Latest BCS Rankings: Mizzou @ #6

[ThatGuy]

An LSU loss would be good for Missouri, because it would eliminate the possibility of the Tigers not making it to the BCS title game if they win out. It also gives me more confidence that Tennessee could very well beat LSU in the SEC championship - assuming, of course, that they beat Kentucky tomorrow. Nonetheless, Tennessee really bottled up Felix Jones and Darren McFadden in their beatdown of Arkansas of few weeks ago. The SEC is extremely unpredictable this year.

[AlwaysBeClosing]

That's why I have to laugh at the people saying that whoever wins the Big 12 Championship game is going to play for the National Title...

There is a LOT of football left to be played before anyone can state that..

True, but it's not like there's something wrong with speculating. It's very possible that it'll happen.

Right, I have no problem with people speculating and looking ahead..

That being said, I've read in multiple spots on multiple forums that people are guaranteeing a Big 12 team in the NC game...which is up in the air at this point

Whatever it is they say about counting chickens...

[fanforever]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bcs ... &cset=true

Ohio State to play LSU for national title
Buckeyes finish No. 1 in BCS standings and the Tigers vault to No. 2 from No. 7. Unbeaten Hawaii rises to No. 10.
By Chris Dufresne
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

1:25 PM PST, December 2, 2007

Ohio State and Louisiana State will play for the Bowl Championship Series national title on Jan. 7 in the Louisiana Superdome, while Hawaii qualified for an at-large spot in a BCS game.

Ohio State finished No. 1 in the final BCS standings that will be released later today, according to a source, and LSU jumped all the way from No. 7 to No. 2 to seize the second spot.

Also, as expected, USC will face Illinois in the Rose Bowl.

The complete pairings will be announced later today by Fox.

Hawaii rallied from a 28-7 deficit late Saturday night in Honolulu to defeat Washington, 35-28.

With the win, the Warriors moved to No. 10 in the final BCS standings and will likely play in the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl. Hawaii (12-0) needed to finish in the top 12 of the final BCS standings to earn an automatic BCS berth. Hawaii finished as the only unbeaten school in major college football.

[GatewaySnayke]

Great. Illinois gets to the freaking Rose Bowl.

I hope USC wins by at least 45.

[fanforever]

http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/eligibility

BCS Selection Policies and Procedures


7 days ago



Bowl Championship Series Selection Policies and Procedures, 2007-2010 Games:

Automatic Qualification

1. The top two teams in the final BCS Standings shall play in the National Championship Game.

2. The champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and Southeastern conferences will have automatic berths in one of the participating bowls after the 2006 and 2007 regular seasons.

3. The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:


A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

No more than one such team from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference shall earn an automatic berth in any year. If two or more teams from those conferences satisfy the provisions for an automatic berth, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS Standings will receive the automatic berth, and the remaining team or teams will be in the pool of teams eligible for selection by the bowls as at-large teams.

4. Notre Dame will have an automatic berth if it is in the top eight of the final BCS Standings.

5. If any of the 10 slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 4, and an at-large team from a conference with an annual automatic berth for its champion is ranked No. 3 in the final BCS Standings, that team will become an automatic qualifier, provided that no at-large team from the same conference qualifies for the national championship game.

6. If any of the 10 slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 5, and if no team qualifies under paragraph No. 5 and an at-large team from a conference with an annual automatic berth for its champion is ranked No. 4 in the final BCS Standings, that team will become an automatic qualifier provided that no at-large team from the same conference qualifies for the national championship game.



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At-Large Eligibility


If there are fewer than 10 automatic qualifiers, then the bowls will select at-large participants to fill the remaining berths. At at-large team is any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible and meets the following requirements:


A. Has won at least nine regular-season games, and
B. Is among the top 14 teams in the final BCS Standings.

No more than two teams from a conference may be selected, regardless of whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large selections.

