BCS Rankings: Top 4 Teams Most Likely to Get Screwed out of a BCS Bowl

Now that the first BCS rankings are out, we can say more definitively who has the best chance of going to the national championship and who will play in the other BCS Bowls.

With 10 teams still undefeated as we head into Week 8 of the season, and the Big East champion already having one loss, some teams are going to get screwed out of a BCS Bowl.

Here are the teams most likely to not hear their names called when the bowls are announced.

Houston

With Boise State ranked fifth in the BCS, Houston will likely get left out of the BCS process, assuming they go undefeated for the rest of the season.

Only one non-AQ school is guaranteed a spot, and the other must receive an at-large bid.

There are simply too many other teams that are deserving of a spot—that would also bring more fans and name recognition—to warrant the Cougars getting a spot.

Plus, they likely won’t play a ranked opponent all season unless SMU gets ranked by the end of the season.

The Mustangs don’t make the list because they already have a loss to Texas A&M.

Arkansas

The Razorbacks will likely be another casualty of the "only two teams from one conference" clause in the BCS.

With LSU and Alabama deadlocked at the top of the standings, Arkansas could go through the rest of the season undefeated, but lose to those teams and then not go to a BCS Bowl.

Luckily for them, the SEC has the best deal when it comes to the postseason, so they won’t play a bad team in a bowl.

The ACC Runner-Up

In the history of the BCS, the ACC has not sent two teams to a BCS Bowl.

Clemson, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are all fighting for the automatic bid to the Orange Bowl, and they are the only real contenders.

Whoever loses in the ACC Championship Game will likely head off to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl unless that team’s lone loss comes in that game.

Notre Dame

In order for the Irish to receive an automatic BCS berth, they have to finish in the Top Eight.

If they had only lost one of the first games instead of two, that would be a real possibility, but with so many other teams doing so well, it no longer seems very likely.

They would have to get through the rest of their schedule undefeated to get to 10 wins in order to be considered for a spot.

Even then, a two-loss team likely won’t cut it, even if they have vastly improved from the team that lost in the opening weeks of the season.