To help correct this unsatisfactory situation, the Bowl Alliance was formed. Today, the Bowl Alliance consists of three bowls: the Orange Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl. These bowls are able to pick from the five conference champions, plus one at-large team, that are eligible, and each year one of the bowls must pit the top two teams eligible for the alliance against each other. This year it is the Fiesta Bowl.
The only trick to this system is that not all teams are eligible, due to conference contracts with other bowls. Here are the teams that are eligible for the alliance: champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Eight, SEC, and SWC conferences, plus Notre Dame if it is ranked in the top ten at the end of the season. If the Irish are not in the top ten, then the sixth alliance squad taken is the highest-ranked remaining team, excluding the Big Ten and Pac Ten champions due to prior commitment to the Rose Bowl.
As you can see, the chances that the number one and two teams in the nation will play head-to-head for the championship is improved greatly. This year, it appears that it will work perfectly, with top-ranked, undefeated Nebraska taking on number two, and also undefeated, Florida.
Unfortunately, this happening is still rare with the current alliance system. The Big Ten and Pac Ten conferences are perennially two of the strongest football conferences, and the Big Ten is arguably the best conference in the nation. The omission of these two conference champions from the alliance greatly decreases the chance of crowning a true national champion.
It is time for the Rose Bowl to join the Bowl Alliance. If Ohio State had not faltered here in Ann Arbor over Thanksgiving weekend, it probably would have retained its number two ranking and undefeated season. However, it would not have had the option to play Nebraska for the national title. Instead, it would have met a disappointing Southern Cal team that went 8-2-1 this season, and the Buckeyes would have had no chance of winning the championship unless Nebraska lost in the Fiesta Bowl.
Sound familiar? It should, for the exact same scenario happened to Penn State last year. After finishing an undefeated season and earning a number two ranking, the Nittany Lions were doomed to play the Pac 10 champion in the Rose Bowl instead of top ranked Nebraska. Both teams won, and Nebraska was given the championship.
The Rose Bowl would not be the first bowl to break strict conference ties to join the alliance. The Sugar Bowl previously hosted the SEC conference champion against an at-large team, and the Orange Bowl used to pit the Big Eight conference champion against an at-large opponent as well. This year, number one Nebraska and number two Florida will face each other in the Fiesta Bowl. This would have been an impossibility if the Sugar and Orange bowls had not joined the alliance. Nebraska would have been bound to play in the Orange Bowl, and Florida, the Sugar Bowl.
The Rose Bowl must follow the example of the Sugar and Orange Bowls and expand the alliance field to four bowl games and eight alliance teams from which to choose. This would reduce the chance that the number one and two teams in the nation would not meet each other on New Year's to almost nil, because there are no other major competitive conferences or strong independent teams left. Money is not a factor in this decision. Though the Rose Bowl hauls in an immense amount of money, the alliance bowls are expected to equal that profit. The only compelling reason for the Rose Bowl not to join the Bowl Alliance is tradition. The Big Ten and Pac Ten conferences have sent their champions to "the granddaddy of them all" for many, many years, but the greater good of college football must outweigh this quaint, outdated tradition. Without the Rose Bowl, the Bowl Alliance has no guarantee of crowning a true national champion, and that is what everyone associated with college football would like to see.