BCS Standings: Michigan State and Teams with Nothing to Gain

It's easy to trump up the big games in college football, the ones that pit ranked teams against each other or force potential conference champions to put their BCS eligibility on the line.

But what about those other games? You know, the ones late in the season wherein the results don't really affect the big picture, depending on what the results are. For some teams, like the ones below, their bowl-season fates figure to be the same whether they win or lose on Thanksgiving weekend.

Michigan State

The Spartans have already wrapped up the Legends Division and the trip to the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game that comes with it, yet the schedule dictates that they trouble themselves with a visit to Evanston to take on Northwestern.

Sure, the 6-5 Wildcats aren't particularly good, but Michigan State, ranked 14th in the BCS, can't really do much to improve its position at this point. For Sparty, it's pretty much "Rose Bowl or Bust" from here on out.

As such, don't be surprised if Michigan State slacks off a bit and hands Northwestern a resume-boosting win in the process.

Arkansas

How, pray tell, could No. 3 Arkansas have NOTHING to gain from beating No. 1 LSU, you ask?

It's simple absurdity, really. The Razorbacks figure to still be stuck behind No. 2 Alabama in some form or fashion, unless the Crimson Tide tank against No. 24 Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

Even if Arkansas leapfrogs the Tide into the top spot in the BCS by virtue of a win in the Battle for the Golden Boot, the SEC tiebreakers stipulate that 'Bama would capture the SEC West and play in the conference championship game by virtue of its head-to-head win over Arkansas back in September.

And, if 'Bama, for some reason, should lose to Georgia, then the Bulldogs would earn the SEC's automatic berth into the BCS, leaving the Hogs and the Bayou Bengals to fight over the league's at-large berth.

Which, strange as it may seem, could very well go LSU's way.

South Carolina

At least Arkansas still has a legitimate shot at playing in the BCS. No. 12 South Carolina, on the other hand, stands as a victim of circumstance as a second-tier team in a top-notch football conference.

The Gamecocks' only losses of the season came at home against Auburn and at Arkansas, though even a 6-2 mark in league play wasn't enough to keep Steve Spurrier's squad ahead of Georgia in the SEC East.

Ironically enough, the Bulldogs suffered their only SEC loss at the beaks of the Gamecocks between the hedges at Sanford Stadium on the second Saturday of the season.

USC is still ranked ahead of UGA in the BCS, but can only make it into the dance if it somehow pulls ahead of the three-headed monster coming out of the SEC West.

Seeing as how that isn't about to happen, the 'Cocks don't really have much to play for in Saturday's in-state rivalry game against No. 17 Clemson, other than pride, a spot in the Cotton Bowl or the Capital One Bowl, and the "coveted" Hardee's Trophy.

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	.9933
2	Alabama	.9642
3	Arkansas	.9099
4	Oklahoma State	.8755
5	Virginia Tech	.8400
6	Stanford	.7974
7	Boise State	.6935
8	Houston	.6755
9	Oklahoma	.6747
10	Oregon	.5959
11	Kansas State	.567
12	South Carolina	.528
13	Georgia	.497
14	Michigan State	.453
15	Michigan	.439
16	Wisconsin	.382
17	Clemson	.333
18	Baylor	.295
19	Penn State	.252
20	TCU	.245
21	Nebraska	.230
22	Notre Dame	.136
23	Georgia Tech	.120
24	Auburn	.079
25	Texas	.071