Two sides: If Ohio State and Penn St. were Bowl eligible.

Arky wouldn't be bragging about their hire so much, that's for sure

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You mean he had one average season after two straight Rose Bowls?

shite he must suck! We're fricked!

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And how many of those Rose Bowls did he win?

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The big question then becomes, would the Buckeyes have played for the BCS title? I believe so, even with their weak nonconference schedule and the howling from the SEC

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Nope...not with the Big 10 this year. Lets not forget how looked down upon they have been just b/c we can now play the "what if" with one of their teams. SEC would have had the votes...it's the world we live - SEC champ plays for the title unless an undefeated from a major conference that isn't ridiculed every week. Big 10 just wasn't up to snuff this year and the pollsters knew it. Which is why the AP never put them in the Top 2 - they're under no BCS obligation to honor the bowl ban.

I can't see an Alabama one loss team, which came at home, getting over an undefeated Ohio State, even considering the shitty B1G.

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To the best Freshman ever.

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Wouldn't matter.

Anyone that thinks Alabama would get in over Ohio State is stupid. There is no question Alabama is a better squad than the Buckeyes, but they wouldn't get in. 12-0 ND vs. 12-0 Ohio State is a wet dream for the BCS officials.

Ohio State and Notre Dame would have been the worst #1 and #2 teams in the end of the year polls since Georgia Tech and Colorado in 1990. Those undefeated mid-majors a few years back like Boise State and Utah and TCU were all better teams than this year's Ohio State team. Thank goodness we aren't seeing that matchup in the national championship game.

I do too, Peej

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BUT I think ND has a shot at beating Bama.

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Of course they do. They have the same shot as Louisville has to beat Florida and Northern Illinois has of beating Florida State.

Alabama has a 120 point lead over Ohio State in the AP poll. One win over Nebraska wouldn't change that, and it's more reasonable to assume the Coaches' and Harris Polls would match those results than it is to assume that Ohio State would make up the gap. Ohio State would certainly be behind Alabama in the computer rankings as well, so Alabama only really needs one of the two polls to stay at #2.

Also, because Ohio State would be ranked higher than Northern Illinois in the BCS, this pushes Northern Illinois to #17 and shuts them out of the Orange Bowl. (Thank goodness.)

BCS picture:

BCS National Championship Game: #1 Notre Dame vs #2 Alabama
Rose Bowl: #3 Ohio State vs #7 Stanford
Fiesta Bowl: #6 Kansas State vs #5 Oregon
Sugar Bowl: #4 Florida vs #12 Oklahoma
Orange Bowl: #13 Florida State vs #22 Louisville

As for Penn State, at 8-4, with their story, and their 8-2 run (with close losses to Ohio State and Nebraska), I think they probably get picked up in the Outback Bowl over Michigan. The rest of the Big Ten bowl bids slide down accordingly.

EDIT: Correction - Northern Illinois would not be guaranteed to be shut out of the BCS. Since they're at #15, they slide to #16 with the inclusion of Ohio State. If the Big Ten Championship game is close, say a 3-pt loss for Nebraska, then Nebraska should stay in the top-16, shutting Northern Illinois out. If it's not close, then NIU stays at #16 and the only thing that changes about this season's BCS bowl games is that Ohio State, not Wisconsin, is in the Rose Bowl. A step up, certainly, but not a big one, unfortunately.

Also, Wisconsin would be picked ahead of Northwestern, I think. Forgot to re-include them in the bowl pecking order.

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Alabama has a 120 point lead over Ohio State in the AP poll

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The point you are ignoring and other people are making is that Ohio State wouldn't be behind Alabama in the polls if they weren't on probation. It's been pointed out (correctly in my opinion) that pollsters have rated Ohio State lower than they would have if they weren't on probation this year.