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BCS at-large bids up for grabs in final weeks

Nov 22, 7:18 pm EST

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NEW YORK (AP)—Iowa and Penn State ended their seasons eligible for an at-large BCS bid, and Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech are also in position to be eligible for invites to the four big-money bowl games even though they have no shot to win their conferences.

The top seven teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings released Sunday were unchanged from last week, with Florida, Alabama and Texas still in control of the national championship race.

Barring any major upsets over the next two weeks, the winner of the Florida-Alabama Southeastern Conference title game will face Texas in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

With fourth-place TCU a victory away from securing an automatic BCS bid and the loser of Florida-Alabama essentially a lock to be selected, only two at-large berths would remain.

To be eligible for an at-large BCS bid, a team must finish 14th or better in the final standings, which are released Dec. 6.

Iowa is 11th after completing its regular season Saturday with a 10-2 record, while Big Ten counterpart Penn State is 13th after also finishing 10-2.

The Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions will likely by vying for an at-large bid with sixth-place Boise State, which is two victories away from a 13-0 regular season but would be unable to gain an automatic bid if it finishes behind TCU.

Oklahoma State (9-2) from the Big 12 is in 12th place with its regular-season finale at Oklahoma on Saturday. The Cowboys need a victory to keep their hopes for an at-large bid alive.

Virginia Tech (8-3) is 14th and has to be considered the longest shot to receive a bid, even if it finishes its regular season by beating Virginia on Saturday.

No automatic bids to conference champions will be clinched this week, but five conference titles and BCS bids will be decided by five games the following week.

Oregon and Oregon State meet in Eugene on Dec. 3, with the winner earning the Pac-10 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. The loser is essentially eliminated from BCS contention.

Cincinnati is at Pittsburgh on Dec. 5 in what has turned into a Big East conference championship game. Both teams play this week (Pitt visits West Virginia on Friday, the same day Cincinnati hosts Illinois in a nonconference game). If the Bearcats and Panthers both finish 11-1, the loser of their game would definitely be in the running for an at-large bid.

Florida and Alabama both face big rivalry games this week, with the Gators taking on Florida State and the Crimson Tide playing at Auburn. Upsets in those games could keep the SEC champion out of the BCS title game.

Texas plays at Texas A&M on Thursday before facing Nebraska in the Big 12 title game. A loss in either could keep the Longhorns from playing for a national championship, but like Alabama and Florida, the Longhorns don’t need to win the conference title to end up in a BCS game.

The Cornhuskers’ only route to the BCS is to win the Big 12.

Georgia Tech (11-1), seventh in the BCS standings, play Georgia on Saturday and can earn an automatic bid by beating Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Dec. 5. The Yellow Jackets would likely remain eligible for an at-large bid even with a loss in the conference title game.

Like Nebraska, Clemson needs to win the conference to get into the BCS.

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Updated Nov 22, 7:18 pm EST
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2352 Comments

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  1. <i>adrjr37</i>
    2352. Posted by adrjr37 Mon Nov 23 5:34pm EST

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    Not saying that college basketball is perfect but as most of us would agree it's the best model to shoot for. I say each current BCS conference has a championship game. Winner of that game get auto bid to the playoff. Then round the field off with a few "at-large" bids from a the "lesser" conferences and BCS rankings. This makes the rankings meaningful throughout the year as teams still need to rank high enough. And if your the SEC, you possibly get the chance for two teams in the title game. Just like March Madness, the better conferences always end up being represented in the final four. This would be a great year to this type of format as their are several undefeated teams from non-BCS conferences that would get at large bids. This way we find out who is best by playing it out.

    Automatic qualifiers: ACC- G Tech, Big 10-Ohio St, Big 12-Texas, Big East-Cincy, PAC 10-Oregon, SEC-Florida/Alabama
    At Large: TCU Boise St, Florida/Alabama, Iowa, Penn St, Ok St, according to BCS poll.

    All the teams that have an argument now have a chance to play it out. Name the rounds according to bowl names; Orange, Fiesta, Sugar, Rose and Title game on a rotating basis as it is now so each bowl gets its chance to be semi-final bowl. The prior rounds would be named after lesser bowls. This way every sponsor gets its name out and is happy. I really think this could work. It also provides the opportunity for upsets ala March Madness.

    And if you want to find out who is the best conference, you could always do what basketball does with the ACC-Big 10 challenge. That would mean the SEC teams play a Big 12 teams, or PAC-10/Big-10 for example. This would give some legitimacy to the best conference argument.
  2. Black Acid Devil
    2351. Posted by Black Acid Devil Mon Nov 23 5:26pm EST

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    Saying TCU couldn't hang with UT or anyone else, is assumption, not fact....

    If the NCAA were to open it up by giving the mid-majors something LEGITIMATE to play for, instead of low-level pre-christmas bowl games if they fail to meet the BCS requirements, programs like TCU, Boise, BYU, Houston, Utah, ect, COULD recruit the same players that the AQ schools do...

    The NCAA created this problem by allowing the 6 AQ conferences to monopolize ALL high profile bowl games to protect recruiting and their own interests in the name of 'tradition', yet if you look throughout history, 'tradition' is more often than not the biggest roadblock in the ways of progression...

