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Monday, November 19, 2007
Breaking down the conference races
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s Thanksgiving Week so let’s change things up a bit. Here is a quick look at the major conference races with two weeks to go:
ACC: Boston College (9-2) is in the conference championship game as the Atlantic Division winner regardless of how it fares Saturday against Miami. The winner of Saturday’s game between Virginia Tech (9-2) and Virginia (9-2) in Charlottesville will be the Coastal Division winner and provide the opposition in Jacksonville.
SEC: LSU (10-1) has clinched the Western Division but still has a tough game with Arkansas on Friday in Baton Rouge. If Tennessee (8-3) wins at Kentucky on Saturday, the Vols will also be in Atlanta. If Tennessee loses, Georgia will face LSU at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 1.
BIG EAST: The winner of Saturday’s game between West Virginia (9-1) and Connecticut (9-2) at Morgantown will clinch the championship.
BIG TEN: Ohio State (11-1) won the championship and at least a trip to the Rose Bowl by beating Michigan 14-3.
BIG 12: The winner of Saturday’s game between Kansas (11-0) and Missouri (10-1) in Kansas City will clinch the North Division. It’s much more complicated in the South. Oklahoma (9-2, 5-2) can clinch by beating Oklahoma State on Saturday in Norman. But if Oklahoma loses and Texas (9-2, 5-2) beats Texas A&M on Friday, then the Longhorns win the division. If Oklahoma and Texas both lose, there will be a three-way tie with Oklahoma State (6-5, 4-3) and the highest ranked team in the BCS wins the division.
PAC-10: Arizona (9-1, 6-1), Oregon (8-2, 5-2), and Southern Cal (8-2, 5-2) are all in the mix with two games left. Arizona State is alone in first place and can go to the Rose Bowl (at least) by beating Southern Cal at home on Thursday and Arizona on Dec. 1 in Phoenix. Without QB Dennis Dixon, who suffered a knee injury, it will be hard for Oregon to win its last two games with UCLA and Oregon State. But if the Ducks do, and there is a three-way tie with Arizona State and Southern Cal, the Ducks win the tiebreaker because they beat both during the regular season. Southern Cal needs two wins against Arizona State and UCLA plus a loss by Oregon.
