It's Bowl Season!

Oklahoma and Florida will play for college football's national championship

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The University of Alabama's football team made things very interesting on Saturday night.

Going into its game against the University of Florida Gators, the Crimson Tide was undefeated at 12-0. The team was ranked number one in the country and had a clear sight of the national championship game.

But then a funny thing happened. The Tide lost. The Gators defeated Alabama 31-20, won the SEC Championship, and stole Alabama's spot in the National Championship Game in Miami.

Officials from the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) made it official on Sunday night when they announced the final rankings of the season and what teams would be playing in the five major bowl games.

Big 12 Champions University of Oklahoma (12-1) was ranked first in the country and Florida (12-1) second. They will meet at Dolphin Stadium on January 8 to play for college football's national championship.

"I really believed we'd get the nod and have a chance based on the last two years and the win over Alabama," Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said. "I felt pretty comfortable."

Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, wasn't as sure, though.

"Zero sleep," Meyer said. "And when I say zero—zero. A lot of doubt. It's an imperfect system, but a system that is functional right now. You just never know."

The imperfect system he mentioned is the BCS. There isn't a playoff system in college football. Instead, there is a complicated computer model that ranks teams in the Bowl Championship Series Standings.

The BCS model averages points from the Harris Interactive Poll, the USA Today Coaches Poll, and six computer polls. These polls rank teams based on how difficult a team's schedule is, how a team wins, and how a team loses. The result is a ranking system that places an undefeated team like Boise State (12-0) below a team that just lost, like Alabama (12-1).

It's a confusing system. Some people feel it's unfair. And not just fans—coaches and players can feel slighted by the BCS too.

The University of Texas (11-1) finished in a three-way tie in the Big 12 South division with Oklahoma and Texas Tech. The divisional tiebreaker is where a team is ranked. So third-ranked Texas was shut out of the national championship since Oklahoma was ranked number one. Texas protested the decision.

"They went to a system we all agreed upon before the season," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "If someone didn't like it, they should have decided to change it before the season, and I'd have played by whatever rules they wanted to play by."

The BCS system isn't likely to change anytime soon. The BCS bowls—Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and National Championship Game—are some of the biggest sporting events of the year. They generate a lot of money for schools and attract millions of TV viewers. Here's a rundown of the BCS bowls, what teams are competing, and when you can watch them:

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. University of Southern California
January 1 at 4:30 p.m. in Pasadena, California

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. University of Cincinnati
January 1 at 8:30 p.m. in Miami

Sugar Bowl: University of Utah vs. University of Alabama
January 2 at 8 p.m. in New Orleans

Fiesta Bowl: University of Texas vs. Ohio State University
January 5 at 8 p.m. in Glendale, Arizona

BCS National Championship Game: University of Oklahoma vs. University of Florida
January 8 at 8 p.m. in Miami

Check out the BCS Web site for a complete schedule of all college football bowl games!

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