For those of you that do not know the rules of the BCS, here you go. I'd prefer not rewrite something that's already written.
Team Scenarios
Automatic Qualifications
Ohio St. - National Title Game, no questions asked.
USC - Already Qualified for the Rose Bowl as Pac 10 Champions, a win versus UCLA will send them to the National Title Game.
Boise St. - Currently ranked #8 in the BCS, must fall to #13 to lose the Auto-Qualification, this will not happen and thus are BCS bound.
Arkansas - Defeat Florida on Saturday to clinch SEC Title and bid.
Florida - Defeat Arkansas on Saturday to clinch SEC Title and bid.
Nebraska - Defeat Oklahoma on Saturday to clinch Big 12 Title and bid.
Oklahoma - Defeat Nebraska on Saturday to clinch Big 12 Title and bid.
Wake Forest - Defeat Georgia Tech on Saturday to clinch ACC Title and bid.
Georgia Tech - Defeat Wake Forest on Saturday to clinch ACC Title and bid.
Rutgers - Defeat West Virginia on Saturday to clinch Big East Title and bid.
Louisville - Defeat of Uconn combined with Rutgers loss to clinch Big East Title and bid.
Michigan - Automatically Qualifies for finishing season at either #3 or #4 in the BCS.
Notre Dame - Automatically Qualifies if they finish #8 or better, could happen with Louisville and Arkansas losses.
At Large Hopefuls
In order to be an At-Large Selection a team must finish in the Top 14 of the Final BCS standings. In addition only two teams from a given conference may play in the BCS games. When Breaking it down there are only a few teams remaining which will be options for the two At Large Selections.
Notre Dame - Assuming they do not move to the #8 spot in the BCS Notre Dame will be an attractive option for money loving BCS execs.
LSU - Currently Ranked #5 in the BCS, strong candidate for At Large Selection.
Florida - A loss versus Arkansas in the SEC Title Game moves Florida to an At Large possibility.
Louisville - A Rutgers Win would move the Cardinals to At Large Hopefuls.
Rose Bowl
The Rose Bowl will have the first selection of teams to choose from the Auto-Qualifiers and At Large Teams as a result of losing the Buckeyes to the Title Game. In addition if the Trojans defeat UCLA on saturday and qualify for the National Championship game then the Rose Bowl garners the first two selections. Else, if the Trojans lose they play in the Rose Bowl and perhaps Michigan plays in the title game.
Matchup #1: Michigan vs. Notre Dame
Matchup #2: Michigan vs. LSU
Matchup #3: Southern Cal vs. LSU
Matchup #4: Southern Cal vs. Michigan
Matchup #5: Southern Cal vs. Notre Dame
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl gets to pick right after the Rose Bowl Regardless of who gets to the National Title game. In the faint chance that Florida moves on to the National Championship game the Sugar Bowl would get two selections after the Rose Bowl predictably replaced Ohio St. with Michigan.
Matchup #1: Florida vs. Louisville
Matchup #2: Florida vs. Notre Dame
Matchup #3: Arkansas vs. Louisville
Matchup #4: Arkansas vs. Notre Dame
Matchup #5: Florida vs. Rutgers
Matchup #6: Arkansas vs. Rutgers
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl gets the automatic selection of the ACC team and then will fill their void with a single at large pick or the Big East Champion depending on how the cookie crumbles from the Rose and the Sugar's choices. Everything falls into place based on whether the Rose takes ND, if not the Sugar will most certainly select them leaving the Orange to decide between the Big East Champ or Boise St. More than likely though the Big East Champ will wind up in the Sugar and LSU will fall into the Orange Bowls lap. However, if this scenerio unfolds and Florida loses the SEC title game its a distinct possibility that the Orange Bowl committee goes with the home state squad as their At Large Selection.
Matchup #1: Georgia Tech vs. LSU
Matchup #2: Wake Forest vs. LSU
Matchup #3: Georgia Tech vs. Florida
Matchup #4: Wake Forest vs. Florida
Matchup #5: Georgia Tech vs. Louisville
Matchup #6: Wake Forest vs. Louisville
Matchup #7: Georgia Tech vs. Rutgers
Matchup #8: Wake Forest vs. Rutgers
Fiesta Bowl
First the Winner of the Big 12 matchup on saturday between Nebraska and Oklahoma gets the automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl. Next the Fiesta Bowl has the last selection for an at-large or automatic qualifier. Due to the the physical location of Boise in addition to its status as a National program Boise is almost guaranteed to play the Big 12 winner in the Fiesta Bowl.
Matchup #1: Oklahoma vs. Boise St.
Matchup #2: Nebraska vs. Boise St.
National Championship Game
And the biggest of them all the National Championship game where Ohio St. awaits for one more week who they will play in the National Title Game. All eyes in Columbus will be on Southern Cal's game where if they win they obviously will be sent to Glendale. A loss there and that opens up the door for Michigan with a possibility of Florida jumping into the equation with a big win over Arkansas.
Matchup #1: Ohio St. vs. Southern Cal
Matchup #2: Ohio St. vs. Michigan
Matchup #3: Ohio St. vs. Florida
Personal Opinion
Personally as a fan of the Michigan Wolverines and an overal fan of College Football I do not want to see a rematch of ND and Big Blue in the Rose Bowl I do not think it brings and exciting must see matchup and I think the resulting flow of bowl games is hurt by its selection. I believe that LSU vs. Michigan would be an exciting game as well as a possible Florida Notre Dame matchup in the Sugar Bowl. A Rutgers Wake Forest Matchup in the Orange Bowl could put to Cinderella's against each other which could turn into an intriguing watch, which would leave Oklahoma vs. Boise St. which I don't think will generate much excitement east of the Mississippi one way or the other.
