Inasmuch as BYU and ESPN have a pretty solid 8 year deal (longer than even Notre Dame gets from NBC). I think you have underestimated the power of ESPN and the fact that it now owns the rights to future BCS games. If you think only the bowl committees make the decisions, you are mistaken. TV has an enormous seat at the BCS table and in this case, the ESPN seat has only ONE specific scool under contract all by it self (BYU). All other schools are contracted through conference affiliations. It is not accident that ESPN went after BYU the way NBC did Notre Dame. People watch college football because they enjoy the games and only about half of those watching any game are specific fans of one of the two teams, often a lower percentage than that. People have also falsely assumed that BYU's appeal is only to Mormons nationwide. This argument doesn't apply to Notre Dame or BYU. In terms of actual watchers, BYU has historically drawn very well on ESPN, not because a lot of cool-aid drinklers were watching, but because football viewers were watching. As long as BYU is entertaining, people will watch. It's that simple and always has been. Dave Brown said as much last week at BYU's Media event. Football is a TV sport and when the product is good, people will watch.