A lot of the intrigue this time of the season centers on who will get BCS at large berths. Usually there are too many candidates and deserving teams, like an undefeated Boise State last year. In 2009 we have the big six undefeated clubs and then a bunch of question marks.
Who is in? Ohio State has secured a spot in the Rose Bowl, which is back to being a Big 10-Pac 10 battle. They will face the winner of Oregon-Oregon State, to be held Thursday night. The winner of the ACC championship game versus Clemson and Georgia Tech this Saturday gets a spot. The winner of Saturday's SEC title game,between Alabama and Florida, is also, of course, in. A de facto Big East championship game, between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh this Saturday, determines another BCS game spot. The Big 12 championship game, between Texas and Nebraska, will also produce a BCS team. TCU has wrapped up a spot as the highest ranked non-BCS-conference team, ahead of a Boise squad that has one more game but cannot catch the Horned Frogs.
There are four at large berths, including the one occupied by TCU. The SEC title game loser has secured one of the remaining three spots. The ACC and Pac 10 will not get a second team. The Big 10, despite all of the insults it endures, has two candidates in Iowa and Penn State. The Big 12 will only get an extra spot if Nebraska upsets Texas. The Big East will have a say for two teams if Pitt beats Cincinnati. And Boise sits and waits--assuming it manhandles a 3-9 New Mexico State team. The two remaining spots will go to Texas, if it loses Saturday, or a combination of Cincinnati, if they lose Saturday, Boise, a second Big 10 team, or a mystery team like Virginia Tech (to be considered they would have to finish in the top 14 of the final BCS poll) if the final selecting bowl is more concerned about selling tickets than fairness. Do not count LSU in the mix as a conference can only have two teams in BCS games and they are the clear no. 3 for the SEC.
The two programs sweating it out the most? Boise and Cincinnati. Boise has been down this road before and knows not to count on anything. Cincy? Being ranked in the top ten for most of the year does not count at this time of the year. The Bearcats do not have a tradition of selling tickets--until now--at their own tiny stadium. They do not have a tradition of annually shipping off tens of thousands of fans to bowls the way Penn State and Iowa do. They had better win Saturday afternoon.
A lesser bit of intrigue concerns the second Big 10 team selected should there be a spot available for them. While most fans would assume that Iowa would get the nod thanks to their win over Penn State and narrow loss to Ohio State, do not assume anything. In 2007 Missouri beat Kansas head-to-head and advanced to the Big 12 title game. They lost that game to Oklahoma but assumed that a BCS at large berth awaited, only to watch Kansas get selected.
So we have to wait for the games to play out to determine the guaranteed spots and then tune in on Sunday for the selection show to see who got screwed this season. And, of course, if Nebraska upsets Texas and the SEC title game is a classic, then watch for the final BCS poll. I bet the SEC runner-up finishes second ahead of the remaining undefeated teams.
No comments:
Post a Comment