If fewer than 10 teams are eligible for selection, then the Bowls can select as an at-large team any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible, has won at least nine regular-season games and is among the top 18 teams in the final BCS Standings subject to the two-team limit noted above and also subject to the following: (1) if any conference has two or more teams in the top 14, then two of those teams must be selected and (2) from the teams ranked 15-18, a bowl can select only a team from a conference that has fewer than two teams in the top 14.

All teams ranked in the top 14, other than those from conferences which have already had two teams selected, must be included in the bowl selections.

If expansion of the pool to 18 teams does not result in 10 teams eligible for selection, then the pool shall be expanded by blocks of 4 teams until 10 eligible teams are available subject to the two-team limit noted above and also subject to the following: (1) if any conference has two or more teams in the top 14, then two of those teams must be selected and (2) from the teams ranked 15 or lower, a bowl can select only a team from a conference that has fewer than two teams in the top 14.


Note: in order to participate in a BCS Bowl game, a team (i) must be eligible for post-season play under the rules of the NCAA and, if it not an independent, under the rules of its conference and (ii) must not have imposed sanctions upon itself prohibiting participation in a post-season game for infractions of the rules of the NCAA or the rules of its conference.



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Team-Selection Procedures


The bowls will select their participants from two pools: (1) automatic qualifiers, all of which must be selected, and, (2) at-large teams, if fewer than 10 teams qualify automatically. The following sequence will be used when establishing pairings:

1. The top two teams in the final BCS Standings will be placed in the National Championship Game ("NCG").

2. Unless they qualify to play in the NCG, the champions of selected conferences are contractually committed to host selected games:


Atlantic Coast Conference-Orange Bowl
Big Ten Conference-Rose Bowl
Big 12 Conference-Fiesta Bowl
Pac-10 Conference-Rose Bowl
Southeastern Conference-Sugar Bowl

3. If a bowl loses a host team to the NCG, then such bowl shall select a replacement team from among the automatic-qualifying teams and the at-large teams before any other selections are made. If two bowls lose host teams to the NCG, each bowl will get a replacement pick before any other selections are made. In such case, the bowl losing the No. 1 team gets the first replacement pick, and the bowl losing the No. 2 team gets the second replacement pick. If the Rose Bowl loses both the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions to the NCG, it will receive two replacement picks.

A bowl choosing a replacement team may not select any of the following:


A. A team in the NCG;
B. The host team for another BCS Bowl;
C. When two bowls lose host teams, then the bowl losing the number one team may not select a replacement team from the same Conference as the number two team, unless the bowl losing the number two team consents.

4. After steps No. 1, 2 and 3 have been completed, any bowl with an unfilled slot shall select a team from the automatic qualifiers and/or at-large teams in the following order:


A. The bowl played on the date nearest to the National Championship Game (for 2008, Orange Bowl) will pick first;
B. The bowl played on the date second-nearest to the National Championship Game (for 2008, Fiesta Bowl) will pick second;
C. The bowl hosting the game that is played in the time slot immediately after the Rose Bowl game (for 2008, Sugar Bowl) will pick third.

The rotation noted in paragraphs A, B and C is as follows:
January 2007 games: Sugar, Orange, Fiesta
January 2008 games: Orange, Fiesta, Sugar
January 2009 games: Fiesta, Sugar, Orange
January 2010 games: Orange, Fiesta, Sugar

All teams earning automatic berths must be selected.

5. After completion of the selection process as described in Paragraph Nos. 1-4, the conferences and Notre Dame may, but are not required to, adjust the pairings taking into consideration the following:


A. whether the same team will be playing in the same bowl game for two consecutive years;
B. whether two teams that played against one another in the regular season will be paired against one another in a bowl game;
C. whether the same two teams will play against each other in a bowl game for two consecutive years; and
D. whether alternative pairings may have greater or lesser appeal to college football fans as measured by expected ticket sales for the bowls and by expected television interest, and the consequent financial impact on Fox and the bowls.



