Barry Alvarez is a BCS expert because he plays one on TV. The newest FoxSports hire is the former Wisconsin football coach and current Athletic Director, so he does bring some credentials to the challenge.

(Full disclosure moment: Alvarez is the same man I've covered for his entire stay at Wisconsin as a columnist for Isthmus (Madison, WI) and the Milwaukee Shepherd Express.)

While some might consider it a dubious honor to be thought of as an expert in something as convoluted and often goofy as the Bowl Championship Series, Barry managed to sum up this year's outcome and subsequent outrage in a single sentence. "A lot of pollsters didn't want a rematch," said the BCS expert.

That's it. Bada-bing, bada-boom. The people entrusted to vote on these matters did collectively -- or at least, to a majority -- said that, if we have to place Florida at #2 to avoid that dreaded Ohio State-Michigan rematch, then that's just what we're going to do!

Now, I'm a Big Ten guy and arguably --or not -- Michigan is the 2nd best college football team in the country. And yet, I can't help thinking that -- for the most part -- the BCS got it right this time around.

Let's briefly consider the OSU-UM rematch. Should Michigan win the game on the neutral field, the season series would stand even at 1-1, but the Wolverines would win the national championship. The voters decided that scenario and pre-empted the possibilities.

Still, if you listen to some folks, you'd think it was something on the level of the OJ verdict. Again, there are people so furious and disgusted at a jury's decision that they're questioning the very legitimacy of the entire system. Can we all just get along and realize we're talking about a football game here and not the veracity of democracy itself.

Still, I have to ask, where did all this outrage come from, anyway? Folks who couldn't give a rat's ass about Big Ten football are suddenly greviously hurt by the brutal unfairness of Michigan's exclusion from the national championship game. How many of these so-called offended parties were part of the Greek chorus of "the Big Ten is down this year" we heard all season long?

The real reasons for Big Ten fans to embrace this year's BCS fallout is

1. Ohio State should seal the deal in Glendale, and

2. The Rose Bowl has their traditional Big Ten-Pac Ten matchup.

Let's face it, the Rose Bowl has been demeaned, sullied and marginalized since their inclusion into the BCS, so the Michigan-USC matchup is almost a dream come true.  If the Trojans defeat the Wolverines, we can forget all about this nonsense about the rematch. Anf if Michigan win, there's another team that would dearly love a rematch before Ohio State gets a shot at them.

That would be BCS expert Barry Alvarez' Wisconsin Badgers. At 11-1, their only loss was back in September in the Big House -- where they held UM to a halftime tie before a couple of second-half defensive breakdowns.

Wisconsin is a much better team and they're going to play in the finest non-BCS bowl, but to a man, they'd much rather be playing in their own rematch on a neutral field vs. Michigan. In the meantime, Big Ten coach of the year Bret Bielema can rely on his boss' considerable bowl preparation experience to lay another trap for Arkansas in Orlando.

Personally, I'd love Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin to all win by three or four touchdowns and an embarassing spank back to reality for Notre Dame.

By the way, has anyone noticed how Notre Dame has become the Paris Hilton of college football? Utterly self-important with a brutal cocktail of cluelessness and arrogance.

Why aren't the BCS-haters making a stink about Notre Dame getting a Sugar Bowl bid over the likes of Wisconsin, Rutgers and the other 11-1 teams? Why aren't more people disgusted with the Fightin` Irish Nation's insistance at shoving their mediocre team's nose into the money trough.

And that's what it's all about, Alfie. The BSC is really spelled M-O-N-E-Y.

Why does a Boise State or a Rutgers care so much about simply reaching an entry-level, non-championship BCS game? Because, as Willie Sutton once observed, that's where the money is. Teams in those so-called mid-major conferences can clearly use that kind of cash and exposure and those millions get spread around the rest of their respective schools.

That's where Notre Dame's shameless hustle comes in. Every other school in the BCS -- and the entire slate of bowl games -- shares their bowl swag with their fellow conference schools. Poor ole' Notre Dame takes all of the cash, thank you. They also have their own TV network deal, so they don't have to share that money, either.

And yet, other the yearly rants of a Lloyd Carr, virtually all of the college coaches and AD's want the current bowl system to continue over the creation of a "fair" playoff. Why? Because it works just fine for them, thank you.

The bowls provide:

1. A nice (and mostly warm) vacation for coach, AD, team and fans,

2. A financial reward for the school and their conferences,

3. A way for programs to essentially gain a free "spring training" in the 20-30 days before their bowl games and,

4. A way for 27 coaches to win their final game of the season.

In a playoff, only one school gets to win their last game. And as long as ESPN broadcasts the vast majority of the games, you can practically hear the money coming in. Nearly every coach benefits from the current system, so why mess with a good thing?

Moreover, there's no financial disincentive for the elite schools to abandon the bowl system. Until that changes, things won't change much in the short-term future.

There could be several 12-1 teams after the BCS is complete and all will argue that they're the best football team in the country. Of course, Florida could be one of them, but personally I'm not buying it.

The whole mystique about the SEC's alleged superiority in recent years has been overall team speed. And yet, Wisconsin ran past Auburn in last season's Capitol One Bowl and I suspect OSU will do the same to the Gators.

Can OSU finish it off? Will Florida show up in Glendale? Who knows, but rest assured.  BCS expert Barry Alvarez will be there for FOXSports.