If you are looking for big winners from Saturday beyond Oregon and Texas, who both looked powerful in prime time, search beyond the BCS. With USC and Oklahoma State going down, the number of BCS conference teams available for an at-large bid to a BCS bowl game are dwindling. For the Big East to get two teams they would need Pittsburgh to sweep their four remaining games: Syracuse, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Cincinnati. Of course if they did that Cincinnati would be eliminated from a potential spot in the BCS title game (which, of course, needed help). With Virginia Tech and Miami stumbling of late, the ACC will only have its champion. The Big Ten has two possibilities in Iowa and Penn State, with Ohio State a long shot and only if they look really good against the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions. With the three teams playing each other they may only get one team into a BCS bowl. The SEC will get two teams. The Big 12 is down to just Texas and the Pac 10 is just Oregon unless USC gets a lot of help. Notre Dame has not been eliminated from consideration but needs to not only sweep Navy, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Stanford but get help from others.
So, with four at-large spots available, TCU and Boise may no longer be competing against each other for just one of them the way Boise and Utah did last year. Even the Utes, should they upset TCU, and Houston are still possibilities.
Meanwhile, the non BCS bowls are awaiting the conference jumblings that will dictate where traditional powers like USC, Oklahoma, LSU (should they lose Saturday to Alabama), Ohio State, etc end up. Anyone up for Oklahoma versus LSU in the Cotton Bowl? Miami-Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl? Stay tuned.
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