Tar Heels look for an assist

To get to a more prestigious bowl, North Carolina needs to win, and it needs help from, of all teams, N.C. State.

That's how the beauty contest that is college football's bowl system works - rivals become friends, and you can never have enough friends.

The Tar Heels (7-3, 3-3 ACC) would boost their own position on the Atlantic Coast Conference's bowl ladder with wins in their final two games, starting with today's road trip to Boston College (7-3, 4-2). An upset win by the Wolfpack (4-6, 1-5) at Virginia Tech (7-3, 4-2) today would knock down one of the Heels' contenders for a spot in a more lucrative bowl.

Wins, even head-to-head ones over the competition, might not be enough though for the Tar Heels. Ticket sales and television ratings drive the bowl selection process.

UNC, Virginia Tech and Miami (7-3, 4-3) have a chance to finish 9-3 and figure to be in the mix (along with Clemson) for the Chick-fil-A, Gator, Champs and Music City bowls. Duke (5-5, 3-3) is still trying to join the party and needs a win today over the Hurricanes and another at home next week against Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5) to become bowl eligible.

Clemson (7-3, 5-2) has a slight edge over the trio of 7-3 Coastal Division teams. With a win today against Virginia, the Tigers would clinch the Atlantic Division and a spot in the ACC Championship Game, granting them the inside track to the Orange Bowl should they claim the league title.

Although the Tar Heels beat both the Hokies and Hurricanes this season, UNC could watch those two teams be selected ahead of them for a bowl. Virginia Tech has a track record of selling tickets to bowl games, and Miami is a recognizable television brand.

UNC coach Butch Davis said it is the "privilege of the bowl" to select teams based on its own criteria, but he hopes the results on the field remain a significant part of the process.

"You wish there was some merit that went into it, that as you win your record would speak to the opportunity of where you get a chance to play," Davis said.

In recent years, the ACC has increased the value of on-field results in the bowl process. After Tom O'Brien's Boston College team finished 5-3 in the ACC in 2005, the Eagles were passed over in the conference bowl chain for a pair of 3-5 teams, N.C. State and Virginia.

The Eagles ended up in Boise for the MPC Computers Bowl, while the Wolfpack made a more lucrative - and easier - trip to Charlotte for the Meineke Bowl. The Cavaliers went to Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Bowl.

In the wake of Boston College's snub, the ACC adopted a "one-win" rule, or as it's more commonly referred to, the "BC rule." The rule prevents a team from being jumped in the bowl process by a team with two fewer conference wins.

O'Brien, now the coach at N.C. State, said the rule is fair, but not all bowl executives like it. The rule was one of the reasons the Gator Bowl will end its relationship with the ACC after this season's game.

Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett could not be reached for comment.

"That bowl is more concerned with selling tickets than they are with who you have to get in your football game, which is a function of the bowl business," O'Brien said.

Chick-fil-A Bowl president Gary Stokan said ticket sales and television ratings are obviously a big part of the process, but not the whole process.

"You can't pick teams without looking at the results," Stokan said. "The results are a means to an end."

Stokan, whose Dec. 31 game in Atlanta matches the ACC against the SEC, said he uses a list of 25 criteria to make a selection, with the national rankings, conference record and how a team finished the season all factoring in the decision.

Unwittingly making a case for the Tar Heels to be picked ahead of Virginia Tech and Miami should all three finish 9-3, O'Brien said he'd like to see one more provision added to the league's bowl selection process.

"I would think if your records are the same, and you beat a team, that's going to get you into the [ACC] championship game [in a tie-breaker scenario]," O'Brien said. "And it should get you into a bowl game."

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