Double-edged sword

Potential Fiesta classic comes at price of tradition, interest

History will show that 2002 marked both a high and low point for college football's postseason.

High, because the Fiesta Bowl matchup of three-year juggernaut Miami and suddenly resurgent Ohio State, both of them undefeated, gives the Bowl Championship Series the best national championship matchup of its five-year existence.

Low, because this will be remembered as the year college football's tradition fell under the bus of the almighty dollar once and for all.

As had been widely speculated in the week leading up to Sunday's invitations, the Rose Bowl must go a second straight year without the traditional Big Ten-Pac-10 matchup, with the Orange Bowl grabbing Big Ten co-champ Iowa. Adding insult to injury for traditionalists, the Orange also snapped up the Pac-10's USC and will stage a matchup seemingly fit for Pasadena.

"It's interesting," said Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz. "You have the co-champions of the Big Ten and Pac-10 meeting, just on the wrong coast."

After being stuck with such recent stinkers as Florida-Syracuse (1999) and Florida-Maryland (2002), you can hardly fault the Orange Bowl for jumping at the opportunity to host two top-five teams. It merely abided by the rules of the system, grabbing Iowa over the Rose Bowl because it lost the higher-ranked team (Miami over Ohio State) and stealing USC from the Sugar Bowl because of its higher payout.

In the process, the Sugar gets stuck with four-loss Florida State to go against 12-1 SEC champ Georgia. And while Washington State coach Mike Price called his team's Rose Bowl date with Oklahoma "awesome," it likely will be met with a yawn by the locals.

But while the Rose Bowl festers and wonders why it ever got into this mess, the rest of college football need look at only one reason: Miami-Ohio State.

"Were sitting here talking about all these negatives, but let me remind you that eight years ago, you could not have brought together Ohio State and Miami," said Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who serves as BCS coordinator this year and next. "Ohio State would have been in the Rose Bowl, Miami in the Orange Bowl, and everyone would have been clamoring for it, saying, 'Look at the stupidity of this system.'

"We're not perfect, but we're doing what we started out to do."

He's right. Fact is, in the entire history of the sport, few games have ever been staged of such magnitude.

For one, this is only the second time in five years the BCS' "true" national championship game has matched two undisputed, undefeated teams (the other: Florida State-Virginia Tech in 2000). And it's only the eighth time two top-ranked, undefeated teams have met in a bowl game.

Add in the significance of Miami's historic 34-game winning streak, its attempt to become only the third repeat champ of the past 25 years and the showdown of superstar running backs Willis McGahee and Maurice Clarett, and the game is everything a college football fan could ever want.

That is unless they're among the many who don't give the Buckeyes a flying chance.

"I don't know how people are going to portray it," said Miami head coach Larry Coker, "but you don't win 13 games in a row without doing some awfully good things with some awfully good payers. We don't have the big 'S' on our chest by any stretch of the imagination."

In summary, it looks on paper as if this year's BCS could provide two all-time classics, one awkward but intriguing Rose Bowl and one stinker of a Sugar Bowl.

As for the 24 other games -- or, as they're known in the BCS era, consolation prizes ...

Best matchup: Marshall-Louisville, GMAC Bowl

There just aren't a lot of sizzlers out there, folks. At least this one should be an entertaining shootout -- much like last year, when Marshall beat East Carolina 64-61 in double overtime -- featuring two of next year's NFL quarterbacks in Byron Leftwich and Dave Ragone. Runner-up: N.C. State-Notre Dame, Gator Bowl.

Most lopsided matchup: Kansas State-Arizona State, Holiday Bowl

Too bad, because the Holiday is usually one of the season's more entertaining. Instead, it gets one of the hottest teams in the country, K-State, which is way too physical for a Sun Devils offense living off one three-game hot streak in October. Runner-up: Hawaii-Tulane, Hawaii Bowl.

All glitz, no substance: Florida-Michigan, Outback Bowl

They've got to be partying on the streets in Tampa. How often are both these teams available to the Outback folks in the same season? To them we say, enjoy watching two teams loaded with talent who managed to go an entire season without finding their offense. Runner-up: Maryland-Tennessee, Peach Bowl.

Couldn't be happier to be here: Auburn-Penn State, Citrus Bowl

A month ago, Auburn fans were ready to fire Tommy Tuberville. Now, they're playing in arguably the best non-BCS bowl game, while their arch rival is sitting at home at 10-3, looking for a coach. Meanwhile, Penn State fans would have flocked anywhere after two winters on the couch. Runner-up: Oklahoma State-Southern Miss, Houston Bowl.

Who wants to be here less? Arkansas-Minnesota, Music City Bowl

Congrats on winning the SEC West, Razorbacks. Too bad you got your butts kicked so bad by Georgia. Hope you like country music, and better luck against a Big Ten team that hasn't won a game since Oct. 19. Runner-up: Nebraska-Ole Miss, Independence Bowl.

Eighteen days of bowl madness kick off a week from Tuesday, with North Texas and Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl. Along the way -- probably starting with that game -- there undoubtedly will be times you're so bored you'd wish they just scrapped the whole darn thing already.

And yet it will all be worth it come Jan. 3.

Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com.

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