Every year college football’s stupid BCS system screws over at least ten teams when bowl invitations are handed out, and 2011 is no exception. But can you actually quantify exactly how much any given team got screwed?

Well, yes…sort of. You see, all bowl games have a set amount of money they pay to the programs that play in the game. The lowliest of the low—like the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, or the GoDaddy.com Bowl—pay teams less than a million bucks for playing. Meanwhile, the cream of the crop—the BCS bowls—pay teams a whopping $18 million for playing. Thus, you can measure just how screwed your team got at bowl selection time by looking at the difference between the money they’ll actually get versus the money they probably should have gotten based on their ranking.

Today we present you a list of 12 college football teams that got screwed over by the bowl system, using the financial losses a program incurs as a guideline. If you’re a fan of the game, you should check this out, because it’s pretty eye opening.

[Before we get started, a hat tip to the “sports nerds” at teamrankings.com for their number crunching.]

12. Missouri Tigers

On the one hand, I have a real hard time saying an unranked team that went 7-5 got “screwed over” with their bowl invitation. You know what they would have gotten in the olden days? Jack squat. But this is 2011, and there are 35. Did you catch that? THIRTY-FIVE BOWL GAMES. With this kind of system, an unranked 7-5 team can get screwed.

And Mizzou did, even if only slightly. Even with their mediocre record they are a top 30 team, which ought to have gotten them a bowl game worth at least a $2 million payout. Instead they get one (the Independence Bowl) worth only $1.1 million. Don’t bust out your calculators—that’s $900,000 the Tigers are missing out on this year.

A quick comparison: Notre Dame also finished out of the top 25, but was probably 26 or 27. But they get a bowl game worth $2.125 million…because they’re Notre Dame.

11. Penn State Nittany Lions

Despite all the drama over at PSU, they finished the season 9-3 at no. 22 in the BCS rankings. If they handed out bowl invitations so that the games that pay the most go to teams in accordance with the rankings, then Penn State should have been entitled to a spot in the Alamo Bowl, which is worth $2.25 million. Instead, that game will be contended by teams ranked 35 and 12 in the nation—no, really, #12 versus #35!—while Penn State gets the TicketCity Bowl worth $1.2 million. So they miss out on $1.05 million. Though, if any program deserved to take a financial hit this year, it’s probably PSU. In fact, I’m sure their bowl assignment was probably punishment.

10. Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns had an off year, going 7-5, but they managed to finish at #24 in the BCS. Going by rankings along, that ought to have gotten them Champs Sports Bowl with a payout of $2.125 million. But that went to lower-ranked Notre Dame and Florida State, while Texas got the Holiday Bowl for a measly $1 million and a hit of $1.125 million. As with Missouri, you can’t feel too bad for a team that finished 7-5. Still, fair is fair.

9. Houston Cougars

Sure, Houston plays in a weak conference. They still went 12-1 and finished #20, #17, and #19 in the AP, USA Today, and BCS Polls respectively. So it seems that the consensus was that they really earned a decent bowl invitation. Their BCS ranking suggests the Gator Bowl, with it’s payout of $2.5 million. But no, that went to down-and-out Florida and Ohio State. The Cougars instead get to join Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl, losing out on $1.3 million. (And it’s the non-powerhouse programs like Houston that could really use that extra money to remain competitive.)

8. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

Southern Miss finished 11-2 and handed Houston its only loss. Despite losses to weak teams, they still finished at #24, which was deserving of a bowl game worth $2.25 million (the Alamo Bowl). Instead, they get a bowl that pays only $750,000, which is almost insulting. On top of that, it’s the Hawaii Bowl—which is awesome for the players but bad news for the Southern Miss Athletic Director, since he’ll have to pay a hell of a lot more to get his team there than if they were playing in Texas like they deserve.

7. TCU Horned Frogs

TCU finished at #18, which in a perfect world would have gotten them the Chick-fil-A Bowl worth a cool $3.35 million. Instead they’ll be facing #36 in the Poinsettia Bowl for $750,000. But I’m sure they really didn’t need that extra $2.6 million, right? I mean, an historic program like TCU is just rolling in dough.

6. Oklahoma Sooners

I know, feeling sorry for the Sooners is like feel in sorry for the Steelers. Boo freaking hoo. Still, they finished with a record of 9-3 and ranked #14 in the (admittedly over-generous) BCS poll. So even if they didn’t really deserve a $4.25 million trip to the Capitol One Bowl, they definitely deserved more than a $1.2 million trip to the Insight Bowl. Luckily they’ve been getting that ridiculous BCS Bowl cash for years and years, so a little $3.05 million hit this year won’t set them back too far.

5. Baylor Bears

You’d like to see the #12 team and it’s Heisman Trophy quarterback, Robert Griffin, playing in a big bowl game against a good team, wouldn’t you? Well, tough luck. Baylor gets #35 Washington in the Alamo Bowl. They also miss out on $4.5 million they could have had if they gave out bowl invitations based on rankings.

4. Kansas State Wildcats

Alright, now we’ve arrived at the teams that got royally screwed.

There are 10 spots available in the 5 BCS bowls. So those should go to the top 10 teams in the BCS rankings, right? Well, you already know that isn’t the case. Because the Rose Bowl insists on preserving their tradition of always having a game between the Pac 12 and Big 10, and because there is a stupid rule that no one conference can have more than two teams go to BCS bowls, every year great teams get shafted and miss out on tens of millions of dollars. This year, 4 of the top 10 BCS teams aren’t going to a BCS bowl game.

First up we have K-State, which finished at #8. They do get to go to the most prestigious non-BCS bowl (the Cotton Bowl), which pays $6.75 million. But the BCS bowls pay $18 million, so they can still argue that they were screwed to the tune of $11.25 million.

