An all-SEC BCS title game has got the Big Ten thinking.

The Chicago Tribune today reported that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney, who in the past had been viewed as staunchly pro-BCS, and  Big Ten university presidents are discussing a possible playoff proposal that would include a four-team playoff.

The plan, as Teddy Greenstein reports, includes a removal of the top four BCS teams from the traditional bowl system to create a new set of three games — two semifinals and a Super Bowl-esque championship game at a neutral site.

The two semifinal games, which would pit No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3, would be played at the higher-seeded team’s home stadium, while the championship game would be bid out around the country, just as the Super Bowl is on a yearly basis.

The rest of the bowl system, including the four longtime BCS bowls — the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta — would be continued and maintained, but without these top four teams.

It is not clear from the report exactly how the top four teams would be selected or whether an overhaul of the current BCS formula is being called for. No concrete details about selection committees, scheduling or otherwise were made clear in the report, either.

Of course, the conference is interested in protecting certain interests, not least of which includes the preservation of the Rose Bowl and the all-important preservation of the atmosphere of a vitally important regular season in college football.

Delaney has made clear his interest in moving the schedule for the championship rounds of the FBS postseason up in the schedule. This year’s BCS title game was played Jan. 9, with many universities already having started their academic year that day.

“I think sports fans are conditioned to playoffs. I don’t begrudge them that. They’re looking for more games, but we’re trying to do the right thing. It’s a matter of coming up with something that does not kill the baby with the bath water. We have a regular season that is vibrant. We have 12 games plus a (conference) championship game – that’s a lot of games. We have academic calendars, though that doesn’t resonate with many people. But if you’re dealing with university presidents, faculty and coaches, you’re talking about it.” — Jim Delaney, Big Ten Commissioner via The Chicago Tribune

The next renewal for the system as a whole comes in 2014, with many believing a proposal should be solidified by the end of this year.

Alabama claimed the BCS national title, but was not a unanimous choice among the components of BCS system and the AP poll.

To see just how the bevy of season’s end rankings played out, we’ve set out to simulate a set of BCS rankings, using the AP poll in place of the Harris poll. What we get is a good aggregate of all of the final rankings, and the equivalent of a year-end, final BCS rankings.

We also used the six BCS computers, not all of which declared Alabama as the top team in the nation. In fact, both Oklahoma State and LSU claimed the top spot in one computer ranking.

Mostly, this is just for fun, a good look at what the BCS standings would look like if they were released after the end of the season. The formula is exactly the same as the BCS utilizes during the regular season, except the AP poll is subbed in for the Harris Interactive Poll, which does not release a post-season edition.

Unsurprisingly, Alabama leads the way, despite its non-unanimous support. LSU and Oklahoma State finish in their expected No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.

Arkansas and Oregon see the completion of strong regular seasons and impressive bowl victories to both finish in the top five.

A little further down, we get a surprising sixth-place finish from South Carolina, who are chased closely by Boise State, where the Broncos finish just .0003 behind the Gamecocks. For fun, we placed USC in the mix, as they are named in all six computers and in the AP. We just replicated the portion the No. 9 Trojans got in the AP for the Coaches’ and used the computers as per usual.

Other surprises include No. 10 Baylor, who completes a fantastic season led by Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III and the non-AQ No. 16 Houston and No. 17 TCU, both of which had shots at BCS bowl bids but were shut out on the last weekend — a Houston loss and TCU finishing outside of the top-16.

Here’s BCS Know How’s simulated post-season BCS rankings:

Simulated Post-Season BCS Rankings

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No team was able to survive 2011 without losing; except for LSU. Come 2012, however, the story was different, as Alabama made the most of their rematch opportunity with LSU — who handed the Crimson Tide their lone loss of the season — and beat the Tigers 21-0 on Monday night in New Orleans in the BCS title game.

Trent Richardson’s fourth-quarter touchdown scamper proved the only touchdown score after five field goals gave the Tide a 15-0 lead that their defense protected time and again. Richardson finished the game with 96 yards rushing and the one score, but it was quarterback A.J. McCarron who shined brightest throughout the game for the Crimson Tide, finishing 23-of-34 for 234 yards to help the Tide move up and down the field.

LSU’s defense was able to curtail the Tide’s offensive outbursts, holding them to just field goal attempts most of the game, but the Tiger offense never was able to take off and score points of its own.

Alabama coach Nick Saban now claims three national titles, and the state of Alabama has claimed the last three BCS titles, as part of six straight titles for the Southeastern conference.

It took a little bit for West Virginia to get going, but once the Mountaineers got on the scoreboard, they never looked back, using a 99-yard fumble recovery to blast their way to a blowout 70-33 victory over Clemson in Wednesday’s Orange Bowl.

West Virginia kept scoring Wednesday night, as Clemson’s defensive attack was simply overmatched. The Mountaineers set an all-time bowl record — yes, bowl, not just BCS bowl — for first half points with 49 and the game itself set the record for points scored in a BCS bowl game. The 70 points the Mountaineers scored was also an NCAA-era record for points in a bowl game.

The Mountaineers also accounted for other BCS and bowl records — quarterback Geno Smith set the BCS bowl record for passing touchdowns and receiver Tavon Austin set the record for receiving touchdowns in an Orange Bowl game.

Clemson did lead the Orange Bowl heading into the second quarter, but the Mountaineers were relentless in the quarter, scoring 35 and putting the game away for good.

