College Football - Goin' Bowlin'

[Imran Siddiqui]

Of course a few conference championships yet to be sorted out first.

For those who missed it, BCS Standings:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/BCSStandings?week=7

1 - Alabama
2 - Oklahoma
3 - Texas
4 - Florida
5 - Southern Cal
6 - Utah
7 - Texas Tech
8 - Penn State
9 - Boise State
10 - Ohio State

Next week we'll have the SEC Championship between #1 Alabama and #4 Florida, and the Big XII Championship between #2 Oklahoma and #20 Missouri. In addition, #5 Southern Cal plays their rivalry game against UCLA.

Continued from here:

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=180034

[SlowwHand]

BCS is total unadulterated bull****.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Don't need to be so bitter that you were wrong, Slow .

Though, yes, the BCS is bull****. But I did tell you that if OU beat OSU, they'd be in the B12 title game.

[reismark]

To summarize the BCS bowl situation:

The SEC championship is clearly a play-in for one half of the national title, with the loser going to the Sugar. If Oklahoma beats Missouri, they get the other bid to the national title; if Oklahoma loses, Texas does and Oklahoma gets shut out of the BCS entirely since Missouri would get the Big 12's other slot as league champions in the Fiesta.

Penn State awaits their Rose Bowl opponent. It will be USC if they beat UCLA; if USC loses, Oregon State gets the nod. If USC loses, there's still a chance they could get a BCS nod, one they'd have to politic for over Boise State & Ohio State. (I'm including Boise in the picture because they'd be 12-0 to USC & Ohio State's 10-2; but their likelihood of winning the political fight for a spot is small.)

Texas will get the nod in the Fiesta if Oklahoma wins the Big 12; the Fiesta is the best Missouri can hope for. The SEC championship loser gets the Sugar nod. USC, Utah, Boise State & Ohio State are the teams in the picture for the nods as the opponents in these two games. If Florida loses the SEC championship, I expect Utah to go to the Sugar for the instantly-marketable "Urban Meyer Bowl" matchup that would result; if the SEC's Sugar team is Alabama, OTOH, there's a chance (albeit small) the Fiesta could pluck Utah first. (The only way Boise State could go to the Fiesta, assuming they win the political battle, is if the BCS opts to adjust the matchups after the fact; by rule, Utah has to be taken first, and the Fiesta has the first pick after the 1/2 replacements.)

The Orange Bowl is all but set in stone given the BCS standings and marketability issues: The ACC champion (either Boston College or Virginia Tech) against Big East champ Cincinnati.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I don't think it is all that clear that Cincy is signed into the Orange.

The Sugar may elect to take Cincy if Alabama loses and leave Utah for the Orange (In case Alabama and Mizzou lose and USC wins, I think the Fiesta takes a Texas v. Ohio State match up in seconds).

Basically it's going to be close between 12-0 Utah and 10-2 Cincinnati for the Sugar Bowl spot.

[reismark]

My predictions for next week's BCS-relevant games:

- Alabama beats Florida in the SEC championship in what some on this board will deem a major upset but is a result that I expect based on how the teams have performed.

- Oklahoma beats Missouri for the Big 12 championship *sighs* and the Big 12 fixes their tiebreaker system to get in line with the SEC, the NFL, and every other sports organization with sense in the offseason.

- The ACC has run counter to all logic this season, so since Boston College eked out a win against Virginia Tech earlier in the season, Tech returns the favor and wins the championship to get the Orange Bowl nod.

- I'll be rooting for the opposite result, but all evidence points to USC having its way with UCLA, giving them the Pac-10 championship... again. *sighs*

- Unfortunately, Ohio State wins the battle of politics with Boise State for the last at-large bid.

That would all result in the following BCS matchups:

BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
ROSE BOWL: Penn State vs. USC
FIESTA BOWL: Texas vs. Ohio State
SUGAR BOWL: Florida vs. Utah
ORANGE BOWL: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati

[Imran Siddiqui]

My BCS Predictions:

National Championship: Florida vs. Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Ohio State
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Cincinnati
Orange Bowl: Boston College vs. Utah
Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. Southern Cal

Sugar and Orange can switch the second contender, but neither choice is going to make either of those bowls really happy.

[reismark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Basically it's going to be close between 12-0 Utah and 10-2
Cincinnati for the Sugar Bowl spot.

Only if Alabama loses, though, and even then, I think Utah is a better choice for the Sugar because Cincinnati is unproven as a bowl draw whereas Utah has previous BCS success to sell the Sugar on.

(If the Sugar rep is Florida, though, there's no way in hell the Sugar passes on Utah.)

BTW, just letting you know in advance, I'm going to have one hysterical laugh at you if/when Alabama beats Florida.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Don't need to be so bitter that you were wrong, Slow .

Though, yes, the BCS is bull****. But I did tell you that if OU beat OSU, they'd be in the B12 title game.

A) Keep your "cute" smilies to yourself.
B) The fact that BCS says, means nothing that bears any resemblence to reality.
C) If you want to be proud that your thought pattern is identical to BCS, wallow in it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

whereas Utah has previous BCS success to sell the Sugar on.

Based on one game . And the question is will they be able to sell the Sugar on the number of fans coming down to New Orleans.

Though, it'd be far easier for them if the Fiesta had the 2nd instead of the first choice.

[Imran Siddiqui]

just letting you know in advance, I'm going to have one hysterical laugh at you if/when Alabama beats Florida.

S'ok. I already had a hysterical laugh at you and Sloww when Oklahoma passed Texas in the BCS standings today .

What's the point in having opinions if it is impossible to be wrong about them?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
A) Keep your "cute" smilies to yourself.
B) The fact that BCS says, means nothing that bears any resemblence to reality.
C) If you want to be proud that your thought pattern is identical to BCS, wallow in it.

[reismark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
S'ok. I already had a hysterical laugh at you and Sloww when Oklahoma passed Texas in the BCS standings today .

What's the point in having opinions if it is impossible to be wrong about them?

Actually, I always believed that it was more likely than not that Oklahoma would pass Texas (unlike Sloww). My main point was that decision wouldn't be right (and isn't, and never will be).

[Imran Siddiqui]

You realize I'm having a hysterical laugh at you because you are so adamant that it isn't 'right', right?

[reismark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
You realize I'm having a hysterical laugh at you because you are so adamant that it isn't 'right', right?

In the NFL, and in every other major conference except the Big East, once a tie between three or more teams is reduced to two teams, by whatever methodology, the process reverts to the first tiebreaker of head-to-head competition between the tied teams. Thus, in the NFL and in every major college conference except the Big 12 & the Big East, Texas would ultimately win out over Oklahoma, because Texas beat Oklahoma head-to-head.

That's the big reason why it's not right.