The third BCS standings come out Sunday night and the BCS watch continues. Each week TheClemsonInsider.com will take a look at the battle for the Bowl Championship Series.
The Tigers were ranked No. 18 in last week’s BCS rankings as they were once again hurt by the computer rankings. Clemson opened at No. 19 in the first BCS rankings released last week, but didn’t receive any votes for the computer rankings. With a good statement win on Thursday night and a number of top 13 teams losing on Saturday Clemson should make a push toward the top 10 in both the USA Today coaches poll and the Harris poll. They should also move up several spots in the BCS rankings that will be released Sunday evening.
Easiest Path
The easiest path for Clemson to make the BCS is for the Tigers to once again win the Atlantic Coast Conference. For that to happen Florida State must lose another conference game and the Tigers must win their remaining conference games.
Florida State has two ACC road games remaining. On Nov. 8 the ‘Noles play at Virginia Tech on Thursday night. They finish the ACC schedule at Maryland on Nov. 17. The best shot for a Florida State loss is the Thursday night game at Virginia Tech. If the ‘Noles win that one they likely will head to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.
At-large Battle
The path to an at-large BCS bid for the Tigers got a little bit easier over the weekend with several contenders suffering losses.
If the Tigers don’t win the ACC they could still make the BCS if they get an at-large bid. In order to do that Clemson will need to win its remaining regular season games. If the Tigers win out there is no doubt they would be ranked high enough in the BCS rankings to be eligible for an at-large bid.
There could be two or possibly three BCS at-large bids depending on which teams go to the BCS Championship game. If Oregon were to win out and go to the BCS Championship game there possibly could be three at-large bids. If the Pac-12 or Big Ten champion is picked for the BCS National Championship Game, then the Rose Bowl must choose the highest-ranked school from a non-AQ conference instead of the respective conference’s No. 2 team if there is a non-AQ school ranked at least No. 4 in the final BCS standings.
One thing to remember is that only two teams from any AQ conference can make the BCS.
Notre Dame appears to be on its way to being eligible for the BCS. Even a two loss Notre Dame team would get strong consideration for a BCS bid and would likely get selected over Clemson.
Should the SEC or Big 12 have a team quailfy for the BCS Chammpionship game, then it will have two teams qualify for the BCS, which will still leave two at large bids.
The road for the Tigers to get an at-large BCS bid, if there are only two bids, will be difficult. If there are three, however, the path gets easier.
With Ohio State and Penn State being ineligible for the BCS we can already predict that the Big Ten will only have one BCS team this year.
Boise State can also quailfy for an at-large bid by finishing in the top 12 of the BCS standings or finish in the top 16 and an AQ champion finishes below them in the BCS standings. Go to this link to see the BCS selection procedures
TCI breaks down the BCS contenders and long shots from each conference:
SEC
Serious Contenders
Alabama 8-0 (Nov. 3 at LSU, Nov. 10 hosts Texas A&M)
Florida 7-1 (Nov. 24 at Florida State)
LSU 7-1 (Nov. 3 hosts Alabama, Nov. 10 hosts Mississippi State)
Georgia 7-1 (Nov. 24 hosts Georgia Tech)
Longshots
Mississippi State 7-1 (Nov. 3 hosts Texas A&M, Nov. 10 at LSU)
Big 12
Serious Contenders
Kansas State 8-0 (Nov. 3 hosts Oklahoma State, Dec. 1 hosts Texas)
Longshots
Oklahoma 5-2 (Nov. 17 at West Virginia, Nov. 24 hosts Oklahoma State)
Pac-12
Serious Contenders
Oregon 8-0 (Nov. 3 at USC, Nov. 17 hosts Stanford, Nov. 24 at Oregon State)
Oregon State 6-1 (Nov. 10 at Stanford, Nov. 24 at Oregon)
Independents
Serious Contenders
Notre Dame 8-0 (Nov. 24 at USC)
Big Ten
No Serious Contenders for at-large bids.
Non AQ teams
Boise State 7-1 (Dec. 1 at Nevada)