[Lefty Noob]

Just heard on ESPN that the BCS is going to expand it's search for at-large teams from the top 14 to the top 18 "if they have to" this year. What that means is this - each conference can send only one at-large team to the BCS, and since some of the conferences are having down years, this will allow them to reach further (possibly bypassing smaller conference teams) to choose from the major conferences. Good idea?

[SportsPageMike]

This is a yes and no answer, unfortunately. A team like Hawaii will benefit from this but a team like Connecticut with a chance of winning or tying for the Big East Conference title can lose out if the BCS picks West Virginia.

[JRL]

Does this mean they will wave the one at large team per conference rule? If it does then it is a bad idea imho.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by JRL

Does this mean they will wave the one at large team per conference rule? If it does then it is a bad idea imho.

No, it means that if there are 3 SEC teams in the top 10, and the highest ranked possible ACC at-large team is 16th, they'll go deeper into the polls to find that ACC team. I'm not sure I'm crazy about the possibility of a team ranked so low "earning" a BCS spot, myself.

By the way, here's an article that discusses it in more depth.
Facing shortage of qualified teams, BCS could expand pool of at-large eligibles - NCAA Football - Yahoo! Sports