The Tigers came into the game on the heels of topping Virginia Tech for a second time on the season — this time in the ACC Championship Game. The Hokies were able to claim a BCS bowl bid of their own, but Clemson got the auto-invite to the Orange Bowl as ACC champs. The Tigers’ 10-win season had been a hopeful sign for the Orange Bowl, but the Mountaineers quickly took that away.

West Virginia moves to 3-0 all time in BCS bowl games and captures its 10th win of the season, setting the Mountaineers up for high expectations come 2012.

Michigan kicker Brandan Gibbons nailed a 37-yard field goal in the first overtime to give Michigan its first BCS bowl victory since the 2000 Orange Bowl as the Wolverines topped Virginia Tech in a hard-fought Sugar Bowl, 23-20.

Neither team came out of the gates firing, but persistent play from both ends made the game a back-and-forth battle of attrition. Michigan would head out to a 17-6 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Hokies were not fazed. On the strength of four Justin Myer field goals, Virginia Tech climbed all the way back, and had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. Michigan’s defense stood tall when it needed to the most, however, and the Hokies settled for a field goal that send the game to overtime.

Myer was unable to convert a field goal attempt on the Hokies first drive, his first miss in his five attempts on the night, which set up Gibbons’ three point try after the Wolverines were visibly setting up the kicker for his attempt at the game-winner. A stutter step as the ball was hiked did not faze Gibbons, and the Wolverines proved victorious in New Orleans.

A Fiesta Bowl littered with NFL prospects on both ends was turned in Oklahoma State’s favor late Monday night by a combination of Stanford’s missed field goals and gritty play by its 28-year-old senior quarterback and star wide receiver as the Cowboys topped Stanford 41-38.

A field goal by Oklahoma State kicker Quinn Sharp in the first overtime period clinched victory for the Cowboys after Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson missed two straight opportunities to add three points, the first of which would have given the Cardinal a victory.

A catch from Cowboy wide receiver Colton Chelf set Sharp up for the game-winning kick after Stanford failed to score on its first possession in overtime. It was not until Sharp nailed the kick to win the game that the Cowboys led the 2012 Fiesta Bowl, as Stanford moved the ball up and down the field for 590 total yards.

Andrew Luck, the assumed first overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, led the way for the Cardinal and finished the night with more than 300 yards passing and two touchdowns. Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon, the Cowboys’ superstar draft prospect, was electric on the night, finishing with 186 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

Just the third overtime game in Fiesta Bowl history was an exciting one, as both offenses were obviously ready to go. Oklahoma State certainly had reason to be disappointed with its place in the Fiesta Bowl, but came out firing despite facing an early 14-0 deficit and matched the Cardinal score for score from there.

Defense was optional in Pasadena on Monday as Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas and a combination of running backs LaMichael James and De’Anthony Thomas led the Ducks over Wisconsin in the 2012 Rose Bowl, 45-38.

The game got out to a fast start as both offense clicked early, setting Rose Bowl records in the first half for scoring and single play from scrimmage (DeAnthony Thomas’s 91-yard first-quarter touchdown scamper). Wisconsin hung in with every Oregon score, as senior quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Montee Ball had performances reflective of their impressive 2011 campaigns. The Badgers’ first three touchdowns were the result of a beautiful Wilson play-action pass, a Wilson run and a Ball 3-yard score.

Through the first half, the Badgers had far outpaced the Ducks in terms of time of possession, but James — who finished with 161 rushing yards — and Oregon were quick to score, including James’s first-ever touchdown rush in a BCS bowl game.

The second half was not quite as offense heavy as the first, as the defenses began to adjust. A key fumble by Wisconsin reciever Jared Abbrederis — who earlier scored the game’s first touchdown — with Wisconsin driving for the potential game-tying touchdown gave Oregon the chance to put the game away.

For Wisconsin, the result was all too familiar, as the Badgers have now lost two straight Rose Bowls, after falling to TCU in last year’s granddaddy of them all.

For Oregon, the victory snapped a three-game losing streak in the Rose Bowl that spanned more than 90 years, with the Ducks’ last victory in the game coming in 1917 Rose Bowl, when they topped the Pennsylvania 14-0.

The 83 total points scored by the Ducks and Badgers also set an all-time Rose Bowl record.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, who helped lead the Bears to a 9-3 record in 2011 and an Alamo Bowl bid, has be named the recipient of the 2011 Heisman Trophy.

Griffin started the season by playing on an almost inconceivable level. Through his first three games, the junior quarterback had more touchdown passes than incompletions.

In the middle of the season, however, Griffin’s name dropped off many Heisman watch lists, but the Baylor signal caller continued to rack up stats. A heroic last-second drive to beat Oklahoma late in the season re-energized his Heisman campaign, and an electric victory over Texas in the season’s final weekend was enough to get Griffin the support he needed to claim the trophy.

Griffin finished the season with 3,998 passing yards and 36 touchdown passes against just six interceptions. He also ran for nine more touchdowns throughout the season, including two scores each in victories over Texas Tech and the Longhorns.

Griffin topped the likes of season-long favorite Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Alabama running back Trent Richardson, Wisconsin running back Montee Ball and LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu.

2011 Heisman Trophy Voting

With the knowledge that Oklahoma State was set to make up ground in the computers after a victory over Oklahoma, Alabama faithful had to hope the damage wasn’t too severe. And it wasn’t.

The Crimson Tide retained a .930 computer share, which was integral to them retaining the No. 2 spot in the final BCS standings.

Oklahoma State’s .950 proved to just not be enough.

Here are the rankings of the six BCS computers:

Six BCS Computer Standings – BCS Week Eight (December 4)

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And what the aggregate BCS computer rankings were:

BCS Computer Rankings Aggregate – BCS Week Eight (December 4)