Why Notre Dame doesn't deserve a BCS Bowl slot

Most of the press went to the battle for the second spot in the Bowl Championship Series national title game in the Orange Bowl, with Florida State getting it in a controversial battle over Miami. Just as interesting was the scramble for the two at-large spots in the Bowl Championship Series. Here's who was into the 4 games automatically:
Big Ten champion (Purdue) vs. PAC 10 champion (Washington)
Those two will play in the Rose Bowl.
Also in: ACC Champion (Florida State), Big East Champion (Miami), Big 12 Champion (Oklahoma) and SEC Champion (Florida)
That left two at-large berths available. National writers have essentially handed one of them to Notre Dame. Was that fair? Let's look at the pros and cons.

Pros: Irish have wins over Texas A&M and Purdue, and performed admirably in losing to Nebraska, who was #1 at the time. Technically, they qualify, with only 2 losses.

Cons: Lost to 5-6 Michigan State, a team that only managed 2 wins in the Big Ten. Struggled to beat unranked Air Force and Stanford at home. No impressive wins since September 16th. Also, they were practically handed the Purdue game. Other than the gold helmets, the Irish have no marquee players.

But are there really two teams that deserved an at-large berth more than the Irish? We're glad you asked.

1. Nebraska
Let's start with the obvious. Nebraska is ranked ahead of Notre Dame in both polls, the BCS standings, and 7 of 8 computer rankings. Their only two losses have come on the road to top 10 teams, including #1 Oklahoma. Their schedule is rated as tougher than the Irish. Most importantly, they beat Notre Dame in South Bend. A no-brainer. So the Huskers are in, right? Yup, in the Alamo Bowl.

2. Oregon State
The Beavers certainly get much less hype than the Irish, and they needed an ultimatum from the PAC 10 commissioner to keep from getting punished for it. OSU is 10-1, with their only loss coming by only 3 points at #4 Washington (a distinction it shares with Miami.) The Hurricanes are miffed about missing the championship game, while the Beavers nearly got left out of the BCS party altogether. By the way, Oregon State is ranked ahead of Notre Dame in both polls, the BCS standings, and 7 of 8 computer rankings. The Beavers own a win over Oregon, who was #6 at the time (#10 now.) Notre Dame can't match that. They also don't have a player as exciting as Ken Simonton.

3. Kansas State
We don't really need to list the Wildcats, because they needed to win their way in, knocking the Irish out. (Unless a grave injustice is done and Notre Dame gets a bid over Nebraska or a one-loss Oklahoma team.) If K-State loses the Big 12 title game, their 3 losses will eliminate them from consideration. Still, we should mention that the Wildcats are yet another team ranked ahead of Notre Dame in both polls, the BCS standings, and 7 of 8 computer rankings (what the hell is the New York Times computer thinking? It has Oklahoma #3.) And despite their AWFUL out-of-conference scheduling practices, the Wildcats can still claim a win over Nebraska, which the Irish obviously can't downplay.

4. Virginia Tech
Ranked ahead of the Irish in both polls, the BCS standings, and all 8 computer rankings (Thank you, NYT.) Their strength of schedule is higher than ND's. The Hokies have only one loss, at #2 Miami, when Michael Vick was hurt. They travel well, and Vick is more exciting than anything the Irish can offer. This one's really a no-brainer, too. The team that gave us a thrilling title game last year only loses one game and gets back to the BCS, right? Not unless the Gator Bowl is part of the BCS.

5. Oregon
The Ducks are a BCS long shot. But should they be? They're closer to Notre Dame than you might think. The two major polls are split with each team ranked #10 in one poll and #11 in the other. Both teams have close road losses to disappointing Big Ten teams. The Ducks' other loss came on the road at #5 Oregon State. Is the home Nebraska loss more admirable? Who knows, they're both losses either way. Oregon wins in 6 of 8 computer rankings, but Notre Dame gets a slight edge in schedule strength. Oregon gets the nod for two reasons: 1. They beat Washington, the consensus #4. The Irish have no wins of that caliber. 2. They managed to go 9-2 despite not having a built-in recruiting advantage and their own national TV deal. Despite all of the above, Notre Dame goes to the Fiesta Bowl while Oregon falls all the way to the Holiday Bowl, played December 29th.

6. Georgia Tech
OK, bear with us on this one. The Yellow Jackets aren't going to crack any polls because they came into the year with much lower expectations and a much lower profile than Notre Dame. But if results on the field are supposed to determine season-ending rewards, Tech deserves a BCS bowl berth ahead of Notre Dame. Notre Dame has been leaning on a loss to Nebraska to prove its worth all year. Well, one of Tech's 2 only losses was by a mere 5 points to mighty Florida State. The other loss was on the road against NC State, which is just as tough a game as Michigan State this year. Georgia Tech also won on the road against Clemson, a team that was 8-0 and ranked in the top 5 at the time. Georgia Tech won on the road at another ranked team, Georgia, to close the season with 7 straight wins. Notre Dame's best road win was at unranked West Virginia. But Georgia Tech is not a national media darling, so instead of a BCS Bowl, they relegated to the Peach Bowl December 29th.