BCS Rankings 2011: 3 BCS Hopefuls That Could Be Screwed If Notre Dame Goes 10-2

Don’t look now but Notre Dame is starting to play like the team we thought they would be this preseason. The team has continued to cut back on turnovers and their defense is giving up just 21 points per game.

The only tough game remaining on the Irish’s schedule is a game at Stanford and the Cardinal has yet to play anyone good and they are still 85th in the country in pass yards allowed.

If Notre Dame goes undefeated the rest of the way, they will be 10-2 and with a win over Stanford should be able to sneak into a BCS Bowl.

But at whose expense? Here are five teams that are hoping the Irish don’t win out.

Clemson

At this point, Clemson doesn’t look like it will lose any games and Georgia Tech is the highest ranking team in the other ACC division with Virginia Tech coming in at No. 19 and UNC looming just outside the Top 25.

The Hokies and Tar Heels each have a conference loss already and the Yellow Jackets have to play Clemson in the regular season so the odds of them getting an at-large spot is unlikely.

But if any of those teams upset the Tigers in the ACC Championship game, Clemson could get left out in favor of Notre Dame. The ACC has never had two teams in BCS Bowls.

Boise State

The Broncos are always on the outside looking in when it comes to the BCS National Championship, but if Notre Dame gets into a BCS Bowl, they could be left completely out of a major bowl themselves.

The SEC will get two teams into BCS games and, assuming the Oklahoma schools are undefeated when they take on each other at the end of the season, the Big 12 will also get two bids.

Then if Notre Dame gets a bid, there is only spot left and if a team like Michigan goes undefeated, the Big Ten would also get another bid leaving Boise to play in the best bowl in the Mountain West.

Houston

The Cougars are undefeated with quarterback Case Keenum at the helm. They don’t play a team currently ranked in the Top 25 for the rest of the season so there is a good chance they can keep their record unblemished.

With Boise being ranked so high, it is already unlikely that Houston could sneak into the BCS and have two non-AQ teams playing like there’s been the last two years.

If Notre Dame gets a bid, forget about it.