WolInEx's BCS Analysis

Picking up from last year, I'll be starting a weekly analysis on the BCS standings since we're getting close to the time it actually starts to matter and the variables get reduced. First, your updated BCS standings:

1) Oregon

2) Auburn

3) TCU

4) Boise St

5) Utah

6) Alabama

So what  this means is:

- Oregon and Auburn / Alabama likely control their destiny. Oregon more so, since they have no real roadblocks on the way to a #1 or #2 BCS ranking. Auburn may jump them at the end if they beat Bama and win the SEC, but the Ducks got a slot if they keep winning.

- I still think Alabama will jump all the non-AQ teams if they beat Auburn and win the SEC champ game. Voting pools still make a huge portion of the polls and I have a hard time thinking more "traditional" college football pollsters will not move Bama up considerably with those two wins, and the computers are going to give Bama a big time trampoline-like bounce with potential wins against Auburn and an SEC champ game opponent.

- The non-AQ is playing out as I thought a couple weeks ago. For a slot opposite Oregon or Auburn/Bama should one of the two slip up, it's the TCU/Utah winner, not Boise St. the computers and voters are more impressed with TCU's quality wins at this point over Boise St, and the game against Utah is going to far outweigh any bump in computers's Boise's going to get from either Hawaii or Nevada.

- I also think though, that you're looking at 2 non-AQ's in BCS at large berths. So with that, we're looking at (10 bids overall):

Auto-bids

BCS CHAMP 1: Oregon

BCS CHAMP 2: Auburn

ACC: Va Tech/ FSU winner (likely only 1 team)

BIG EAST: Pittsburgh? (Do we have to?)

BIG TEN: Wisconsin or Iowa or tOSU at this point, but more thoughts below

SEC: see above

BIG 12: Nebraska / Mizzou / Oklahoma winner (likely 1 team)

PAC 10: see above

Fill- in for Auburn's SEC (champ slot replacement rules): (1 loss) Alabama

Fill-in for Oregon's PAC-10 (champ slot replacment rules): Stanford / Arizona

At-Large 1: TCU / Utah winner

At-Large 2: Boise St

Games:

BCS Championship: Oregon v Auburn

Rose Bowl: Stanford/Arizona v. Wisconsin/Iowa/tOSU

Orange Bowl: Va Tech / FSU v.  TCU

Sugar Bowl: Alabama v. Pitt

Fiesta Bowl: Okl/Neb/Mizz vs. Boise St

Big Ten: At this point, I think the Big Ten is likely the conference to get most screwed. Lets say Alabama beats Auburn, I still think both the SEC champ game winner AND a 1-loss Auburn get BCS bids. Sugar Bowl's going to take an SEC team if at all humanly possible to replace Auburn's slot. The fill in for Oregon's slot is probably going to be the Pac-10 runner up so the Rose Boel gets it Big Ten v Pac-10 matchup. Both an undefeated TCU/Utah and an undefeated Boise St are probably for to autoqualify for a BCS at-large slot taking one of the second conference slots from the Big Ten. The second team from the Iowa/Wiscy/tOSU triumverate are going to have to hope for a loss by either (TCU and Utah) or Boise St.

Outlook:

- Big games left really are Alabama v Auburn and Boise St vs. Hawaii or Boise v Nevada. TCU v Utah is big terms of who gets a  loss, but really, the winner of that should be able to win out and secure themselves a BCS at large slot. Th eonly real drama about TCU . v Utah is that if Utah wins, then Boise probably has the top non-AQ slot from voters, Utah has the top non-AQ slot from computers, and the difference in BCS standings will be miniscule.  

- The Iron Bowl is really shaping up as football armageddon 2010. Should Auburn win, they're either the BCS champ rep or the SEC at-large depending on the result of the SEC champ game, but really, Alabama's probably out  at that point. If Bama wins, then we are on the verge of absolute chaos. Bama wins the SEC championship, they're probably in the BCS champ with a whole lot of wailing/gnashing of teeth jumping over non-AQ's & 1-loss Oklahoma/Neb. A loss by Bama in the SEC championship and we probably have the first  non-AQ in the championship game, most likely TCU, not Boise.