BCS Week 12 Report: Boise State Is Creeping Up On TCU

Kellen Moore was out of sync in the first quarter against Fresno State. Moore threw a pick and fumbled. However, he did right himself, eventually, playing flawless quarterback in the last three quarters.

333 yards and four touchdowns if you need him.

Coach Pat Hill of Fresno State never ducks anyone. His team took USC to the limit when the Trojans were coached by Pete Carroll and they had Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush in their backfield. So for Pat Hill to be quoted with the phrase "scared to play them" caught my attention. Hill was referring to the rest of the country as his Bulldogs did play the Broncos and lost 51-0.

TCU has one game left and it is against the one-win New Mexico Lobos. Boise State has this Al Gore thing going for it as they have more points and higher rankings in both the Harris and Coaches Polls, but when the computer puts its stink on the BCS—akin to the Republicans in the House of Reps back in 2000—TCU is over a percentage point ahead of Boise State for the third spot.

It looks like Andy Dalton and the Horned Frogs will drop to the fourth spot of the BCS as early as next week, assuming a win by Boise State over the one-loss Nevada Wolf Pack. Coach Chris Petersen has led the Broncos to 24 straight wins.

The other popular assumption now is that Mark Ingram and the Crimson Tide will run all over Cam Newton and the scandal-rocked Auburn Tigers.

What I like about Auburn this year, even though they are on the road for the Iron Bowl, is that they are due in the rivalry. These rivalry games have a cosmic touch to them.

I saw it as a kid when the Ohio State Buckeyes would always lose huge games to the Michigan Wolverines. Then John Cooper was let go and Jim Tressel was brought in and the first thing he said was that the Buckeyes would beat the Wolverines.

The Wolverines are now due in the rivalry with Ohio State but their defense is no good.

Auburn, on the other hand, has a defense full of SEC players. The BCS is pulling for the Tigers and that is why I am pulling against them as I hope for a Tide win in the Iron Bowl.

Oregon State is due against Oregon, but the Ducks with LeMichael James and Darron Thomas simply look unstoppable. For this reason, I am also going to drop TCU in my poll. The Oregon Ducks look like the second best team in the country.

BCS Report Top 25

1. Boise State

2. Oregon Ducks

3. TCU Horned Frogs

4. LSU Tigers

5. Alabama Crimson Tide

6. Auburn Tigers

7. Wisconsin Badgers

8. Ohio State Buckeyes

9. Stanford Cardinal

10. Michigan State Spartans

11. Oklahoma State Cowboys

12. Nevada Wolf Pack

13. Virginia Tech Hokies

14. Oklahoma Sooners

15. Arkansas Razorbacks

16. South Carolina Gamecocks

17. Nebraska Cornhuskers

18. Missouri Tigers

19. Arizona Wildcats

20. Florida State Seminoles

21. Texas A & M Aggies

22. Utah Utes

23. Iowa Hawkeyes

24. Mississippi State Bulldogs

25. West Virginia Mountaineers

Conference Power Rankings

1. SEC (6)

2. Big 10 (4)

3. Pac-10 (3)

4. Big 12 (5)

5. Mountain West (2)

6. WAC (2)

Week 13 Preview

1. Auburn at Alabama

2. Arizona at Oregon

3. Boise State at Nevada

4. LSU at Arkansas

5. Michigan at Ohio State

6. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State