Long and Suite Preview: Non-Automatic Qualifiers

Marshall brings back star quarterback Rakeem Cato, but could the best thing the Herd have going for it be the schedule?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The BCS era may be over, but the legacy of the "BCS Buster" lives on.

You know the teams. Those plucky mid-majors that somehow run the table, upset an established power along the way, and earn respect in a major bowl game.

Central Florida was the latest small school to crash the party (Really I mean small-time program. UCF is the second-largest school in the country, as anyone that went there will tell you. Seriously, they bring it up a lot). The Knights won the American with an 11-1 regular season record, only dropping a tight one out of conference to South Carolina, and upset offensive juggernaut Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl.

This season we get our first taste of the "Group of Five." That is, as you might imagine, a Group of Five smaller conferences, including Conference USA, The Mountain West, The Sun Belt, The MAC and, of course, the American. The new College Football Playoff guarantees the highest ranked team in those five conferences, plus Division 1 FBS Independent teams other than Notre Dame (who qualify as a major conference school because, money), a spot in a marquee bowl game associated with the playoff.

That means that, while the likelihood of any smaller programs making the playoff is small, the spirit of the BCS Buster can live on. Here are some "Group of Five" and Independent teams to watch.

Weekend Football Roundup: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Yeah, tell me how the new rules won't make guys go for the knees...

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Every week, editor's Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello bring you the good, the bad and the ugly from the pro and college football weekend that was.

The Good

Auburn's Luck

Seriously, something has just gone improbably right for Auburn every single week. Actually, this week's Ohio State loss in the Big Ten Championship Game was far more likely than the Tigers' Hail Mary win over Georgia, or their 100-yard (More like 109-yard) field goal return for a game-winning touchdown against rival Alabama.

Yeah maybe it's just their year.

-JP

Long and Suite Preview: Non-Automatic Qualifying Conferences

Davante Adams hopes to take Fresno State to new heights in 2013... Ha, see what I did there?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

The BCS era, for the most part, widened the gap between the "haves" and "have nots" in college football.

Schools from automatic qualifying, or "BCS," conferences had easier access to lucrative bowl games and more attractive television rights deals. To make matters worse, each smaller conference and independent school (Other than Notre Dame) was given essentially no chance to win the national championship.

Despite all this, programs like Boise State, BYU and TCU (While a member of the Mountain West) enjoyed memorable runs during the BCS period. Next year will mark the end of the BCS, and soon the new "group of five" conferences-The AAC (former Big East), Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt- will be guaranteed a spot in a lucrative bowl game affiliated with the new college football playoff.