BCS Picture Becoming Clearer

We all knew at the beginning of the year that November 12th would be a big day for the national college football landscape.  The two marquee games of #7 Oregon vs. #4 Stanford and TCU vs. #5 Boise State sure didn't disappoint fans as one of them came down to the absolute wire.

By now, it is clear that the Broncos are not going to a BCS game.  The pipe dream of a National Championship still had a small shot until the Horned Frogs went for two last weekend to crush the Broncos hopes.  The only way Boise State can still be eligible for a BCS game is if they win their conference, something that isn't likely considering TCU has to lose to both Colorado State and UNLV to finish out their season.  So the Broncos will either be headed to Las Vegas again for their bowl game or there is a chance they would be traveling to San Diego to play in the Poinsettia Bowl.  The main factor for which bowl game BSU gets selected for is that each bowl committee will want to avoid a rematch of a game that occurred recently.  For example, the Vegas bowl would not take Boise State if Utah has already been selected for that game because those two played last year.  Also, there is a chance that Nevada and Boise State could both be eligible for the Poinsettia Bowl and they would like to avoid the rematch of a game that occurred on October 1st.

As for the rest of the national landscape, Stanford really laid an egg at home on Saturday.  Oregon came in and dominated the game from start to finish and definitely has the inside track on making their second trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl in the last three years.  Stanford on the other hand will most likely get selected for an at-large bid to a BCS game.  If they do not get selected because they are not known for their fans traveling to games, they would go to the Alamo Bowl which has the second selection of Pac-12 teams.

We are down to three undefeated teams in college football and if LSU and Oklahoma State win out, the BCS is as clear as it has ever been to determining who makes the National Championship.  If LSU loses to Arkansas or Georgia in the SEC Championship, things could really get sticky.  Oklahoma State will steamroll Iowa State on Friday and that sets up a showdown on December 4th that will arguable be the biggest game in OSU history. They will host Oklahoma with a spot in the National Championship on the line.