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Penn State Bowl Situation
Kevin McGuireNov 24, 2008
I seem to getting a lot of traffic since Saturday regarding this topic so let me update it to the best of my knowledge. Can Penn State still play for the national championship? Yes, but they need a lot of help between now and the conference championship games.
- Alabama
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Florida
- USC
- Utah
- Texas Tech
- PENN STATE
- Boise State
- Ohio State
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Penn State and Utah are both finished playing in the regular season and are hoping for some key losses in the next couple of weeks. Right now the Nittany Lions are locked in to the Rose Bowl. Should the Lions move up in to the top two somehow they will ditch Pasadena and head to the championship game in Miami. Here is what needs to happen for Penn State to get super lucky this weekend.
Texas A&M beats Texas
The Longhorns are currently the number two team in the BCS and have the inside track to the championship game. The Aggies, looking for a major upset, enter the game with a 4-7 record and ineligible for a bowl. With no bowl game this season on the menu for Texas A&M, an upset of the Longhorns would naturally make their season and send Texas dropping heavily in the BCS rankings, almost certainly dropping behind Penn State.
Florida State beats Florida
The Gators seem to be the trendy pick to make the BCS championship game right now, but the rival Seminoles can bring some respect to a beleaguered ACC with a stunning win on Saturday. The ACC has been playing in the huge shadow of the SEC lately and the Seminoles would love to derail the Gators right before the SEC championship game. A loss by the Gators would be their second and would drop them behind the idle Nittany Lions. Penn State fans will root for Florida State this weekend, but may need Florida the following week.
Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Sooners look unstoppable as of late and need a victory for a shot at playing in the Big XII championship should Texas stumble against Texas A&M. But Oklahoma State has had a very nice season and would love to stomp their rivals in the final game of he regular season at home. An Oklahoma State win could also propel the Cowboys into the BCS mix as well. The Cowboys are 6-0 at home this season, and the Sooners are undefeated on the road. Something has to give. An Oklahoma loss would be their second loss, and Penn State would likely pass them in the rankings.
Baylor beats Texas Tech
I do not see it happening but a loss to Baylor would be catastrophic for the Red Raiders, dropping them clear out of the BCS picture. The Red Raiders are sitting right in front of the Nittany Lions in the BCS rankings so a loss anywhere would definitely push Penn State ahead of Texas Tech.
Auburn beats Alabama
Another long shot on paper but Auburn has dominated the series in the past few years. Auburn has no offense though and will need to scratch out a tough victory on the road against Alabama. Even if Alabama does win this game there is a good chance they will lose the SEC championship game against Florida. The problem with the BCS formula is that the Nittany Lions might need Alabama to lose twice in order to pass them in the standings. If Florida loses to Florida State though, the BCS ranking of the Gators will take a hit, thus hurting Alabama in a loss to Florida. So let's take this one week at a time.
Notre Dame beats USC
If not for the Baylor-Texas Tech game, this is the least likely to happen. The Fighting Irish have not shown much fight this year or against USC in the past couple years. USC is just light yeas ahead of Notre Dame right now and the Trojans are motivated to sneak into the BCS title game themselves. If Charlie Weis is ever going to legitimatize his paycheck, this is the game to do it. And Penn State fans would be none the happier.
Penn State does not need everything listed above to happen this weekend, but the more that happens the better it will be heading into the pivotal Big XII and SEC championship games. Mind you that Utah figures to move up the same way Penn State could and with the Utes not playing another game Penn State may need all of these things to happen to set up a Penn State-Utah BCS championship game, much to the media's dismay.
Texas A&M beats Texas
The Longhorns are currently the number two team in the BCS and have the inside track to the championship game. The Aggies, looking for a major upset, enter the game with a 4-7 record and ineligible for a bowl. With no bowl game this season on the menu for Texas A&M, an upset of the Longhorns would naturally make their season and send Texas dropping heavily in the BCS rankings, almost certainly dropping behind Penn State.
Florida State beats Florida
The Gators seem to be the trendy pick to make the BCS championship game right now, but the rival Seminoles can bring some respect to a beleaguered ACC with a stunning win on Saturday. The ACC has been playing in the huge shadow of the SEC lately and the Seminoles would love to derail the Gators right before the SEC championship game. A loss by the Gators would be their second and would drop them behind the idle Nittany Lions. Penn State fans will root for Florida State this weekend, but may need Florida the following week.
Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Sooners look unstoppable as of late and need a victory for a shot at playing in the Big XII championship should Texas stumble against Texas A&M. But Oklahoma State has had a very nice season and would love to stomp their rivals in the final game of he regular season at home. An Oklahoma State win could also propel the Cowboys into the BCS mix as well. The Cowboys are 6-0 at home this season, and the Sooners are undefeated on the road. Something has to give. An Oklahoma loss would be their second loss, and Penn State would likely pass them in the rankings.
Baylor beats Texas Tech
I do not see it happening but a loss to Baylor would be catastrophic for the Red Raiders, dropping them clear out of the BCS picture. The Red Raiders are sitting right in front of the Nittany Lions in the BCS rankings so a loss anywhere would definitely push Penn State ahead of Texas Tech.
Auburn beats Alabama
Another long shot on paper but Auburn has dominated the series in the past few years. Auburn has no offense though and will need to scratch out a tough victory on the road against Alabama. Even if Alabama does win this game there is a good chance they will lose the SEC championship game against Florida. The problem with the BCS formula is that the Nittany Lions might need Alabama to lose twice in order to pass them in the standings. If Florida loses to Florida State though, the BCS ranking of the Gators will take a hit, thus hurting Alabama in a loss to Florida. So let's take this one week at a time.
Notre Dame beats USC
If not for the Baylor-Texas Tech game, this is the least likely to happen. The Fighting Irish have not shown much fight this year or against USC in the past couple years. USC is just light yeas ahead of Notre Dame right now and the Trojans are motivated to sneak into the BCS title game themselves. If Charlie Weis is ever going to legitimatize his paycheck, this is the game to do it. And Penn State fans would be none the happier.
Penn State does not need everything listed above to happen this weekend, but the more that happens the better it will be heading into the pivotal Big XII and SEC championship games. Mind you that Utah figures to move up the same way Penn State could and with the Utes not playing another game Penn State may need all of these things to happen to set up a Penn State-Utah BCS championship game, much to the media's dismay.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
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