AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2008 > November > 11
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Bama-Florida winner to face Texas in BCS title game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When No. 3 Penn State lost to Iowa on Saturday, it basically set up a mini-playoff for the BCS championship game between the SEC and the Big 12. (USC fans, I haven’t forgotten you. The No. 6 Trojans can still get there, as I have mentioned below. But the odds are against you.) I’ve taken a little poetic license here but, based on what we know right now, here are my first projected BCS matchups. Feel free to disagree and provide your own.
1. BCS Championship: Alabama-Florida winner vs. Texas: Why Texas? That’s because No. 2 Texas Tech loses next week at Oklahoma (My friend Spencer Tillman, an Oklahoma grad, disagrees but I can’t see the Red Raiders winning in Norman, where Bob Stoops is 59-2 in 10 seasons.) Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma move up a notch in the BCS Standings. On championship Saturday the top five in the BCS are: 1) Alabama, 2) Texas, 3) Florida, 4) Oklahoma, 5) Texas Tech, 6) Southern Cal and 7) Utah . There will be a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 South and Texas goes to the championship game because it has the highest BCS ranking. Texas beats Missouri for the second time this season and plays the SEC champ for all the marbles. Can No. 6 Southern Cal get there? Only if Florida loses to South Carolina or Florida State before the SEC championship game and then knocks off Alabama in Atlanta. That would open the door for the Trojans because the voters would not want a Texas-Oklahoma or a Texas-Texas Tech rematch.
2. Rose Bowl: Oregon State vs. Penn State: If it happens, this will be the mother of all nightmares for the boys from Pasadena. Oregon State opened the season 0-2 with a Pac-10 loss to Stanford (36-28) and a 45-14 thumping at Penn State. But since then the Beavers have only lost once to No. 7 Utah (31-28). If Oregon State (6-3, 5-1 Pac-10) wins its final three games against California (6-3), Arizona (6-3), and Oregon (7-3) it will go to the Rose Bowl because it beat Southern Cal (27-21) back on Sept. 25. The Rose Bowl not only gets a rematch, but it gets a Penn State team that lost out on a shot at the national championship on a last-second field goal at Iowa. If Oregon State trips up and it’s USC-Penn State, the Rose Bowl will be thrilled.
3. Sugar Bowl: Alabama-Florida loser vs. Oklahoma: Oklahoma finishes 11-1 with the only loss coming to Texas (45-35) on Oct. 11. If Alabama is No. 1 and wins the SEC championship, the Sugar Bowl will get the first pick in order to replace the SEC champion. It’s a great game either way: Alabama-Oklahoma is a traditional matchup with a great defense (Alabama) versus a great offense (Oklahoma). Florida-Oklahoma matches Sooner coach Bob Stoops with his former employer and creates a battle of two of the best offenses and quarterbacks (Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford) in college football.
4. Fiesta Bowl: Southern Cal vs. Utah: The Trojans will argue right up until Selection Sunday that they were the best one-loss team in the country. But ultimately the loss to Oregon State and a weak overall schedule will keep Southern Cal out of the BCS championship and out of the Rose Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl takes USC to replace the Big 12 champion (Texas) and matches the Trojans with undefeated Utah (12-0), which beats BYU in a hard-fought game on Nov. 22, to earn a bid as the Coalition (non-BCS) team.
5. Orange Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia: Cincinnati (7-2) had a huge 26-23 win over West Virginia last Saturday but I just get the feeling that the Bearcats are going to trip up somewhere, either at Louisville Friday night or against Pittsburgh at home on Nov. 22. If that happens, then the winner of the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pittsburgh (in Pittsburgh) on Nov. 28 wins the Big East. North Carolina will win the ACC Coastal and will beat Florida State or Wake Forest in the conference championship game. I could be wrong about Cincinnati. Coach Brian Kelly is going to get looks from a number of schools. This could be his springboard season.
Services »
