How 10-2 OU could still miss the BCS
Published: 11/19/2012 8:32 AM
Last Modified: 11/19/2012 8:32 AM
Welcome to the Oklahoma Bowl Projection, Vol. II
This week let's break down three very distinct possibilities, provided the Sooners keep winning (a HUGE provided, considering their defense has more holes in it than the walls in Mike Stoops' office).
First, the easy one. Mark Schlabach's on ESPN.com. OU to the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon.
Here, the Sooners win out and get an early Christmas gift from, of all places, Texas. The Longhorns knock off Kansas State in Manhattan in two weeks, handing OU the Big 12 championship.
The Sooners head to Arizona for the fifth time in seven years, where BCS at-large pick Oregon waits for them.
Next, the scenario preferred by Jerry Palm over on CBSSports.com and ESPN BCS guru Brad Edwards. They both like OU for the Sugar Bowl against an SEC opponent.
The process...
Notre Dame and Alabama play for the BCS title, leaving the Sugar to invite an SEC replacement. Palm thinks it will be LSU. Edwards picks Florida.
Kansas State beats Texas in two weeks and claims the Fiesta automatic. Florida State clinches the ACC's spot in the Orange. The Rose, jubilant to have its Big Ten-Pac-12 matchup again, welcomes Nebraska and Oregon/Stanford (Palm thinks Stanford will lose at UCLA next weekend, so he likes Oregon here. Edwards thinks the Cardinal will beat the Bruins and gobble up the Rose bid.)
OK. That leaves the Fiesta, Sugar and Orange to choose between two at-large teams and the Big East champ (Palm tabs Louisville, Edwards Rutgers). The draft order: Fiesta, Sugar, then Orange.
The Fiesta takes the Pac-10 at-large to match up against K-State.
That leaves the Sugar to find an opponent for LSU/Florida. Notre Dame is unavailable. Clemson is off the board, since both Palm and Edwards see the Tigers losing at South Carolina this weekend. The Pac-12 is spoken for. Louisville or Rutgers? Please.
Hello, Sooners!
And while reliving the 2003 Tiger Bait Bourbon Street booze fest might not sound too appealing to OU fans, it beats the alternative. It beats BCS bowl scenario No. 3, courtesy of the staff at CollegeFootballNews.com.
No BCS bid at all.
A Cotton Bowl matchup with Texas A&M instead.
How this happens...
Notre Dame-Bama in the biggie. Right. Florida State to the Orange. Check. Nebraska vs. Stanford in the Rose. Florida to the Sugar, not LSU.
Again, we're left with two at-larges and a pedestrian Big East champ (Rutgers in this case instead of Louisville).
In CFN's scenario, Stanford wins at UCLA, leaving Oregon as far and away the most attractive at-large team for the Fiesta to scoop up. Next up: Sugar.
In this scnario, Clemson beats South Carolina. The Tigers protect their nice BCS ranking. They offer a dependably willing-to-travel fan base which is also willing to dump money into the New Orleans economy.
Better BCS number than OU. Better record. Better chance to fill both Bourbon Street and the Superdome.
Sorry, Sooners.
And that's why if you're an OU fan, you'll run right home after Bedlam (assuming you win Bedlam in the first place), flip on ESPN and yell your lungs out for the Gamecocks.
Unless you like the idea of playing in Dallas again. Playing A&M again. And trying to contain Johnny Football instead of Zach Mettenberger or Whoever's At Quarterback For Florida.
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