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Tie-Breaking Procedure


The following steps will be used to resolve any ties in the standings after the computation is carried out to full decimal points:


A bowl choosing a replacement team may not select any of the following:


1. Look to head-to-head result;
2. If the tie is not resolved by paragraph No. 1, then evaluate results against the highest-ranked common opponent in the BCS standings;
3. If the tie is not resolved by paragraph Nos. 1-2, then calculate tied teams' place in BCS Standings using all six computer providers (i.e., do not throw out the high and low computer rankings) and the Harris and Coaches polls;
4. If the tie is not resolved by paragraph Nos. 1-3, then draw.



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Conference Automatic Qualification in Future


The conferences have developed athematical standards of performance which be applied to determine the number of conferences whose champions will automatically qualify for a BCS game after the 2008 and 2009 regular seasons. The champions of no fewer than five conferences and no more than seven conferences will have annual automatic berths.

The standards will be based on results from the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 regular seasons, using institutions that are members of the conferences during the 2007 season.

The data will include the following for each conference (1) the ranking of the highest-ranked team in the final BCS standings each year, (2) the final regular-season rankings of all conference teams in the computer rankings used by the BCS each year and (3) the number of teams in the top 25 of the final BCS standings each year.

The standards will not prohibit the champion of any conference that has contracted with a bowl from playing in one of the participating BCS bowls. For example, the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions will, by contract, play in the Rose Bowl every year unless one or both qualifies for the National Championship Game.

[fanforever]

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootba ... y/10508193

Idle Ohio State climbs to No. 1 in AP poll; SEC champ LSU is No. 2
Dec. 2, 2007
CBSSports.com wire reports




NEW YORK -- Let's try this again.

Ohio State was No. 1 and LSU was 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, just as they were a month ago, before four weeks of upsets and unlikely results capped the most unpredictable college football season in recent memory.

Essentially, voters in the media poll hit the reset button.

After the top two teams in the rankings lost for the second straight week, Ohio State jumped two spots to No. 1. The Buckeyes, who haven't played since they wrapped up the Big Ten title with a 14-3 victory over Michigan on Nov. 17, received 50 first-place votes out of a possible 65.

LSU moved up three spots from No. 5 after winning the Southeastern Conference championship with a 21-14 victory over Tennessee on Saturday. The Tigers got 11 first-place votes.

Ohio State and LSU (11-2) were also Nos. 1 and 2 in the coaches poll, with Oklahoma (11-2) third and Georgia (10-2) fourth.

Ohio State (11-1) was expected to be on top of the Bowl Championship Series standings when they were released Sunday at 5 p.m. ET and earn a spot in the national championship game. The spot opposite the Buckeyes was a tough call after Saturday night's results, with several two-loss teams in the running.

The BCS uses the Harris poll and coaches' poll, along with computer ratings, to determine which teams play for the national title.

The final AP poll will be released after the BCS title game.

Missouri and West Virginia were the latest teams unable to deal with success and lose with the loftiest rankings in the AP Top 25. When Missouri lost 38-17 to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game Saturday, it marked the fourth time this season No. 1 has lost. Ohio State was No. 1 when it lost Nov. 10 to Illinois and LSU has lost twice as No. 1, including a triple-overtime setback to Arkansas the day after Thanksgiving.

The Tigers have also had two previous stints at No. 2, but haven't lost while ranked second in the nation. They should consider themselves lucky. What a burden No. 2 has been this season.

West Virginia became the seventh team ranked No. 2 to lose this season, when it fell 13-9 to Pittsburgh. The Panthers made it six times that No. 2 has lost to an unranked team.

Oklahoma jumped six places to No. 3 and got a first-place vote, as did No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Virginia Tech, which won the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 30-16 victory over Boston College.

No. 6 Southern California, which started the season No. 1, won the Pac-10 title with a 24-7 victory over UCLA on Saturday.

