BCS Bowl Buster: Save a Seat for Kent State?

The BCS would like to congratulate Boise State...oops, I mean Utah. Wait, is it TCU that might get a bid?  Not so fast! There’s a new potential BCS buster on top of the mountain this year: the Kent State Golden Flashes. Yes, you heard that right.  

Kent State currently sits at No. 17 in the BCS rankings and needs to move up just one spot in order to get an automatic BCS bowl bid. I know what you might be thinking, “Why is getting to No. 16 so important?”  It’s simple.  

Any non-AQ conference champion that finishes in the top 16 of the BCS rankings AND ahead of an automatic qualifying conference champion gets an invite to play in a BCS bowl game. No Big East team was ranked in the BCS standings this week. 

With UCLA currently sitting at No. 16 in the rankings, Kent State has a legitimate shot at moving into the top 16 if all goes as plan for the Flashes. Remember, UCLA plays in the PAC-12 conference championship this Friday against Stanford, as well as Kent State playing in the MAC conference championship on the same night.

If Kent State takes care of business, and UCLA plays like they did last week in the loss to the Cardinal, we may see the Golden Flashes sneak in front of the perennial powers and grab a seat at the table. 

Kent State doesn’t only have to rely on a Bruins loss to get in, however. Nebraska, sitting at No. 12, will go head to head against Wisconsin on Saturday night. A loss from the Huskers could spiral the Big Red down just enough for Kent State to get the nod.  

Darrell Hazell, a former Ohio State assistant, has turned this program around in only his second year at the helm. His work this season may not be finished yet.

With a win against Northern Illinois (ranked No. 21 in the BCS) in two days, the Golden Flashes of Kent State could find themselves heading south as a BCS bowl participant.