As in years past, the Pac-10 will once again get the shaft in the BCS this season.
Ohio State and Notre Dame will most likely face off here in Tempe. Fiesta Bowl officials would be nuts not to choose them, as the game promises to potentially get the best television ratings outside the national championship game and bring in a boat load of money.
But the odd team out will once again be Oregon.
The Ducks went 10-1, only losing to USC. They deserve a spot, but won't get it, because Notre Dame and Ohio State sell.
The Ducks will most likely head to the Holiday Bowl to face a middle tier Big 12 team like Oklahoma. At 9-2, UCLA will face a so-so Big 10 team like Minnesota in the Sun Bowl.
Once more, the conference of champions will miss out on a lot of money.
Last season, Texas leapfrogged California in the final poll of the season, taking the Bears place in the Rose Bowl.
In 2002, Oregon, which should have played for the national championship against Miami, instead had to watch the Hurricanes demolish the Cornhuskers after the Ducks destroyed Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl.
It's bad enough missing the traditional Pac-10, Big 10 matchup in the Rose Bowl.
Now we have to see deserving Pac-10 teams completely miss out on the BCS.
Reach the reporter at jeremy.cluff@asu.edu.
