Boise State Football: Crazy Weekend Brings the Broncos Back into the BCS Picture

What a weekend for Boise State. Not only did the No. 10 Broncos take care of business by defeating San Diego State 52-35 but there were some key losses among the teams ahead of Boise State.

The weekend started off with No. 2 Oklahoma State falling to Iowa State on Friday, and continued on Saturday as No. 7 Clemson lost to North Carolina State.

The evening just got better as, in a Broncos-esque fashion, No. 4 Oregon lost to USC on a wide left-field goal attempt as time ran out.

But that's not all.  

Mere minutes later No. 5 Oklahoma was upset by Baylor, leading to a very helpful night for Boise State.

Given the losses ahead of Boise State, they should move to No. 7, at least, in the BCS. What is even better is that these losses helped Boise State but did not necessarily help TCU. It is unlikely that, as a two-loss team, the Horned Frogs will jump the two-loss BCS teams.   

As the potential No. 7 team in the country, Boise State definitely deserves a BCS bowl. This is on top of the fact that the Broncos only lost by one point to the No. 19 team in the country. But the Broncos could definitely use some additional help.  Here is what needs to happen to continue to aid Boise State in their quest for a BCS Bowl.

1. Boise State needs to win its last two games against Wyoming and New Mexico. Both are at home, so Boise State will definitely be the favorites in those games by a huge margin.

2. LSU needs to defeat Arkansas to drop the Razorbacks behind Boise State since they will have two losses.

3. Oklahoma needs to beat Oklahoma State in Bedlam, so both will have two losses dropping them behind Boise State.

4. Notre Dame needs to beat Stanford to drop the Cardinal behind the Broncos.

5. Houston needs to lose to Tulsa or in the C-USA Championship Game.

6. Virginia Tech needs to lose again to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. 

7. Though it's highly unlikely, TCU needs to lose to UNLV.

8. Even more unlikely is Alabama losing to Auburn, but that would help as well.

9. Georgia, who has already won the SEC East, needs to win the entire SEC in Atlanta.

Now, like I said, other than the number one requirement, having all of these come true is not necessarily required for the Broncos to receive a BCS bid, but any one of them definitely help the Broncos' position.

If none of those things happen, Boise State will likely finish No. 6 or No. 7, but here is what the ranking could look like for the Top 15 if all of the cards fall into place for Boise State. Since numbers seven and eight are unlikely, I will keep them out of this ranking.  

1. Alabama		11-1
2. LSU		11-1
3. Boise State		11-1
4. Oregon		11-2
5. Georgia		11-2
6. Oklahoma		10-2
7. Stanford		10-2
8. Arkansas		10-2
9. Clemson		11-2
10. Kansas State		10-2
11. Michigan State		11-2
12. Oklahoma State		10-2
13. Houston		11-1
14. Virginia Tech		10-2
15. Michigan		10-2

Even if this is overly optimistic, Boise State should finish in the Top 5 just in case the BCS voters inevitably put a two-loss team ahead of Boise. Oregon and Oklahoma have the best chance at the end of the season to jump a one-loss Boise State. 

It would be pretty comical to see the No. 3 team in the country in the Poinsettia Bowl while a three- or four-loss Big East team goes to the Orange Bowl. Especially after Georgia, a team Boise State dominated, wins the SEC to go to the Sugar Bowl.