    Nearly half of all the schools at this level are at an OBVIOUS disadvantage.....The powers that be really need to get their heads out of their stone-aged a$$es, level the playing field and give ALL schools the same opportunities to succeed....
  3. Ron
    2350. Posted by Ron Mon Nov 23 3:41pm EST

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    Florida is the most over-rated team in the nation. They blew out patsies (div 1aa) and beat non-ranked teams only by the skin of their teeth. The only ranked team they beat is LSU, three-loss LSU who just got beat by Ole' Miss. And they only beat LSU 13-3...impressive? Nope...

    Gators have no bite...Meyer's a fraud....and the only place Tebow is going on Sunday's is church...the NFL big-boys won't let him get away with his happy feet BS...
  4. bulletproof
    2349. Posted by bulletproof Mon Nov 23 3:34pm EST

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    florida played 1 ranked/over-ranked lsu team, played 67% of their games at home to conserve the season, struggled enough at home to need help from refs to win, and are still ranked above everyone else in the land, how about giving the intelligent folks out here a reason to believe this isn't a rigged deal..the american football public knows better. the only people your convincing that uf is tops, is the gloating uf fans and yourselves apparantly..shouldn't the writers be a little more savvy on this issue..you can all ride that sinking ship all the way down!! but come 12/5 you'll all look like brainless uf fans IN TOTAL SHOCK!!!
  5. rick z
    2348. Posted by rick z Mon Nov 23 3:33pm EST

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    Jim, your conference got smashed in the Sugar Bowl last year. This year, it already has losses to Okla. St., Ga. Tech, and UCLA. The year before, Alabama lost to a Sun Belt team.

    LSU already has had two coaching meltdowns at the end of games this season. It was fortunate to win the first time.

    The SEC is 9-9 in the last 18 bowl games against the Big Ten. It is 1-7 against Cal, UCLA, and USC in the last 8 games. None of that sounds very dominant.
  6. jim
    2347. Posted by jim Mon Nov 23 3:17pm EST

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    Hey stupid. I mean rickz our conference speaks for itself We don't need to go outside it, to prove our selfs. Dec 5th is the National championship. No other conference in college footbal has the talent or coaching like the SEC
  7. Ed
    2346. Posted by Ed Mon Nov 23 3:03pm EST

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    hope u winners get what u want a BCS bowl game with fl,ab or tex. but remember if u do not buy tickets about 150, stay 3 days 1000 and spend money u will not be invited again.
  8. Simon S
    2345. Posted by Simon S Mon Nov 23 2:46pm EST

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    rick Texas had Ohio State on their nonconference a couple years ago (a home and home) and have Cal, UCLA and a few others lined up in the future. Whens the last time Florida or Bama scheduled a nonconference on the road? Florida State used to be good so I give you credit that they are on Florida's schedule. Cudos for Virginia Tech. Every once in while a Wyoming shows up on the schedule but thats the same with Bama and Florida. Before you start bragging on your tough nonconference, schedule a home and home with someone.
  9. x
    2344. Posted by x Mon Nov 23 2:29pm EST

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    rick z

    Texas has played better nonconference than Florida and Alabama? Florida plays Florida State and Alabama played Va Tech at a neutral site. Texas has played who non-conference? Wyoming? THAT was an impressive win there, now wasn't it? Don't make me laugh by saying that Texas has played a tough schedule. They have played 2 ranked team all year and Oklahoma isn't even ranked anymore. The only reason Texas is still in the top 25 is because they were ranked there preseason. They have done nothing to justify that ranking the entire year.
  10. roy m
    2343. Posted by roy m Mon Nov 23 2:18pm EST

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    i'm a longhorn fan all my lfe but i live in fort worth. i will say this - all the talk about TCU not being able to play with TEXAS, florida, bama is very wrong. it is true that TCU does not recruit many "bluechippers" but i will tell you - TCU is the best program in the country at developing talent. the frogs could stand toe to toe with any of the top three teams! as a horn fan i would rather play florida or bama in the championship! TCU deserves respect as one of the bast teams in college football this year!
  11. Simon S
    2342. Posted by Simon S Mon Nov 23 2:05pm EST

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    The only way TCU gets in the BCS is if Texas were in the SEC. Florida and Bama would each have a loss and possibly out of the BCS. if they were out , then yeah, TCU might get in there.
  12. RedCloud
    2341. Posted by RedCloud Mon Nov 23 1:24pm EST

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    We need a playoff.
  13. herbert e
    2340. Posted by herbert e Mon Nov 23 1:11pm EST

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    karl TEXAS gets 15 of the top 30 players in TEXAS every year tcu gets 1 or 2 cmon you know tcu couldnt beat the LONGHORNS. get real not one player on tcu would be 2nd team on TEXAS team
  14. <i>klr1001</i>
    2339. Posted by klr1001 Mon Nov 23 1:07pm EST

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    For all you people taking slaps at the non-BCS teams for being in a weak conference or not scheduling BCS opponents, so they don't deserve respect, try to realize that it is not by their design. The reality is that most BCS teams don't want teams like Boise St or TCU or Utah on their schedule once, let alone for a home & home series. Also, it's not like they can just jump into the Big-10 or ACC. They have to be invited people. Do you honestly think a team like BSU would really turn down a chance to join a BCS conference? As it is BSU has an open date in 2011 and have offered to play anyone anywhere to fill that week. So far, no takers. The truth is that you can bash the non-BCS teams all you want but we will never know how good these teams are until there is a playoff. What other sport could have 5 (yes 5) undefeated teams at the end of their season and only allow 2 of them to play for the title? Chances are that this years TCU team (and possibly BSU) is at least as good as Texas, Florida or Alabama. Their strenght of schedule alone is better that 2 of those 3. But they probably won't get a chance to prove it, just as Utah didn't last year.

