CHICAGO (AP)—Some tweaking to the Bowl Championship Series rules gives greater access to the Rose Bowl to teams outside the six conferences with automatic BCS bids—such as Utah.

“Under certain circumstances, they can play their way into the Rose Bowl, which hasn’t been true in the past,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said Monday at Big Ten media day. “That’s additional access. Standards have been, I think, lightened to access the BCS.”

The Big Ten and Pacific-10 champions are contractually bound to play in the Rose Bowl unless one of those teams qualifies for the national championship game.

Starting with the 2010 season and running through the 2013 season, the first time the Rose Bowl loses one of its conference champions and a team from one of the non-automatic qualifying leagues earns a BCS bid, the Rose Bowl must take that team.

Since the BCS was implemented in 1998, a team from a conference outside the automatic qualifying leagues has never played in the Rose Bowl.

I have mixed emotions about this.  Yes it’s great for those schools such as boise and utah who flourished in the BCS spotlight.  But it just wouldn’t feel like the Rose Bowl to me if I was watching USC pound Utah into the ground.  (Although I guess it cant be much worse than watching them pound Penn State into the ground can it?)

I guess if I had to pick a side on this situation I’m pulling for the non-BCS schools getting into the Rose Bowl.  Just because they’re in a weaker conference doesn’t mean they should AUTOMATICALLY be discluded.  BUT that doesn’t mean if a non-BCS school goes undefeated or 1 loss, to just automatically throw them in.  I want to see them tested and play tough out of conference games.

This decision should make all the people who want a playoff system somewhat happy.  Gives those teams a shot at the most prestigous Bowl Game out there.  And for those hoping for a playoff system anytime soon, don’t count on it.  The BCS is under contract through 2014.  So there will be 4 more awesome years of people crying and keeping our President from thinking about more important issues in this country than the college football playoff system.

-Cheesecake