How much is a win in tomorrow's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game worth to Boston College? Not as much as one might think in this day of revenue sharing.
The prize for BC, which will meet Virginia Tech in Jacksonville, Fla., is the Orange Bowl bid that goes to the ACC champion. The payout for that is approximately $16.5 million. If the Eagles lose, ACC regulations stipulate they will wind up in one of four bowl games - the Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, with a payout of approximately $2.8 million per team; the Gator in Jacksonville ($2.5 million); the Champs Sports in Orlando, Fla. ($2.125 million); or the Music City in Nashville ($1.65 million).
In all cases, after team expenses, the bowl money is divided evenly among all 12 ACC members, with checks handed out next spring. In a non-BCS bowl, BC's profit margin would be minimal. If they make the Orange Bowl, the Eagles would receive their ACC share, plus any money left over from the expense allotment.
In short, a victory over Virginia Tech could put a few million more dollars in BC's ledgers, but the true worth may well be in prestige and the recruiting advantages that come to a team that has won a conference championship.
Virginia Tech has won an ACC title (in 2004), but a victory tomorrow would be the Hokies' first in an ACC championship game. For BC, it would mean its first conference championship and an 11-win season, which hasn't happened since the Eagles, coached by Frank Leahy, went 11-0 in 1940. It would also be the first BCS bid for the Eagles and their first major bowl bid since the 1985 Cotton Bowl, when BC, led by Doug Flutie, beat Houston, 45-28.
It doesn't add up
The poll system used in college football can be controversial and is always curious. Take Virginia Tech's rankings, No. 6 in the Associated Press writers' poll and tied for No. 5 (with Kansas) in the USA Today coaches' poll, which seem in line with the Hokies' 10-2 record.But then consider that just below Virginia Tech in the coaches' poll is LSU, which is also 10-2 but beat the Hokies, 48-7, Sept. 8. And at No. 12, in both polls, is BC (10-2), which beat Virginia Tech, 14-10, Oct. 25 in Blacksburg, Va.
