Another road block is the B1G’s Jim Delaney. Delaney has been anti-playoff since the idea came out. But if everyone wants something new, especially power conferences like the Big XII and the SEC, this might be a time that Delaney actually doesn’t get his way.

The final decision of support from the Big XII will come from the league’s presidents. If they decide they agree with the AD’s this could be the step forward that the BCS system needed. Even if this is coming from Oklahoma State getting snubbed, it may just work this time.

The talks of a plus one has already gained steam again, as I reported on it last month.

Now we sit and wait. I wouldn’t hold your breath though.

Apparently it’s actually in consideration.

With the Cotton Bowl Classic moving to Cowboys Stadium, could this be the next BCS bowl game?

The conference commissioners and presidents who are in charge of the postseason bowl games met to discuss the current state of the BCS and possible changes they could make to appease the masses. Topics discussed Monday in San Francisco included, a mini-playoff system in conjunction with a new plus-one format.

The committee also discussed getting rid of the auto-qualification process. Currently there is 6 AQ conferences. Rumor has it that the new BCS model will set up a 4 team National Title playoff scheme over the course of two bowl games. The winner of the two bowls will advance to play in the National Championship; meaning a 5th BCS game will likely be added to the mix.

The executive director of the BCS, Bill Hancock, said not to be looking for a more expansive playoff plan anytime soon. “I do not hear a groundswell of support” (for major playoff system) Hancock said.

If the new format does get implemented, some conferences have the ability to see two of their schools in the hunt for the crystal ball. The current BCS contract expires in 2013 and may very well end up adding another bowl to the BCS games in 2014.

All this comes at a time of major conference realignment shifts and the possibility of the Big East losing their AQ status due to the lack of football schools left in the conference.

The committee will meet again on January 9th in New Orleans during the National Championship game and then again in April. Let’s see what they can come up with.

Sometimes, change is good.

Oklahoma was idle yesterday, but there was plenty of college football action to keep everyone occupied.

Two BCS Top 5 teams lost yesterday, which means with at least one of those losses, Oklahoma moves up by default. Why only with one of those losses?

The current state of the BCS looks like this:

Boise State was upset by TCU, and since they are not in an auto-qualifying conference, they are completely out of the race. But the wrench is Oregon upsetting Stanford last night. Yes, Oklahoma needed Stanford to lose to still have a shot at a title appearance, but Oregon’s only loss so far this season is to the No. 1 team in the country, during college football’s opening weekend.

I would expect Oregon to jump Oklahoma in the BCS polls after beating the No. 4 team in the country. In the Coaches and AP Polls already released this morning, they did. Oklahoma is now at 5, Oregon at 4.

Oregon also has a conference championship game, the Big XII does not anymore. The computer and the voters SHOULD pick a team who won a conference championship game over a team who doesn’t. So even if Oklahoma does win out, the odds are slim they will travel to New Orleans in January. This may end up being a case to the Big XII brass that we need to get back to 12 teams in order to stay competitive with the other conferences.

Alabama is also in that mix of possible title contenders if everything stays the same in the polls. They shouldn’t get the shot though, they aren’t even eligible to win their own conference, so they shouldn’t get a shot at a rematch against LSU. All of this will only work if Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State at Bedlam. Oregon really has to lose a game for the Sooners to even stay in this mix, though. And that shot may come next weekend, the Ducks are playing an up and coming USC Trojans next Saturday. Still not the same Trojan team from seasons past, but are showing signs of resurgence.

Alabama will also be rooting for the Trojans to win this weekend to keep their hopes alive, too. So this weekend, we are all USC fans. Those are words that I never thought I’d say and feel rather dirty for doing so, but it’s just for one weekend.

Does your head hurt from all the madness yet?

The new BCS poll will be released tonight at 8:15 EST.

