December 6, 2001 HUSKER SEASON COULD RAIN DOWN LIKE A TON OF FIX. Pollsters could have last laugh in "Nebraska in the championship" controversy. By Jim D. Berryman Content Editor This is getting weird. Don’t like the BCS or its results? Just fix them. Fix them so Nebraska can’t make it to Pasadena, no matter if Tennessee wins or loses against LSU on Saturday. The suggestion was made by ESPN.com analyst Kirk Herbstreit. He suggested poll voters reward Colorado coach Gary Barnett with a trip to Pasadena because he had such a great end to his season. Well excuse me while I go get a tissue. Give us a break Herbstreit! If Miami was in Nebraska’s situation, somehow I think you wouldn’t be so quick to seal the Hurricanes’ fate as you would the Huskers’. Of course, Nebraska has an outside chance at the national championship game against Miami. Just depends on whether Tennessee wins or loses against LSU on Saturday. Many pundits and college football fans across the country don’t think Nebraska deserves to go to the Rose Bowl because of the big loss to Colorado in the Big 12 Championship. In a Lincoln Journal-Star story by AP reporters Steven M. Stiple and Brian Rosenthal, 10 of 72 AP pollsters were interviewed about the Nebraska Rose Bowl situation. If Tennessee loses, do the Huskers deserve a trip to the big dance? In the story, most supported the Huskers and said that even though the Colorado game was a big loss for NU, it was one loss, after all it still is Nebraska. Line ‘em up and play again, and the result would not be the same. Yes, Colorado ripped the Huskers fair and square, but a rematch would have a much different outcome. One reporter from Tennessee was quoted in the article as saying he is not jumping on the Colorado bandwagon, because in his eyes Oregon would deserve to go to Pasadena ahead of the Buffs. So college football is stirring up more controversy than the NFL. I think if the poll voters decide to reward Colorado with a higher rating than Nebraska, that’s their prerogative, as long as they supported Colorado throughout the season. But to simply jump on the Buffalo bandwagon because of two great victories, is unfair to the rest of the teams in college football. What about other teams’ streaks of impressive games during the early season, or mid-season? Those games at times seem all but forgotten. If Nebraska would have lost to Colorado 62-36 to open the season, then go on to win the rest of their games in the same fashion they did this year, the Huskers would be playing in Rose Bowl. So get off Nebraska! What are we supposed to do…decline a trip to Pasadena? “Uh, no, sorry, we’re not going to the Rose Bowl, we think Colorado deserves to go.” That’ll happen when pigs fly. If the Huskers should happen to make it to the Rose Bowl, sure the situation would have been a million times sweeter if it had been awarded to the Huskers after an impressive win over Colorado rather than loss. But if you’re going to have certain rules about a computer ranking system, and you agreed to follow by what the results were, then in the words of Walter Cronkite, "That’s the way it is…." Full Story from AP and Lincoln Journal-Star What do you think about the BCS? Post your feedback