Who Will Play For The BCS Championship?

We are currently a little more than halfway through the college football season, and it has been quite an exciting and thrilling start. The real question at this point in time is who will earn the right to play in this year’s BCS bowl games. As usual, this is a difficult question because there are sure to be upsets along the way, which will cause major changes to the rankings as the weeks unfold.

Anyways, let’s break down the contenders and predict the championship game.

Texas is currently ranked as the number two team in the country atop the Big 12 after their huge wins against Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. Texas is in an unbelievable position at this point because they have beaten the strong teams in their division and should be able to win their final four games. Their trip to College Station to take on Texas A&M is their only true test remaining, but I believe Colt McCoy and his Longhorns squad will come away with the victory. They will then play the Big 12 North winner and again I don’t see Texas having any problem beating whoever wins that side of the conference.

In the SEC, Alabama is currently ranked as the number three team in the country and has been playing some great football. They took care of Virginia Tech, Ole Miss and South Carolina with ease and were able to escape with a win against an underrated Tennessee team. They have stepped up against their strongest competitors and have shown the country that they are for real.

For the most part their schedule is favorable—I see them taking care of Mississippi State, Chattanooga and Auburn with ease. That leaves their showdown against LSU as the final test. If they can beat LSU, they will go undefeated and win a trip to the SEC Championship to take on Florida which as usual will be an unbelievable game.

The Florida Gators have risen to the occasion as of late and are currently playing their best football. Tim Tebow is starting to look great again, the defense is unstoppable and the Gators won’t have any trouble with their four remaining games.

After their upset of USC in Eugene on Halloween night, Oregon is in the driver’s seat for the Pac-10 title championship. It’s as simple as this, if the Ducks win their final four games; they win the title and punch a ticket to the Rose Bowl. They play four teams from the conference which makes the road somewhat difficult for the Ducks. However they are clearly the best Pac-10 team at this point and I don’t see what they can’t win all of their games. Their trip to Arizona on the 21st should be a very exciting game with a lot on the line for both schools.

The Big 10 will have the most big games to end the season and is by far the hardest of all the conferences to predict. The race seems to be between Iowa and Penn St for the conference and an eventual trip to the Rose Bowl. Since Iowa has already beaten the Nittany Lions they currently have a leg up against Joe Paterno’s squad. I believe Penn St will beat Ohio St at home and win their final two games. This will leave them with an 11-1 record. The Hawkeyes on the other hand will lose to Ohio St and also finish the season with an 11-1 record. With this said, Iowa will win the tiebreak against Penn St and will make the trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. However, with an 11-1 record the Nittany Lions will still be in position to play for a BCS bowl game.

The ACC and the Big East are pretty easy to project. Cincinnati will win in the Big East while Georgia Tech will win in the ACC. This means that both of these teams will be rewarded with a BCS bowl game berth. If the Bearcats go undefeated they could have a chance at playing for the national title. If two of the top three teams lose one game I don’t see what the Bearcats should not be in the discussion for the BCS title. However, I don’t see that happening which should leave them playing for the Sugar Bowl.

TCU and Boise St are both mid-major schools with undefeated records. They both need to remain undefeated or they will fall from all BCS talks. TCU has a more difficult schedule as they will have to beat Utah to remain undefeated. However, I believe both the Horned Frogs and the Broncos will prevail and force themselves into a BCS title game. It should be interesting to see how both teams matchup against school form powerhouse conferences.

We are nearing the most exciting time in the college football season. So sit back and enjoy some amazing matchups leading up to the bowl games in January.

BCS Bowl Projections-

Rose Bowl-

Iowa vs. Oregon

Sugar Bowl-

Alabama vs. Cincinnati

Fiesta Bowl-

Boise St vs. Penn St.

Orange Bowl-

Georgia Tech vs. TCU

National Championship

Florida vs. Texas