The Football Bowl Association released the bowl schedule today for all this seasons upcoming bowl games. The payouts on some of the bowls are quite interesting…

Here is your complete list: BOWL SCHEDULE via FBA

Reggie Bush during the 2004 National Championship game against Oklahoma

The BCS announced on Monday afternoon that they have decided to remove Southern California’s 2004 National Championship title due to Reggie Bush’s eligibility infractions.

The removal of the championship is the first time a title has been vacated since the BCS polls have been a factor in college football.

As I reported last month, USC was denied their appeal against the NCAA’s punishment for infractions. The BCS was waiting until the NCAA had made their final decision against USC before deciding what to do with the 2004 title.

BCS executive director Bill Hancock said in a statement:

The BCS arrangement crowns a national champion, and the BCS games are showcase events for post-season football. One of the best ways of ensuring that they remain so is for us to foster full compliance with NCAA rules. Accordingly, in keeping with the NCAA’s recent action, USC’s appearances are being vacated.

This action reflects the scope of the BCS arrangement and is consistent with the NCAA’s approach when it subsequently discovers infractions by institutions whose teams have played in NCAA championship events.

OUCH.

The Associated Press has stated that they have no plans to change their decision to keep USC as the 2004 National Champions.

The university has removed the crystal trophy from Heritage Hall and is in the process of sending it back. Though the trophy is not given out by the BCS but the American Coaches Association. So it was not taken away ‘officially’.

Do you agree with the BCS ruling or think that the BCS is,well….BS?

The BCS committee announced Wednesday that the Fiesta Bowl gets to keep it’s BCS status, but is charged with a one million dollar fine.

Really?

That’s it?

A million dollars is nothing compared to the massive amounts of money that Fiesta Bowl employees were spending on so-called business meetings, supporting local politicians, and excessive personal use.

Besides the million dollar fine, the Fiesta Bowl is also being held to tougher auditing and a more thorough look at those appointed to be on the Fiesta board.

A statement released today by the Fiesta Bowl says they feel the punishment was “tough but fair”.

“We have learned some painful lessons and have already implemented many of the changes that will prevent this type of malfeasance from happening in the future,” the statement read.

What a joke.

Didn’t Fiesta Bowl execs drop way more than that at a strip club not to long ago and write it off as a business meeting? A million dollars is chump change to them. They can make that up in one day; on t-shirt sales.

The BCS states that the Fiesta Bowl taking immediate action on the situation and implementing new rules helped the committee in making their decision. Director of the BCS, Bill Hancock said Wednesday:

“Without those reforms, the task force almost certainly would have recommended ending the B.C.S. group’s relationship with the bowl. The reforms they have taken, combined with our sanctions, are serious and are focused on improving the management of the bowl.”

This is a classic case of bad behavior gets rewarded. The BCS let everyone know  that it’s okay to be a corrupt, greedy, manipulative organization. They will just give you a slap on the wrist and shove it under the rug until someone else gets caught.

But then again, we are talking about the BCS.

In an open letter to the NCAA, the US Justice department is thinking of opening an antitrust inquiry into the current BCS system. The current system excludes some of the conferences from automatically qualifying in  major college football bowl games.

With the current system, the BCS only has automatic bids into major bowl games for the Big 12, Pac-10, ACC, Big 10, Big East, and SEC.

A meeting is scheduled between Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney and reporters to announce what will be involved with the inquiry.

Varney told NCAA President Mark Emmert:

“Serious questions continue to arise suggesting that the current BCS system may not be conducted consistent with the competition principles expressed in federal antitrust laws,”

According to CNN, Varney asked Emmert why college football doesn’t have a playoff system and what steps has the NCAA been working on in order to induct one.

CNN says,

The decision to release the letter came hours after Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a major opponent of the current system, demanded further consideration of the issue in a face-to-face appearance with Attorney General Eric Holder at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Holder then disclosed the Justice Department had sent the letter to the NCAA on the issue.

This is going to get real good, real quick.

For more on this story as news breaks, be sure to check back here at Aerys.