Here’s an open thread to discuss all the exciting Bowl Games of the day. Let’s at least hope they’re exciting because so far the Bowl Season has been BOR-ING.

How would have thought that the Big Ten would be 2-0 at this point? We’ve clearly established dominance over the Big XII. Let’s move on and crush the Southeastern Conference!

Oh, and if you need another topic to discuss, how about Tate Forcier not being eligible for the Gator Bowl? I know the Michigan fans had a field day with the Tat-Five, especially with Terrelle Pryor. But one thing they can’t say is that he is a bad student. He was named to the 2010 Big Ten Fall Academic All-Conference Team. Let’s not forget that these kids are student athletes. Pryor’s decisions a couple years ago may have been dumb (and they most certainly were) but at least he has been going to class.

Update: Ouch, not a good showing for the first four bowl games from the Big Ten. That wasn’t pretty. I’m not even sure I can bring myself to watch the Rose Bowl. I’ve seen enough ugly beatings already today.

(This is a guest series by MotSaG reader Jason Nafziger. He’ll be taking a weekly look at the college football polls and pointing out the absurd, the laughable and the head scratchers. Please note that Jason is not talking about the BlogPoll. Or my ballot to the BlogPoll.)

Once again, the world of college football fails to implode, and the BCS pats itself on the back for arriving at an obvious conclusion: the only two undefeated AQ teams will play for the title. The feeling that the system “got it right” is not entirely unfounded, but it does require one very large assumption: that all AQ conferences are equal. And, of course, that’s just not true.

It’s not that Oregon and Auburn are undeserving; it’s that there are other teams who are also deserving. Can anyone honestly say that the Big Ten’s three co-champions (each with just a single loss, and two of them with a loss only to one of the others) did not accomplish as much as the champions of the Pac-10 (where only 3 other teams managed more than 6 wins) or the lop-sided SEC (Auburn essentially played in a 6-team conference)?

If schedule strength is the argument against allowing undefeated TCU to play for the title, why does it suddenly become irrelevant when comparing an undefeated team to a one-loss team? Of course, that leads to the unanswerable question of how to measure schedule strength (is the Miami team we played in week 2 the same one that lost to South Florida?) and we’re back to where we started, wondering why TCU isn’t allowed to prove themselves.

It will come as no surprise what I think the answer is. To anyone who thinks that I am a knee-jerk playoff proponent, let me assure you that I have considered this topic from all sides. I used to argue on the side of the BCS (albeit that was before they inexplicably dropped the Quality Wins calculation). But I have come to realize that any system that arbitrarily denies an undefeated team a chance to play for a title is inherently anti-competitive.

The ultimate question for me becomes this: If TCU (or Boise or whoever) truly does not deserve the national title, then there is no way they would win a 16-team playoff, so why not let them try? I can’t answer it.

The Poll Dancing Hypothetical and Totally Awesome Playoff (Final):

First off, let me say that since my playoff is based on the Death To The BCS format, Dan Wetzel’s final bracket deserves a plug here. There is a little difference, since he used the BCS rankings in the place of a theoretical selection committee, while I’ve been using the AP poll. The WAC ended in a three-way tie, and I (like Wetzel) awarded the auto bid to Nevada (it’s arguable, but Hawai’i got destroyed by Boise, and Nevada beat Boise head-to-head while losing close to Hawai’i). Boise still makes it in thanks to the AP poll though, so it’s all good.

(1) Auburn vs. (16) Florida International
(2) Oregon vs. (15) Miami (OH)
(3) TCU vs. (14) UCF
(4) Wisconsin vs. (13) Connecticut
(5) Stanford vs. (12) Nevada
(6) Ohio State vs. (11) Virginia Tech
(7) Michigan St. vs. (10) Boise St.
(8) Arkansas vs. (9) Oklahoma

Whether you prefer mine or Wetzel’s (or whatever an actual selection committee would produce), it’s hard to argue that this isn’t approximately one zillion times more interesting than what we’re getting in January. Even the potential (but hardly guaranteed) second-round rematch of conference-mates Auburn and Arkansas is exciting, considering how their first meeting went.

The Breakdown (full Top 25): 24% SEC, 20% Big 12, 12% WAC, 12% Big Ten, 8% Mt. West, 8% Pac-10, 8% ACC, 4% C-USA, 4% Big East

I broke down the mid-majors by conference this time to make a point. The WAC is tied for third with the Big Ten for ranked teams. Combined, three mid-major conferences have more ranked teams than the combined Pac-10, ACC, and Big East. Yet, the undefeated Pac-10 champ is playing for the title while the undefeated Mt. West champ is not. The WAC did not even get a BCS bowl bid.

(This is a guest series by MotSaG reader Jason Nafziger. He’ll be taking a weekly look at the college football polls and pointing out the absurd, the laughable and the head scratchers. Please note that Jason is not talking about the BlogPoll. Or my ballot to the BlogPoll.)

Well, the BCS lucked out again with Auburn’s rally from a 24-point deficit to win the Iron Bowl by a single point. Now the Tigers will try to beat South Carolina again for the SEC title and, of course, a coveted spot in the BCS championship game. Last time, the Gamecocks held a 6-point lead going into the fourth quarter, where they proceeding to turn the ball over on all four of their drives. South Carolina is on a three-game winning streak that includes road wins over rivals Florida and Clemson.

Oregon got off to a slow start in their Black Friday game as well, trailing Arizona by 5 going into halftime before exploding for five touchdowns in the second half. Next is rival Oregon State, and a loss to the 5-6 Beavers would be a shocker. This one is going to be ugly.

And then Boise State gave the BCS the final gift of the weekend, dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Nevada and eliminating virtually all ill will unless at least one of the top two teams loses (and TCU gets passed over, which would probably happen.) That sound you hear is the evil chortle of a corrupt system getting away with it again.

The Poll Dancing Hypothetical and Totally Awesome Playoff (v. 1.4):

(1) Oregon vs. (16) Florida International
(2) Auburn vs. (15) UCF
(3) TCU vs. (14) Connecticut
(4) Wisconsin vs. (13) Northern Illinois
(5) Stanford vs. (12) Virginia Tech
(6) Ohio State vs. (11) LSU
(7) Michigan St. vs. (10) Oklahoma
(8) Arkansas vs. (9) Boise St.

Lots of movement in our much more intriguing playoff scenario in light of the Boise, LSU, and Alabama losses. The Big Ten moves three teams into the top half, UConn gets in on the party, and FIU is looking at one of the longest road trips imaginable (while NIU has one of the shortest). And, honestly, who doesn’t want to watch that Arky-Boise game?

The Breakdown (full Top 25): 24% SEC, 20% Big 12, 20% mid-major, 12% Big Ten, 12% Pac-10, 8% ACC, 4% Big East

Thanks to Nevada’s win over Boise and Northern Illinois sneaking in at #25 (plus Iowa’s inexplicable loss to Minnesota), these numbers change for what seems like the first time in a month. The Big East finally returns with West Virginia, who is essentially a placeholder for whoever the eventual conference champion is.