Missouri fell to No. 7 and was followed by Kansas, which dropped three spots to No. 8 a week after losing its big game against the Tigers.

No. 9 Florida was followed by Hawaii. The 10th-ranked Warriors are the only unbeaten team left in the major college football and they also received a first-place vote.

West Virginia dropped nine spots to No. 11 and was followed by Arizona State, Illinois, Boston College and Clemson.

Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, BYU and Cincinnati round out the top 20. Virginia, Auburn, South Florida, Boise State and Arkansas are the final five, with the Razorbacks re-entering the rankings this week.

Falling out was Oregon, which finished its regular season with three consecutive losses.

Three times this season Nos. 1 and 2 in the poll have lost in the same weekend. The first was Oct. 13 when No. 1 LSU lost at Kentucky and No. 2 California fell to Oregon State.

Before that day, the top two teams in the AP poll hadn't lost in the same regular-season weekend since 1996, when it happened to No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Tennessee.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2006-2007, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserve

[fanforever]

So far

Rose presented by Citi Jan. 1
4:30 p.m. Pasadena, Calif. Illinois vs. Southern Cal ABC

Allstate Sugar Jan. 1
8:30 p.m. New Orleans, La. Hawaii vs. Georgia FOX

Tostitos Fiesta Jan. 2
8 p.m. Glendale, Ariz. Oklahoma vs. West Virginia FOX

FedEx Orange Jan. 3
8 p.m. Miami, Fla. Virginia Tech vs. Kansas FOX

International Jan. 5
12 p.m. Toronto, Canada Rutgers vs. Ball State ESPN2

GMAC Jan. 6
8 p.m. Mobile, Ala. Tulsa vs. Bowling Green ESPN

BCS National Championship Jan. 7
8 p.m. New Orleans, La. Ohio State vs LSU FOX

[Faceman]

Great. Illinois gets to the freaking Rose Bowl.

I hope USC wins by at least 45.

Why do you care what Illinois does? What does that have to do with Mizzou?

Your hatred should be aimed at Kansas. They took Mizzou's spot.

Most Illinois fans were rooting for Mizzou last night. Nice to see you return the favor.

Grow up.

[lukethedrifter]

Great. Illinois gets to the freaking Rose Bowl.

I hope USC wins by at least 45.

That should bode well for the Illini.

[BenNX74205]

Great. Illinois gets to the freaking Rose Bowl.

I hope USC wins by at least 45.

Why do you care what Illinois does? What does that have to do with Mizzou?

Your hatred should be aimed at Kansas. They took Mizzou's spot.

Most Illinois fans were rooting for Mizzou last night. Nice to see you return the favor.

Grow up.

I appreciate the cheering any Illini fans did for the Tigers during the game last night. However, I think the hope for a USC blowout stems not from any dislike of Illinois, but rather outrage at the flawed BCS system. It also has a lot to do with Mizzou getting shut out of a BCS bowl. While Mizzou wasn't going to the NC game after its loss last night, a trip to a BCS bowl game is a big mark of prestige and would be a wonderful reward for Missouri's great season this year. But apparently the bowl selectors thought otherwise.

So, when: USC, West Virginia, Hawaii, Illinois (which Missouri beat), and Kansas (which Missouri beat to get to the conference title game) are all in BCS games while being ranked lower in the BCS standings, and Missouri is packing its bags for the Cotton Bowl, understandably there will be some anger and frustration. USC and West Virginia got their automatic bids without having to play a conference championship game, Illinois didn't win its conference, and Kansas didn't even win its own division, yet all those teams are better choices for the bowl games?

I hope Va Tech crushes Kansas, Oklahoma destroys West Virginia, Georgia rolls over Hawaii, and USC throttles Illinois. Maybe then the bowl selectors might realize they left out the number six team in the BCS, which beat two teams in BCS bowl games, won its division, and was at one time ranked number one in the nation (regardless of how they got there, it happened).