BCS Bids as they stand right now.

[MaxyJR1]

1. LSU -SEC -Champ Game
2. Oklahoma State - Big 12 - Champ Game
3. Alabama- SEC -Sugar
4. Oregon -PAC 12 - Rose
5. Oklahoma - Big 12
6. Clemson - ACC
7. Virginia Tech - ACC
8. Boise St - Top NON-AQ in Top 12
9. BIG 10 Champ -Rose
10. BIG East Champ -

Next in Line.

Stanford
Houston
Arkansas

Potential BCS Busters: Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, *USC, Arizona State, UCLA. Should be fun.

 

[Son of a Badger]

Whichever Big 10 team has to play in the Rose Bowl against Oregon is going to get absolutely rocked.

 

[Rosemountian]

Whichever Big 10 team has to play in the Rose Bowl against Oregon is going to get absolutely rocked.

That's what they said two years ago too.

Oregon is a tough matchup for teams with mediocre d lines. If you have a really good d line you can slow down Oregon.


Houston should be ranked higher than Boise.


I think Arkansas beats lsu (or at least the spread $$$$$)

 

[tjgopher]

If this weekend's Nebraska-Michigan winner can win in the final week of the season (Neb plays IA; Mich vs. OSU), then that team would emerge 10-2.

A 10-2 Nebraska or Michigan will be tough to pass for one of those BCS bowls as an at-large candidate. Certainly, would trump a 2-loss ACC team team. Of course, that assumes that a 10-2 Michigan or Nebraska gets into the Top 14 in the BCS (which I think they would with a pair of wins).

 

[mplsbadger]

1. LSU -SEC -Champ Game
2. Oklahoma State - Big 12 - Champ Game
3. Alabama- SEC -Sugar
4. Oregon -PAC 12 - Rose
5. Oklahoma - Big 12
6. Clemson - ACC
7. Virginia Tech - ACC
8. Boise St - Top NON-AQ in Top 12
9. BIG 10 Champ -Rose
10. BIG East Champ -

Next in Line.

Stanford
Houston
Arkansas

Potential BCS Busters: Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, *USC, Arizona State, UCLA. Should be fun.

You can probably pencil in Oklahoma for the Fiesta in the above scenario as the Sugar would replace with Alabama and the Fiesta would replace with Oklahoma.

 

[Jike Spingleton]

--If the BCS selections were today, Houston would get the non-AQ spot ahead of Boise. The non-AQ/ranked in the top 12 only applies to conference champions, and unless TCU slips up against Colorado State or UNLV, Boise won't be a conference champ.

--The ACC won't get two teams into the BCS.

--The last two at-large spots will probably come down to Stanford, the Nebraska/Michigan winner, and the Oklahoma/Oklahoma State loser. If OSU gets into the BCS title game, leaving 11-1 Stanford, 10-2 Nebraska/Michigan and 10-2 Oklahoma, who gets left out? If it's Nebraska that finishes 10-2, I would guess Stanford is the odd team out, since the Fiesta Bowl could set up a Nebraska/Oklahoma game. If Michigan finishes 10-2, I think the Fiesta might lean toward Stanford to get the Andrew Luck spotlight, leaving them to decide between Michigan and Oklahoma.

 

[Okie]

I think most people can agree that 2011 has been one of the worst years for the Big Ten in a long time. (2011 includes January 1st!)

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I could be wrong, but I can't see any Bowl choosing Stanford over Michigan or Nebraska. It's all about $$$, and those teams have much stronger fanbases than Stanford.

They might see a nice little jump in TV ratings because of Luck, but that would have to offset losing the entire state of Michigan (who would be tuned in compared to the Stanford fanbase) or Husker nation. Then when you add up the fans traveling to the game...it would seem like a monetary no brainer to me.

 

[Jike Spingleton]

I could be wrong, but I can't see any Bowl choosing Stanford over Michigan or Nebraska. It's all about $$$, and those teams have much stronger fanbases than Stanford.

They might see a nice little jump in TV ratings because of Luck, but that would have to offset losing the entire state of Michigan (who would be tuned in compared to the Stanford fanbase) or Husker nation. Then when you add up the fans traveling to the game...it would seem like a monetary no brainer to me.

For just about any other bowl game, you are absolutely right. But the Fiesta Bowl has a history of going "against the grain" when selecting teams, most recently when they decided to pair Boise State and TCU a couple of years ago.

And I wouldn't rule out a Stanford vs. Big Ten matchup - if Oklahoma loses to OSU and finishes 10-2, there's nothing that says the Fiesta Bowl would have to take the Sooners, who have played in the Fiesta in three of the last five years. Given a choice, I think they'd prefer Nebraska/Oklahoma, but if it's Michigan that finishes 10-2, I could see Stanford/Michigan.

 

[MaxyJR1]

--If the BCS selections were today, Houston would get the non-AQ spot ahead of Boise. The non-AQ/ranked in the top 12 only applies to conference champions, and unless TCU slips up against Colorado State or UNLV, Boise won't be a conference champ.

Good clarification. I'd love to see Houston in the BCS this year. If they lose though, the bowls have a lot of potential choices.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

For just about any other bowl game, you are absolutely right. But the Fiesta Bowl has a history of going "against the grain" when selecting teams, most recently when they decided to pair Boise State and TCU a couple of years ago.

And I wouldn't rule out a Stanford vs. Big Ten matchup - if Oklahoma loses to OSU and finishes 10-2, there's nothing that says the Fiesta Bowl would have to take the Sooners, who have played in the Fiesta in three of the last five years. Given a choice, I think they'd prefer Nebraska/Oklahoma, but if it's Michigan that finishes 10-2, I could see Stanford/Michigan.

For U of M athletic budgetary reasons, 2 Big Ten teams in the BCS would be preferable.