That would pay for a few scholarships, wouldn’t it?

3. South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina finished the year ranked #9 in the BCS standings. They can probably tolerate seeing #11 VA Tech playing #13 Michigan in the Sugar Bowl. After all, rankings are never going to be an exact science. But it’s got to drive them absolutely insane to see #15 Clemson play #23 West Virginia in the Orange Bowl while they’ll be earning $4.25 million in the Capitol One Bowl.

The Gamecocks lose $13.75 million (based on their ranking), while West Virginia gets $15.875 million more than they really deserved? It’s madness.

2. Arkansas Razorbacks

The 6th ranked Razorbacks coached by Bobby Petrino will be meeting the K-State Wildcats in the Cotton Bowl. That means they will also be missing out on $6.75 million. However, because they are ranked two spots higher than K-State, they get ranked two spots higher on this list.

1. Boise State Broncos

Sure, the Broncos are perennially a top 10 BCS team, but they’re not from a powerful conference. So screw them, right? Well, that’s the NCAA’s thinking, anyway.

This year, the Broncos once again went 11-1 and finished ranked #7. But apparently they have to go undefeated if they even want a shot at a BCS bowl and a top 4 finish. This year, instead of collecting $18 million, they get to play Arizona State (who would rank somewhere around #50 if the rankings went that high) in the Maaco Bowl for—ooh, wow—a million bucks.

$1 million is almost the same as $18 million, right?

We aren’t exactly sure if Erin Andrews is looking to get “punished”, but if that were the case there would undoubtedly be many males that are more than willing to fulfill her needs.  However, it appears as though Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallet is at the front of that line.

But first Mallet will be looking to punish top-ranked Alabama and their strong defensive secondary this Saturday.  If he can do that, he just might be able to add Erin Andrews’ name to his “punished list” as well.

Hat Tip – [Barstool Sports]

LSU didn’t just win the game, they punished the Razorbacks in the form of the hardest hit I have seen in a long time.  As Arkansas was marching down the field late in the 4th, down 4, Ryan Mallett threw a great pass to Joe Adams.  The only problem is the pass led Adams directly into Chad Jones.  Jones led with his helmet and earned a penalty for it, but it saved a touchdown and created the best video clip of a college football hit all season.  If I was Adams, I would rather get pantsed than take a hit like that.

Although Adams would go on to catch a touchdown on 4th down a few plays later, the hit made the crowd go crazy and fired up the LSU players.  In overtime, LSU scored a quick field goal.  On Arkansas’s possession, they were unable to create anything on offense and had to settle for a 36-yard field goal.  They missed it.

Regardless of the outcome of the game, this is one of the best hits you will see.  It was what is known as a “Triple KO“, since the ball and both players were knocked out.  It may not have been completely clean because Jones led with his helmet, but it saved the touchdown.  Had he not put the hit on like he did, Adams may have hung onto the ball and scored.

During this College World Series game, a camera mix up led to several seconds of on air ass.  That beautiful bottom on your screen belonged to none other than Playboy’s 2009 Sexiest Sportscaster, Erin Andrews.  Unfortunately there was no Rey Maualuga present to grind with her.

Erin will be covering the big college event for the coming weeks, and will likely be taking down a few ballpark meals while she is there.  What better way to get a bunch of horny college boys going that to have this bombshell present.  At least those who are not there to see her live can still get themselves a good view.

Speaking of good views, here is the Erin Andrews Butt Cam.

Hat Tip – [Fan House]

As Mike is giving his report on the College World Series, some young fans (we assume they are students) begin to get in some face time.  They look like a bunch of stunned boys who have never seen a camera before.  Then, as more continue to gather, they wait for the right moment and ambush the camera shot.  Irwin receives several bumps before deciding to do some tossing of his own.

Mike seems a little wound up after the incident, even attempting to give one final mic to the head to a student who yell at the camera.  Maybe this is payback to reporters after Pat Tomasulo’s made a child cry.  That’s live TV for you.  You just can’t edit that kind of stuff out.  At least he was careful with his language.  Roger Millions can’t say the same.

Hat Tip Video – [Deadspin]

Top 25 College Football Matchups

The Florida Gators and the Arkansas Razorbacks will both be gunning for a victory on Saturday when they meet at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Oddsmakers currently have the Gators listed as 25-point favorites versus the Razorbacks, while the game’s total has not yet been posted.

Tim Tebow was 24-of-38 passing for 319 yards and a touchdown but it was not enough as Florida lost 31-30 to Mississippi in Week 5.

The Gators failed to cover the 21.5-point spread, while the final score played OVER the day’s posted total of 48.5.

Antwain Robinson’s 80 yard fumble return for a touchdown was the only bright spot as Arkansas lost 52-10 to Texas in Week 5.

The Razorbacks did not cover the 27.5-point spread, while the combined score played OVER the day’s posted total of 60.5.

Current streak:
Arkansas has lost 2 straight games.

Team records:
Florida: 3-1 SU, 2-2 ATS
Arkansas: 2-2 SU, 0-3 ATS

Florida most recently:
When playing in October are 5-5
When playing on grass are 7-3
After outgaining opponent are 8-2
When playing within the conference are 6-4

Arkansas most recently:
When playing in October are 7-3
When playing on grass are 5-5
After being outgained are 5-5
When playing within the conference are 4-6

A few trends to consider:
Florida is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Arkansas
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Arkansas
Florida is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Florida is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Arkansas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Arkansas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Florida
Arkansas is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Florida

Next up:
Florida home to LSU, Saturday, October 11
Arkansas at Auburn, Saturday, October 11

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