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It appears that no one on FR understands how the BCS rankings are used to determine BSC bids. Six of the eight BCS spots go to winners of conferences (ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10). The other 2 are chosen by the BSC committee. But they do not have to choose the highest-ranked unchosen teams; and they cannot choose teams unless they rank high enough in the BCS rankings (for example, as of last week, BYU was ineligible for BCS, even though it was undefeated.)

About the BCS

Starting in 1998, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has determined the Division I-A National Champion in football. A year ago, Oklahoma captured the 2000 national title defeating Florida State 13-2 in the FedEx Orange Bowl. In the BCS' first season in 1998, Tennessee defeated Florida State, 23-16, in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl to claim the national title. A year later, it was Florida State's turn as the Seminoles topped Virginia Tech 46-29 in the Nokia Sugar Bowl for their second national title in seven years.

The BCS, which runs through the 2005 regular season and 2006 bowl season, consists of the Rose Bowl presented by AT&T, Nokia Sugar Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Conferences with automatic berths include the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and the Southeastern Conferences.

The BCS also notes the importance of regional consideration regarding team selection. Specifically, as participating members of the BCS, the four BCS Bowls will host the following conference champions in the years the national championship game is not played at their site. Regional consideration tie-ins include the ACC or Big East champion in the FedEx Orange Bowl, the SEC champion in the Nokia Sugar Bowl, the Big Ten and the Pac-10 champion in the Rose Bowl presented by AT&T and the Big 12 champion in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Should a BCS Bowl's regional tie-in champion be ranked number one or two in the final BCS standings, when such bowl is not hosting the national championship game, the number one or two-ranked team shall move to the national championship game and the Bowl shall select a replacement team from the BCS pool of eligible teams. The pool will consist of any Division I-A team that is ranked among the Top 12 in the final BCS standings or has achieved nine wins during the regular season excluding NCAA-exempted contests.

In 2001, the four BCS Bowls combined to reach a record television audience of 127 million viewers. The average attendance for the games was 77,765. Overall attendance for all bowl games increased 7.6 percent to 1,291,557.

Through a conference revenue sharing plan, the BCS group will distribute over $40 million to non-participating BCS institutions during its 8-year history. Those monies go to Division I-A and I-AA conferences in support of the game of college football. Additionally, the BCS distributes $100,000 per year to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame for calculating and administering the BCS Standings.

This coming season, BCS participants will receive between $11.78-14.67 million depending on the conference affiliation of the at-large participants. Should the at-large participants come from outside the original BCS conferences -- ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 or SEC -- those participants will receive $11.78 million. If one or both at-large selections come from within the original BCS group, the first conference participant shall receive $11.78 million and the second participant from that same conference shall receive $6 million. The remaining dollars (the difference between $11.78 million and $6 million) will be split among the originating BCS conferences that have just one participant.

BCS TITLE GAME RESULTS
1998 Season
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Tennessee d. Florida State 23-16
1999 Season
Nokia Sugar Bowl: Florida State d. Virginia Tech 46-29
2000 Season
FedEx Orange Bowl: Oklahoma d. Florida State 13-2

BCS FUTURE SCHEDULE
2001 Season
January 1, 2002 (5 p.m. ET) -- Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
January 1, 2002 (8:30 p.m. ET) -- Nokia Sugar Bowl
January 2, 2002 (8 p.m. ET) -- FedEx Orange Bowl
January 3, 2002 (8 p.m. ET) -- Rose Bowl presented by AT&T (Title Game)

2002 Season: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Title Game)
2003 Season: Nokia Sugar Bowl (Title Game)
2004 Season: FedEx Orange Bowl (Title Game)
2005 Season: Rose Bowl presented by AT&T (Title Game)

Six of the eight BCS spots go to winners of conferences (ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10).

And that is why the Maryland Terps will be in one of the bowls.