BCS Standings - Who's In/Who's Out

Well, we're getting down to crunch time for the BCS and the bowl picture is beginning to take shape. My biggest concern is where WVU will end up. Rutgers loss to Cincinatti really hurt WVU because now, if Louisville can beat Pittsburgh and UConn, they will receive the automatic bid from the Big East. Had each team finished 11-1, the automatic berth would have gone to the team with the highest ranking (WVU).

There are 10 spots in the BCS. Six are taken by conference champions and four go to at-large teams. Non-BCS schools can earn bids if ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings or ranked ahead of a BCS conference champ. Here who is most likely in:

• Ohio State - Big 10
• Texas - Big 12
• Georgia Tech - ACC
• USC - Pac 10
• Louisville - Big East
• Arkansas/Florida - SEC

Here who is most likely getting at-large bids:

• Michigan
• Boise State
• Notre Dame

That leaves one spot open. If Florida loses to Arkansas in the SEC title game, expect some hard lobbying from the SEC to get that open spot. Urban Meyer will suddenly sound a lot like Tommy Tuberville (wah, wah, wah). If Arkansas loses, they're out and we'll never hear any more about it. Notre Dame will receive a spot whether they are deserving or not. Boise State will be in...and that's the one that hurts our chances of landing an at-large selection.

However, our ranking should get us in. WVU is currently #7 and, if they win out, should jump over the loser of the USC/Notre Dame matchup and the loser of the Florida/Arkansas matchup. That would move WVU up to #5 in the final BCS Standings (obviously, they have to win out for this to occur). Really, there's no other team around us that has an argument for the final at-large bid...except maybe Wisconsin but there's already 2 Big 10 schools in the BCS. The next closest team that could argue would be Rutgers who is currently #12.

So, if WVU wins out, it looks pretty good they will receive that final at-large bid. There's a lot of talk about a possible Rose Bowl matchup against Michigan or USC. How awesome would the Rose Bowl be? Once in a lifetime really considering the rarity of them not having the Pac 10/Big 10 matchup. But, that's all speculation so far...WVU has to take care of business against USF and Rutgers. I'm very happy those games are at home.