Mixed Emotions at Texas Christian, Boise State, and Cincinnati

Death, taxes, and anti-BCS rhetoric: Those are the things we've come to expect in life. And so, after college football bowl announcements came out Sunday, the public outcry against the Bowl Championship Series system that decides the national championship reached its usual rancor.

Three undefeated teams—Texas Christian University, Boise State University, and the University of Cincinnati—will not have a shot at the national title. That's not to take away from two deserving undefeated schools—the University of Texas and the University of Alabama—that will play in the national championship, but reactions to the bowl announcements at the three schools that missed out were mixed.

"It's a shame that you can't settle [the title] on the field," TCU Athletic Director Chris Del Conte tells the New York Times. "We settled our portion on the field."

Big East Associate Commissioner for Football Nick Carparelli Jr. tells the Times something similar: "I certainly think you could make a case that Cincinnati should be playing Alabama for the national championship. The way that the system works, Alabama and Texas were at the top of the polls from Day 1. The patterns in which voters vote make it virtually impossible to get ahead of either of those two teams in the polls."

Cincinnati, which won the Big East's bid to a BCS bowl on Saturday, did not start the season in the Associated Press Top 25. Boise State was No. 14 in the AP preseason poll, and TCU was 17. Breaking past Texas and Alabama, which were Nos. 2 and 5, respectively, to start the season, was basically impossible.

Despite the complaints, the show must go on. On January 7, top-ranked Alabama and No. 2 Texas will kick off in Pasadena, Calif. And the debate surrounding college football's system to decide its champion will continue for another year.

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