It would be easy to say Louisville’s 41-38 loss to Miami was a huge victory for all the little guys in college football, that it was the event that marked a change in the way big-time college football works, that it allowed teams from mid-major conferences to break into the promised land of the Bowl Championship Series.

And all of that should be true.

But even a Louisville win wouldn’t have made any difference. Louisville, even with a perfect record and a win over Miami, wouldn’t have gone to a BCS bowl. The Cardinals won’t be playing for a national title in January. The Big 6 conferences &045; the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big Twelve, Pac-10 and Southeastern &045; won’t let them. Those conferences have a stranglehold on the BCS and the associated money. They aren’t eager to share.

So no matter how good, how worthy a team from one of the other conferences is, it just doesn’t matter. The NCAA can say whatever it wants to, but it won’t matter. Division 1A college football is the one sport where the NCAA simply doesn’t have much control over how the sport is played.

Louisville won’t get its chance. And that is sad, because the Cardinals showed that Miami isn’t invincible, in one fell stroke hitting the Miami mystique and denting Miami’s chance at another national title.

Louisville isn’t going away. With games against Memphis and Texas Christian, the road won’t be easy, but the Cardinals should be favored in all of their remaining contests.

Again many of the experts will say it: these teams wouldn’t even have a winning record if they played in a major conference. Right. Because just any old team can put a scare in Miami. That doesn’t take talent or execution or toughness. Louisville doesn’t have what it takes to compete in the Big East. Oh wait, the Cardinals do have all that.

But even a one-loss team from a major conference has a better chance to play for a national title this season than an undefeated mid-major team.

Even this loss was a win for the Cardinals, but also one for the Utah, Boise State and Southern Miss, all undefeated teams from mid-major conferences. But it still won’t matter.

Southern Miss probably won’t be undefeated. Besides a tough Conference USA schedule (and despite the condescending remarks of major conference fans, C-USA is tough) the Golden Eagles still have games against Alabama and California on the schedule.

For Utah and Boise State, the path might be a little easier. But still, neither of those teams, even if they go undefeated in the regular season, will have a legitimate chance to play in a big-time bowl. Instead, they’ll be relegated to third-tier bowls.

Louisville proved it belongs with the big boys. The Cardinals game with Miami showed that good teams can come from anywhere, that the nation’s best teams aren’t confined to power conferences.

But guess what &045; it still won’t make any difference.

Christian Schmidt is a sports writer with the The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at (601) 445-3633 or by e-mail at

christian.schmidt@natchezdemocrat.com

.