    Say what you want about the non-BCS teams, but the cold hard facts are that most big name BCS programs don't want to play these teams because it could mean a loss and they don't want to risk it. They would rather take on Chatanooga or Florida International. Games they know they will win.

    It's not that the non-BCS schools need to schedule better, it's that the BCS schools need to schedule better.

    Oh, and we need a playoff.
  15. Karl J
    2338. Posted by Karl J Mon Nov 23 1:06pm EST

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    TEXAZZ has not played not 1 good team all season. TCU should be ahead on Texazz. They beat a ranked team. Texazz just rolls over HS teams. Good Grief!!!
  16. KyleM
    2337. Posted by KyleM Mon Nov 23 12:56pm EST

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    Mr Chevelle, I'm just glad my alum UC Davis showed they're a decent football team against your alum. Too bad we couldn't pull another Stanford moment and shock the NCAA again. Boise St is a good team that doesn't get any credit for being undefeated.
  17. Mr. Chevelle
    2336. Posted by Mr. Chevelle Mon Nov 23 12:39pm EST

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    Nice to see Boise State getting attention. When I went to BSU they were a lousy team. Boise State will continue to rise.
  18. Mr. Chevelle
    2335. Posted by Mr. Chevelle Mon Nov 23 12:36pm EST

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    Richard B. It is "THEIR" not "THERE". You have no cred. Go back to school. I have no patience for illiterates.

    Before I go, if your team LOSES the game they are LOSERS.

    They didn't LOOSE the game and they are not LOOSERS.

    Sick of idiots.
  19. Richard B
    2334. Posted by Richard B Mon Nov 23 12:32pm EST

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    BCS is a joke in it self, a group of old men trying to bring back there youth by screwing up everyone life. Pick teams from there wins not by who you like or think you like.
  20. <i>no1bamaldsmom@...</i>
    2333. Posted by no1bamaldsmom@... Mon Nov 23 12:31pm EST

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    Texas will not slip against A&M and Bama will not slip against Auburn and Florida will not slip against Florida st. The winner of the SEC championship game will win the BCS title easy as that. No argument to it. Colt will be rushed like never before and he will not know what to do. Good luck to all 3 teams. Even as a Bama fan I wish we could have a play off system. :(
  21. MTDesign
    2332. Posted by MTDesign Mon Nov 23 12:02pm EST

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    NCAA should just go to a playoff system to see who the best team is..the voting by computers and coaches is for the birds..how ya can say somebody is a champion when the computer decided who should play in the championship game? just my opinion.
  22. andrew
    2331. Posted by andrew Mon Nov 23 11:47am EST

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    Until you join another conference.
    Boise State will always be a joke.
    They dont play anyone

    Apply to join another conference and step your game up
  23. andrew
    2330. Posted by andrew Mon Nov 23 11:44am EST

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    2323 - Rick Z
    you need to check out Boise States schedule before tossing them into the mix
    outside of the first game versus Oregon.
    they have played nobody

    and they also had a DII team on the non-conference
    UC Davis - who played a DII the week before playing Boise State and almost lost.

    If any of you lived out West youd realize that was the biggest Home game ever in the history of Boise State (versus Ore) Oregon did not play that well at all and Boise State still managed to win.
    It's safe to say Oregon overlooked Boise State.
    And Boise State was playing the biggest Home game ever.
  24. andrew
    2329. Posted by andrew Mon Nov 23 11:40am EST

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    O R E G O N
    Boise State, Utah, BYU all dont schedule games versus each other in non-conference
    Because they dont want to get a loss on their records.
    Total @#$% programs.

    Granted you beat Oregon this season Boise State
    However, that is your only quality win all season long.

    Stop scheduling cupcake games in the non-conference.
    Your arguement is weak until you actually go on the road and play somebody for a change.

    Your Athletic Director and Coach know exactly what they are doing scheduling a bunch of games against North Dakota or Utah State - I'm suprised your dont play a DII team.
    Oh yeah - you pretty much did this year.
    You played that powerhouse UC Davis - which should not even be a DI program.
    And had problems with them.

    It's easy to see why you beat Oregon - It was pretty much the biggest game of the exsistence of BSU football - Where Oregon looks forward to games versus USC, Cal and Oregon State not Boise State
  25. michael h
    2328. Posted by michael h Mon Nov 23 11:39am EST

    Report Abuse

    2328 - Ed - The odds are in our favor - right?
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