Bruce Carriker
25th November 2007, 05:45 PM (17:45)
Here are the top 18 teams in this weeks BCS rankings:
1 Missouri - must beat Oklahoma for BCS title shot.
2 West Virginia - virtually guaranteed BCS title game. No way they lose to Pitt.
3 Ohio State - hoping for an Oklahoma win.
4 Georgia - won't play for their own conference championship, but if both MU and WV stumble, they could play for national title. Go figure!
5 Kansas - season is done. Might drop as far as eighth in next poll if Va Tech, LSU, USC all win.
6 Virginia Tech - rematch vs Boston College. They're the better team. Will they win this time?
7 LSU - from national title shot to having to win conference championship just to hang on to a BCS bowl bid.
8 USC - may be playing the best football in the country right now. Don't think there's anyone who wants to play them right now.
9 Oklahoma - a win vs. MU knocks the Tigers or Jayhawks out of BCS bowl picture.
10 Florida - virtually no way they can play in a BCS bowl. The LSU-Tennessee winner is guaranteed a spot, and Georgia is finished and ranked 6 spots higher already.
11 Boston College - far will they drop if they lose to Va Tech? My guess is they must win ACC title for BCS bowl invite.
12 Hawaii - well look who's at #12, guaranteed a BCS bowl invite!! They still have to beat Washington, but if they do they're probably going to the Sugar Bowl, which has the tenth and final invitation and will be obligated to invite the Rainbow Warriors.
13 Arizona State - Could still be invited to Fiesta to play Big 12's #2 team, but may have dropped from BCS bowl contention after being routed by USC.
14 Tennessee - must beat LSU for SEC's automatic BCS invite.
15 Illinois - if MU or WV lose and Ohio State backs in to national title game, Rose Bowl has already as much as said they'll invite Illinois if they can. Would need to move into top 14 to be eligible, but if Tennessee loses to LSU and/or BC loses to Va Tech, Illinois could be the least deserving team EVER to get a BCS invite.
My Bowl Predictions:
BCS Championship: West Virginia - Ohio State
Rose Bowl: USC (obligation) - Illinois (1st at large choice to replace losing Ohio State to title game)
Orange Bowl: Va Tech (obligation) - Georgia (second at large pick)
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma (obligation) - Kansas (third at large pick)
Sugar Bowl: LSU (obligation) - Hawaii (obligation, but no one else will pck them so Sugar Bowl will be stuck)
Missouri goes from #1 overall to no BCS bowl because the Fiesta is not going to give them a third shot at Oklahoma. Even though they are from the same conference, KU and OU did not play and I'm guessing the Fiesta would find that a more compelling matchup than OU-Hawaii. And if you're OU, do you really want to lose to a WAC team twice in two years?
I guess the Sugar could work a deal with the Fiesta to take Hawaii and the Sugar could then take MU; or the Fiesta could work a deal with the Orange to take MU, leaving Georgia in the Fiesta, but if neither of those happens, MU is going to finish 11-2, in the Top Ten, and NOT get a BCS invite. And if you're the Fiesta (taking Hawaii) or the Orange (losing Georgia - a huge draw located one state away), why would you want to make such a deal?
1 Missouri - must beat Oklahoma for BCS title shot.
2 West Virginia - virtually guaranteed BCS title game. No way they lose to Pitt.
3 Ohio State - hoping for an Oklahoma win.
4 Georgia - won't play for their own conference championship, but if both MU and WV stumble, they could play for national title. Go figure!
5 Kansas - season is done. Might drop as far as eighth in next poll if Va Tech, LSU, USC all win.
6 Virginia Tech - rematch vs Boston College. They're the better team. Will they win this time?
7 LSU - from national title shot to having to win conference championship just to hang on to a BCS bowl bid.
8 USC - may be playing the best football in the country right now. Don't think there's anyone who wants to play them right now.
9 Oklahoma - a win vs. MU knocks the Tigers or Jayhawks out of BCS bowl picture.
10 Florida - virtually no way they can play in a BCS bowl. The LSU-Tennessee winner is guaranteed a spot, and Georgia is finished and ranked 6 spots higher already.
11 Boston College - far will they drop if they lose to Va Tech? My guess is they must win ACC title for BCS bowl invite.
12 Hawaii - well look who's at #12, guaranteed a BCS bowl invite!! They still have to beat Washington, but if they do they're probably going to the Sugar Bowl, which has the tenth and final invitation and will be obligated to invite the Rainbow Warriors.
13 Arizona State - Could still be invited to Fiesta to play Big 12's #2 team, but may have dropped from BCS bowl contention after being routed by USC.
14 Tennessee - must beat LSU for SEC's automatic BCS invite.
15 Illinois - if MU or WV lose and Ohio State backs in to national title game, Rose Bowl has already as much as said they'll invite Illinois if they can. Would need to move into top 14 to be eligible, but if Tennessee loses to LSU and/or BC loses to Va Tech, Illinois could be the least deserving team EVER to get a BCS invite.
My Bowl Predictions:
BCS Championship: West Virginia - Ohio State
Rose Bowl: USC (obligation) - Illinois (1st at large choice to replace losing Ohio State to title game)
Orange Bowl: Va Tech (obligation) - Georgia (second at large pick)
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma (obligation) - Kansas (third at large pick)
Sugar Bowl: LSU (obligation) - Hawaii (obligation, but no one else will pck them so Sugar Bowl will be stuck)
Missouri goes from #1 overall to no BCS bowl because the Fiesta is not going to give them a third shot at Oklahoma. Even though they are from the same conference, KU and OU did not play and I'm guessing the Fiesta would find that a more compelling matchup than OU-Hawaii. And if you're OU, do you really want to lose to a WAC team twice in two years?
I guess the Sugar could work a deal with the Fiesta to take Hawaii and the Sugar could then take MU; or the Fiesta could work a deal with the Orange to take MU, leaving Georgia in the Fiesta, but if neither of those happens, MU is going to finish 11-2, in the Top Ten, and NOT get a BCS invite. And if you're the Fiesta (taking Hawaii) or the Orange (losing Georgia - a huge draw located one state away), why would you want to make such a deal?