Although the commissioner of the Mid-American Conference thinks the speculation about a potential Ball State University-Boise State University matchup in a bowl game is exciting, he is not sure it will materialize.
"I love that there is a national conversation about can those two teams play," MAC commissioner Rick Chryst said. "Thinking it is one thing, to see if it can actually happen is another."
Both Ball State and Boise State are undefeated and ranked in the top 12 of the BCS rankings, with the 12-0 Cardinals at No. 12 and the 12-0 Broncos at No. 9. People nationwide have talked about a potential matchup between the two teams, including USA Today, the Washington Post and The Sporting News.
Chryst said he has worked with Ball State athletics director Tom Collins in looking into all of the options for the Cardinals. They are in the evaluation stage to see what option would be best suited for Ball State and the MAC, Chryst said.
Collins said he thinks it would be difficult to pull off the Ball State-Boise State matchup because of the commitments bowl games have to affiliated conferences. He also said he does not think playing Boise State at its home field in the Humanitarian Bowl would be beneficial to Ball State.
"I think it would be great for television, but I'm not sure its fair to our student athletes to ask them to go out and play on Boise State's home field," he said.
Options such as Ball State playing Boise State in a game such as the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, or the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., have been discussed, Chryst said, but he is focused on MAC-affiliated bowls - the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, the International Bowl in Toronto and the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. - as possible destinations for the Cardinals first.
For more than 50 years the MAC only had one or no bowl affiliation at all, Chryst said. Now that the conference has three affiliations, each is vital and the conference does not want to hurt any of them, he said.
The Executive Director of the Motor City Bowl, Ken Hoffman, said he wants to create the best possible matchup for his bowl and the MAC. Ball State would be an outstanding team for the bowl because of its national ranking and undefeated season, he said.
The Motor City Bowl also has an affiliation with the Big Ten, but an at-large spot could be opened in the bowl by two Big Ten teams making BCS bowl games, which would happen if No. 10 Ohio State University gets an at-large BCS selection. In that event, the Motor City Bowl would love to feature a Ball State-Boise State game, he said.
"It would be a tremendous matchup to have the only two undefeated teams in the country outside the BCS," Hoffman said. "We would love to host it."
A potential problem though is the Motor City Bowl would be like a home game for Ball State, which is similar to the problem presented in the Humanitarian Bowl, Hoffman said. Also, the Motor City Bowl could face competition from other bowls that would also want the matchup, he said.
Although the Motor City Bowl wants to have Ball State and has the first selection of MAC schools among the three MAC-affiliated bowl games, Hoffman said he would support Ball State if it gets a better bowl opportunity.
"We're supportive of whatever is best for Ball State University and the Mid-American Conference," he said. "If that's what best because they are able to get a better matchup in a different location, we are certainly supportive of that."
Before Ball State or Boise can accept any bowl invitations, they must first be released by the BCS, Chryst said.
According to a release from the BCS on Tuesday, 18 teams are still being considered for the 10 spots in BCS bowl games.
Penn State University, Big Ten, and the University of Cincinnati, Big East, have already secured spots in a BCS bowl game by winning their conferences, which have automatic qualifiers to the BCS bowls.
Boston College and Virginia Tech of the ACC, the University of Missouri and the University of Oklahoma of the Big 12, Oregon State University and the University of Southern California of the Pac-10, and the University of Alabama and the University of Florida of the SEC, are all competing for their conference championships, which each have automatic qualifiers to a BCS bowl.
Ball State, Boise State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State University, the University of Texas, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech University and the University of Utah also remain under consideration.
Chryst said Ball State cannot accept a bowl invitation until after it is formally released by the BCS, which means the Cardinals will not announce where they will play until after 5 p.m. Sunday.
Although he recognizes Utah is the highest ranked team from a nonautomatic qualifying conference and other teams remain higher ranked than Ball State, Chryst said, it is great that Ball State is still being considered for one four at-large spots in a BCS bowl game.
Collins said Ball State plans to announce its bowl destination Sunday.
Hoffman said the Motor City Bowl also wants to wait until Sunday so it can see all of its options for its matchup.
No matter what happens, Chryst said he does not think a Ball State-Boise State matchup needs to happen.
"I think the league's already achieved that level of respect," Chryst said. "I don't know that, that matchup needs to happen to confirm that."
Possible bowl destinations
Motor City BowlWhere: Detroit; Ford FieldWhen: 8 p.m. Dec. 26Television: ESPN
Independence BowlWhere: Shreveport, La.; Independence StadiumWhen: 8: 15 p.m. Dec. 28Television: ESPN
Humanitarian BowlWhere: Boise, Idaho; Bronco StadiumWhen: 4:30 p.m. Dec. 30Television: ESPN
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