Boise State
debuted in the top 12 of the Bowl Championship Series Standings today for the
first time in its history, taking position #12.
The Broncos are already eligible for a BCS
Bowl berth should they be able to hold their position. Boise
State is one of just nine
undefeated college football teams in the nation and head into San
Jose for a critical game this weekend with the
Spartans.
After the conference championships are decided and the two
participants selected for the national championship game, two at-large teams
will be chosen for the final spots in the big bowl games after the first of
next year. To be eligible for those two
spots, a team must be ranked within the top 14.
The top team from one of the conferences the NCAA has deemed “not worthy”
of an automatic selection will automatically qualify for one of those spots if
they are the top-ranked team from one of those conferences. Utah
right now holds down the top spot from the non-automatic qualifier teams by a
mere 4.7 percent over Boise State. Should the Broncos be fortunate enough to win
the rest of their games, they would still be eligible for that other spot.
Texas is a
solid #1 in the first Standings, followed by Alabama,
Penn State, Oklahoma
and USC at #5. Oklahoma
State takes #6, followed by #7 Georgia,
Texas Tech, Ohio State
at #9 and Florida 10th. Utah
is 11th, with the Broncos next followed by #13 LSU and #14 TCU.
The bowl selection committees get to select the teams in
much the order of a draft but with strict guidelines. The Rose Bowl pits teams from the Pac-10 and
Big 10 provided they are both BCS bowl
eligible. The champion from the
Southeastern Conference plays in the Sugar Bowl, the Big 12 champ plays in the
Fiesta Bowl and the Atlantic Coast Conference champion plays in the Orange
Bowl. The champion from the Big East
Conference also is guaranteed a spot in one of the four bowls but does not have
a specific bowl reserved.
Boise State went undefeated in 2004 only to be denied a BCS bowl. In 2006, they again went undefeated only that time the Broncos were selected to play in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Boise State defeated Oklahoma 43-42 in what has been called the greatest college football game ever played. Coach Chris Petersen's team once again made a strong run last year only to lose their season finale to Hawai'i.
Boise State
finds itself a mere one percent behind Utah
in the Computer Composite, which allocates points based on ratings from six
computer services approved by the BCS. Last week, Utah
was 15.5% ahead of Boise State
in the computers. Utah
is just 6-7 percent ahead of Boise State
in the two human polls (USA Today Coaches’ Poll and Harris Poll) despite
playing two more games.
The BCS Standings are
released every Sunday through the remainder of the season. You can get a sneak preview of the Standings
every Sunday morning on BroncoCountry by clicking on the Blue Turf Board. You will find the Standings estimated two
hours prior to the official release as well as analysis and discussion.
