When Iowa beat Minnesota three weeks ago to clinch a share of the Big Ten title, tradition prevailed. Fans tore down a goal post and Hawkeyes players were handed roses. But when the selections were announced on Sunday, the Hawkeyes were told they should have celebrated the victory with oranges.

Finally, no controversy over the national championship game, but the selection process for the rest of the BCS games left many fans with questions. ESPN.com tries to answer them:

Q: Why did the Orange Bowl get the pick over the Rose Bowl?

The Orange Bowl lost Big East champion Miami to the Fiesta Bowl, but so, too, did the Rose Bowl, which lost undefeated Big Ten co-champion Ohio State. According to BCS rules, bowls that lose teams with traditional tie-ins to the national championship game get to select at-large teams to play in their games, with the bowl losing the higher-ranked team getting the first pick. Since Miami was No. 1 in the BCS standings and Ohio State was No. 2, the Orange Bowl got to pick Iowa before the Rose Bowl could.

Q: Why did the Orange Bowl get to pick its second team before the Sugar Bowl made its pick?

After the Rose Bowl picked Oklahoma, the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl each had a slot to fill. Both bowls were then required to list its top three choices to fill its at-large slot. When both picked USC, the Orange Bowl won out. According to BCS rules, if two bowls pick the same team, the bowl that makes the larger payout gets first preference. Bowl games are allowed to use this exemption only once in the four-year contract.

Q: If money dictates BCS selections, why didn't the Rose Bowl get to pick Iowa before the Orange Bowl?

The Rose Bowl pays out more than any of the other three BCS bowls as it is the only BCS game that conducts its finances on its own. The game typically pays about $500,000 more than each of the other bowl games. But since Ohio State was designated the Big Ten champion that qualified for the Rose Bowl's automatic Big Ten berth by virtue of its undefeated overall record, Iowa amounted to an at-large team in the BCS selection process, which gave the Orange Bowl first dibs on the Hawkeyes.

Q: Are Rose Bowl officials upset?

Last week, Rose Bowl chief operating officer Mitch Dorger said he would be "severely disappointed" if the game didn't get Iowa. Although the sentiment was toned down on Sunday, the fact that the Orange Bowl has two traditional Rose Bowl teams in its game and the Rose Bowl doesn't has to be disconcerting. Although the Rose Bowl was going to take No. 7 Washington State anyway, the Orange Bowl has a Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup between two top-five teams. Since 1980, only two Rose Bowls have featured two top-five teams from those conferences (1992, Michigan vs. Washington, and 1997, Ohio State vs. Arizona State). The Rose Bowl also should be concerned about losing its tradition. With no Big 10 team in this year's game and last year when it was host of the national championship game, it marks the second straight year the game was without its traditional matchup. To a bowl game that is considered the "Masters" of the BCS -- that would only sell a presenting sponsorship and not a title sponsorship to Sony Playstation 2 -- that's a tough pill to swallow.

Q: How much does TV have a say in all of this?

It's arguable that, aside from the national championship game, the most important game for ABC was the Orange Bowl, the only bowl game scheduled for Jan 2, and Iowa-USC is probably the BCS' most intriguing matchup. The Rose Bowl is one of six bowls to be played on Jan. 1, the busiest day of the bowl season. Last year's Orange Bowl was the biggest blowout in BCS history as Florida beat Maryland, 56-23. How important are the matchups to TV? According to the BCS media guide, "the pairings established by the BCS bowls may be adjusted by the BCS, in consultation with the BCS bowls and ABC, in the interest of creating the most exciting and interesting postseason matchups possible." This means that if the BCS had a problem with the Orange Bowl's matchup, it could have changed it.

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.rovell@espn3.com