Bowden quoted below on teams deserving a shot at the national title, and applauding the strength of the ACC. Strength and ACC in the same sentence??? Imagine that.

"Bowden coached his former school, Tulane, to an undefeated season in 1998, going 11-0, but the Green Waves didn't come close to having a shot at the national title.

Under the current Bowl Championship Series rules, Bowden would have earned a shot at a BCS game. Despite his experiences in a non-BCS conference like Conference USA, Bowden isn't a proponent of schools playing for titles without having strong schedules.

"I'm a strong advocate of strength of schedule," Bowden said. "The year I went undefeated, I didn't think we merited playing for the national title. Not when you only occasionally play a BCS team."

Bowden has coached in the SEC and the Atlantic Coast Conference and considers them among the toughest in the nation. He said he wouldn't have voted for Hawaii, the nation's only undefeated school, to play for the national title.

"Let them jump into the SEC or ACC and play who we've played," Bowden said. "Then you'll get more points. When I vote, I vote on strength of schedule."