BCS Rankings: 10 Teams That Can Screw Up Their Bowl Chances This Weekend
BCS Rankings are always a testy issue in the minds of college football fans across the country, and no more so than this week, the last week of the regular season. The week where conference championships and some rivalry games have a chance to completely reconfigure the bowl picture.
Both No. 1 and No. 2 are in action, as well as three conference title games and two other conferences where the BCS automatic bids have yet to be determined. There's still a lot that can happen that can cause chaos for the final computer rankings of the 2010 season.
With that in mind, here are 10 teams who have the most to lose this weekend.
Oregon Ducks
1 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: BCS National Championship Game.
If Oregon loses, it falls to: Rose Bowl.
Oregon doesn't have much to lose in terms of the BCS perspective of making one of the games. A loss to Oregon State in the annual Civil War and Oregon would still be off to Pasadena as the Pac-10 champ.
But losing a chance at the National Championship in the last game of the season would be devastating, and any bowl game, even the Rose, would be a downgrade.
Who benefits the most from a loss: TCU.
A Ducks loss and the No. 3-ranked Horned Frogs, who finished their season last week, will get their shot at a National Championship and a chance to show the college football world that the Non-AQ schools do belong.
Stanford receives no added benefit from a Oregon loss other than just a share of the Pac-10 title, as both schools are projected to make the BCS and the Cardinal weren't slated to go to the Rose anyway.
Auburn Tigers
2 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: BCS National Championship Game.
If Auburn loses, it falls to: Orange or Fiesta Bowl.
An Auburn loss would mean South Carolina would be the SEC Champion and would take the Sugar Bowl slot as such.
The Tigers would probably still hold on to a BCS bid (like Florida and Alabama did the last two seasons) and with the Rose probably stepping up and snatching Stanford to preserve the Big 10-Pac-10 matchup, then the Orange and Fiesta Bowls would get next crack at the Tigers.
Who benefits the most from a loss: Like with Oregon, an Auburn loss means TCU is in.
South Carolina would also benefit as the SEC champ and get its first ever trip to the BCS.
Connecticut Huskies
3 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: Orange Bowl.
If Connecticut loses, it falls to: Meineke Car Care Bowl.
The spot for the No. 2 team in the Big East is slotted for the Champs Sports Bowl, but both ESPN and CBS Sports are projecting Notre Dame to fill that spot. The next highest spot for a Big East team would be the Meineke Car Care, and UCONN could have a strong case to fill that spot.
Who benefits the most from a loss: West Virginia.
A Connecticut loss means that the tiebreaker the Huskies have over WVU becomes irrelevant, and since the Mountaineers have the tiebreaker with Pitt, West Virginia would take the league's automatic bid.
But that's of course assuming West Virginia can take care of business against Rutgers.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Oklahoma Sooners
4 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: Fiesta Bowl.
If Oklahoma loses, it falls to: Alamo Bowl.
The Big 12's No. 2 team goes to the Cotton Bowl, but Texas A&M has already accepted a bid to the Cotton. The next highest slot is the Alamo, and because both Oklahoma and Nebraska both have two losses entering the game, the conference will probably only have one team in the BCS.
Who benefits the most from a loss: Nebraska.
A Cornhusker win in the Big 12 Title Game means Big Red heads back to the BCS for the first time since the days of Eric Crouch and takes the Big 12-slotted spot in the Fiesta Bowl.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
5 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: Alamo Bowl.
If Nebraska loses, it falls to: Alamo Bowl or Insight Bowl.
There's a bit of a discrepancy here among bowl projectors should the Cornhuskers lose in their last ever conference game in the Big 12.
CBS Sports is projecting the Alamo Bowl on the assumption Oklahoma wins, but ESPN's Andrea Adelson is projecting Nebraska will fall all the way to the Insight should it lose to the Sooners.
Who benefits the most from a loss: The State of Oklahoma.
The Sooners would head to the BCS and the Fiesta Bowl yet again, while if Adelson is correct, Oklahoma State jumps Nebraska and takes the No. 3 slot in the Alamo.
Virginia Tech Hokies
6 of 10
Current Bowl Prediction: Orange Bowl.
If Virginia Tech loses, it falls to: Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
Like the Big 12, the ACC will have just one representative this year.
Virginia Tech, despite not losing in the conference, still has two losses and needs to win the ACC Championship Game to make the BCS and the Orange Bowl. But the school wouldn't drop too far on the bowl ladder like some other teams in Conference Championship Games.
Who benefits the most from a loss: Florida State.
A Florida State win means the Seminoles go back to the Orange Bowl for the first time since the much-hyped, three-overtime classic against Penn State when Bobby Bowden coached against Joe Paterno.
West Virginia Mountaineers
7 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: Meineke Car Care Bowl (assuming UCONN wins).
If Virginia Tech loses, it falls to: Pinstripe Bowl.
The newly-created bowl game at Yankee Stadium takes the No. 4 slot from the Big East.
If the Mountaineers lose and Pitt wins, the Panthers move ahead of West Virginia. Syracuse would also move ahead of West Virginia as well because of the head-to-head, but the Mountaineers have traveled well for BCS games in the past, which could help their cause.
Who benefits the most from a loss: Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
The Huskies have less interference between them and a BCS berth, Pittsburgh keeps its BCS hopes alive and Syracuse improves its chances for a higher profile mid-level bowl.
South Carolina Gamecocks
8 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: Sugar Bowl (if South Carolina wins).
If South Carolina loses, it falls to: Outback Bowl.
Most college football people are already projecting the Gamecocks in the Outback assuming Auburn beats South Carolina in the SEC Championship game.
Of course, it could depend on where Arkansas, LSU and Alabama fall as well.
If Arkansas gets into the BCS, its expected Alabama and LSU would fall to either the Cotton or Capital One Bowls, with South Carolina then sliding into the Outback against possibly Iowa or Penn State.
Who benefits the most from a loss: Auburn and Arkansas.
Auburn takes the spot in the National Championship Game and Arkansas has a chance to take an at-large bid.
Florida State Seminoles
9 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: Orange Bowl (if Florida State wins).
If Florida State loses, it will fall to: Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
Same thing that applies for Virginia Tech applies to the Seminoles.
The ACC will only have one team in the BCS, the conference champ which is tied to the Orange. If Florida State loses, it would fall to the ACC's No. 2 slot and the Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta against a SEC team.
Who benefits the most from a loss: Virginia Tech.
A loss means yet another ACC title for Frank Beamer and the Hokies.
Pittsburgh Panthers
10 of 10
Current Bowl Projection: Meineke Car Care Bowl (assuming UCONN wins).
If Pittsburgh loses, it falls to: Pinstripe or Beef O' Brady's Bowl.
A lot of where Pitt ends up depends on what Connecticut and West Virginia do Saturday, since Pittsburgh is still alive for the Big East title.
If both win, then Pittsburgh would fall into a tie for third with Syracuse and possibly South Florida. With Notre Dame expected to take the Champs Sports bowl spot, the Big East teams all get bumped down a slot. Then it becomes a pick-and-choose scenario.
Who benefits the most from a loss: Syracuse and South Florida.
A three-way tie could even the field and possibly one or both of them could pass over Pittsburgh for a higher profile mid-level bowl.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