Past Weeks Scenarios: 11/15, 11/24
Team Scenarios
Automatic Qualifications
Ohio St. - National Title Game, no questions asked.
USC - Already Qualified for the Rose Bowl as Pac 10 Champions, a win versus UCLA will send them to the National Title Game.
Boise St. - Currently ranked #8 in the BCS, must fall to #13 to lose the Auto-Qualification, this will not happen and thus are BCS bound.
Arkansas - Defeat Florida on Saturday to clinch SEC Title and bid.
Florida - Defeat Arkansas on Saturday to clinch SEC Title and bid.
Nebraska - Defeat Oklahoma on Saturday to clinch Big 12 Title and bid.
Oklahoma - Defeat Nebraska on Saturday to clinch Big 12 Title and bid.
Wake Forest - Defeat Georgia Tech on Saturday to clinch ACC Title and bid.
Georgia Tech - Defeat Wake Forest on Saturday to clinch ACC Title and bid.
Rutgers - Defeat West Virginia on Saturday to clinch Big East Title and bid.
Louisville - Defeat of Uconn combined with Rutgers loss to clinch Big East Title and bid.
Michigan - Automatically Qualifies for finishing season at either #3 or #4 in the BCS.
Notre Dame - Automatically Qualifies if they finish #8 or better, could happen with Louisville and Arkansas losses.
At Large Hopefuls
In order to be an At-Large Selection a team must finish in the Top 14 of the Final BCS standings. In addition only two teams from a given conference may play in the BCS games. When Breaking it down there are only a few teams remaining which will be options for the two At Large Selections.
Notre Dame - Assuming they do not move to the #8 spot in the BCS Notre Dame will be an attractive option for money loving BCS execs.
LSU - Currently Ranked #5 in the BCS, strong candidate for At Large Selection.
Florida - A loss versus Arkansas in the SEC Title Game moves Florida to an At Large possibility.
Louisville - A Rutgers Win would move the Cardinals to At Large Hopefuls.
Rose Bowl
The Rose Bowl will have the first selection of teams to choose from the Auto-Qualifiers and At Large Teams as a result of losing the Buckeyes to the Title Game. In addition if the Trojans defeat UCLA on saturday and qualify for the National Championship game then the Rose Bowl garners the first two selections. Else, if the Trojans lose they play in the Rose Bowl and perhaps Michigan plays in the title game.
Matchup #1: Michigan vs. Notre Dame
Matchup #2: Michigan vs. LSU
Matchup #3: Southern Cal vs. LSU
Matchup #4: Southern Cal vs. Michigan
Matchup #5: Southern Cal vs. Notre Dame
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl gets to pick right after the Rose Bowl Regardless of who gets to the National Title game. In the faint chance that Florida moves on to the National Championship game the Sugar Bowl would get two selections after the Rose Bowl predictably replaced Ohio St. with Michigan.
Matchup #1: Florida vs. Louisville
Matchup #2: Florida vs. Notre Dame
Matchup #3: Arkansas vs. Louisville
Matchup #4: Arkansas vs. Notre Dame
Matchup #5: Florida vs. Rutgers
Matchup #6: Arkansas vs. Rutgers
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl gets the automatic selection of the ACC team and then will fill their void with a single at large pick or the Big East Champion depending on how the cookie crumbles from the Rose and the Sugar's choices. Everything falls into place based on whether the Rose takes ND, if not the Sugar will most certainly select them leaving the Orange to decide between the Big East Champ or Boise St. More than likely though the Big East Champ will wind up in the Sugar and LSU will fall into the Orange Bowls lap. However, if this scenerio unfolds and Florida loses the SEC title game its a distinct possibility that the Orange Bowl committee goes with the home state squad as their At Large Selection.
Matchup #1: Georgia Tech vs. LSU
Matchup #2: Wake Forest vs. LSU
Matchup #3: Georgia Tech vs. Florida
Matchup #4: Wake Forest vs. Florida
Matchup #5: Georgia Tech vs. Louisville
Matchup #6: Wake Forest vs. Louisville
Matchup #7: Georgia Tech vs. Rutgers
Matchup #8: Wake Forest vs. Rutgers
Fiesta Bowl
First the Winner of the Big 12 matchup on saturday between Nebraska and Oklahoma gets the automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl. Next the Fiesta Bowl has the last selection for an at-large or automatic qualifier. Due to the the physical location of Boise in addition to its status as a National program Boise is almost guaranteed to play the Big 12 winner in the Fiesta Bowl.
Matchup #1: Oklahoma vs. Boise St.
Matchup #2: Nebraska vs. Boise St.
National Championship Game
And the biggest of them all the National Championship game where Ohio St. awaits for one more week who they will play in the National Title Game. All eyes in Columbus will be on Southern Cal's game where if they win they obviously will be sent to Glendale. A loss there and that opens up the door for Michigan with a possibility of Florida jumping into the equation with a big win over Arkansas.
Matchup #1: Ohio St. vs. Southern Cal
Matchup #2: Ohio St. vs. Michigan
Matchup #3: Ohio St. vs. Florida
Personal Opinion
Personally as a fan of the Michigan Wolverines and an overal fan of College Football I do not want to see a rematch of ND and Big Blue in the Rose Bowl I do not think it brings and exciting must see matchup and I think the resulting flow of bowl games is hurt by its selection. I believe that LSU vs. Michigan would be an exciting game as well as a possible Florida Notre Dame matchup in the Sugar Bowl. A Rutgers Wake Forest Matchup in the Orange Bowl could put to Cinderella's against each other which could turn into an intriguing watch, which would leave Oklahoma vs. Boise St. which I don't think will generate much excitement east of the Mississippi one way or the other.
Past Weeks Scenarios: 11/15, 11/24
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