College Football Rankings: Should Boise State Be Wary of TCU?

Boise State is currently just looking in on the outside of the BCS National Championship with the No. 3 college football ranking once again.

Even though the Broncos need some help from teams, they have arguably the easiest path to an undefeated season, compared to the other contenders. 

Assuming Auburn can't get through the rest of schedule without dropping at least one game, Boise State should find itself in the top two in the polls, and the Broncos faithful can clamor about finally getting a chance to play for a National Championship.

Not so fast, my friend.

There could be a chance that the TCU Horned Frogs would actually have enough of an advantage in their computer ranking to overtake the Broncos. 

Boise State is percentage points ahead of TCU right now, but have the cushion of the polls to keep them ahead. The Broncos are No. 2 in both polls, while the Horned Frogs are No. 4. 

However, while the computers rank TCU at No. 4, they are not as kind to Boise State. The Broncos are ranked No. 6 in the computer rankings. 

If Auburn falls, TCU could benefit in the polls by moving up to No. 3, where Boise State would remain in the same position behind Oregon.

TCU will also benefit in the computers if it beats Utah, who could be as high as No. 6 by the time these two teams meet. Solid wins over Oregon State and surprise-team Baylor continue to aid their rankings. 

TCU finished last season with a .840 schedule ranking, which was No. 5 in the computers. With stronger opponents, TCU should finish with a higher computer ranking. Also, if Oregon, Boise State and TCU finish as the only unbeatens, it should improve their ranking even more. 

For hypothetical reasons, let's switch Auburn and TCU's human poll position to reflect what their ranking would be at No. 3 instead of No. 4. When the BCS formula is computed with the new data, TCU would have a .002 advantage over what Boise State's current BCS ranking reflects. 

TCU's very strong schedule and proximity to Boise State in the polls could lead to the Horned Frogs passing Boise State in the long run with the BCS. Pollsters could choose to bolster Boise State by dropping TCU because of their Fiesta Bowl game last year or perhaps behind an also undefeated Michigan State.

Regardless what bias there could be, this scenario is unlikely to happen. 

It's very hard to predict what the computers will rank down the road, but Boise supporters should start pulling for Utah to lose games, except against TCU, and root for Virginia Tech to win out—or Glendale could be the destination for the Purple and Black. 

Erik Yost is a student at The Ohio State University and a writing intern at Bleacher Report. Follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/ErikYost_