Here’s what you need to know about how Saturday’s game impacted our BCS Bowl Projections: BCS Nos. 1 and 2 racked up 88 points, the Big 12 has its frontrunners and the Irish live to fight another day.
Here’s how things stand going into Week 9:
Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. Oregon State – This pairing stays, but only 16 points would’ve torpedoed it entirely. The Wolverines and Beavers just keep winning and Michigan’s schedule is far kinder than their likely Big Ten Championship Game opponent’s, Wisconsin.
Oregon State’s main competition for their spot is USC which the Beavers aren’t scheduled to play. They do still have to take on Stanford and Oregon, but is next week’s game being overlooked? OSU travels to Seattle to play Washington and the last time the Huskies chalked up a win was back in September against then-No. 8 Stanford. No doubt Mike Riley’s glad this is a Saturday kickoff.
USC’s only hurdle to a probable spot in the Pac-12 title game is Oregon which visits the Coliseum. The Trojans should have little trouble wiping out the rest of their conference slate, but then there’s the matter of potentially facing Oregon twice.
Orange Bowl: Rutgers vs. Florida State – Out of the trio of competitors for the Big East crown – which can conveniently be picked up at any local Burger King – Rutgers is playing the most inspired football right now. We’ll get to see them face both Cincinnati and Louisville in the Big East’s version of a championship series.
FSU’s win over Miami wasn’t impressive, but a win is a win when it comes to a rivalry games. Next up, the Seminoles play the ACC Coastal division-leading…Duke? By whatever black magic this is happening, Florida State should dispatch the Blue Devils with relative ease. Then again, the ‘Noles had no excuse for losing to North Carolina State.
Look for FSU to roll over the remainder of their ACC slate before dropping their regular season-ending clash with Florida.
Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Florida – The Sooners are finally playing big boy ball on a consistent basis, but few people predicted Kansas State’s success and the Wildcats already beat Bob Stoops’ bunch. Fortunately for Oklahoma fans, Kansas State faces a major test next week in Texas Tech and regardless of what happens against Notre Dame, the Sooners wouldn’t be dropping a game to a conference opponent if they do lose.
Will Muschamp appears to have the Gators ready to sink their teeth into any competition and walk away winners. After dispatching then-No. 7 South Carolina 44-11, the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party will likely determine the SEC East champion. Neither Florida or Georgia’s remaining slates are extremely daunting and even while tripping to Tallahassee, the Gators should be able to hold off the Seminoles later in the year.
Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Kansas State – Notre Dame’s season has been extremely fun to follow, but now it’s time to see just how much fight these Irish have. ESPN GameDay will be on location in Norman for Notre Dame’s primetime skirmish with Big 12 championship contender Oklahoma and the Irish get all of the attention fans have been dying to get back. No pressure.
Meanwhile, Bill Snyder makes cleaning up Ron Prince’s mess look like child’s play. This seems appropriate given how Prince’s tenure at KSU was as productive as a five year-old playing with motor oil. As previously mentioned, the Wildcats have no easy task next week taking on Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders do visit Manhattan for the mid-day tilt.
If Heisman Trophy contender Collin Klein (we’re officially running with that now, right?) and Kansas State knock off Texas Tech, they should be able to handle the remainder of their schedule and claim the conference title.
BCS Championship Game: Oregon vs. Alabama – This potential matchup gets more exciting by the week, doesn’t it? For those who didn’t catch the Ducks’ 43-21 torching of Arizona State, don’t let the 14 points scored by Sparky in garbage time fool you. What’s more impressive than the Quack Attack’s offense is that their defense isn’t what you’d call a “historically accurate” Pac-12 defense. These guys know how to deck the opposition.
Did you think Alabama might just fall to Tennessee? Even for a second? Yeah, that was a fun second, wasn’t it? Mississippi State visits next week for a battle of undefeateds. As odd as that sentence was to type, the only two teams on Alabama’s regular season schedule with a prayer of tripping up the Tide are those very Bulldogs and LSU. If Dan Mullen can’t get the job done, will another set of national championship dreams come to Baton Rouge to die?
News, views and the hilarity of college football can be found by following Brandon on Twitter: @eightlaces
