With the winner of the Michigan/Ohio State game going to the national championship, barring a meltdown of epic proportions by either team, focus for the remaining unbeaten and one-loss contenders will be on winning out and taking their respective conference title crowns. From there, all that is left is hope that the computers and pollsters will see their case for a berth in the national title game, in a BCS system that is only slightly better at ranking teams than a random number generator.
The only way the BCS does not fall into complete and utter chaos is if No. 3 USC can remain unbeaten and jump ahead of the loser of UM/OSU. However, The Trojans face perhaps the toughest four-game stretch left of any contending BCS team. USC faces No. 25 Oregon, No. 12 Cal, No. 11 Notre Dame, and archrival UCLA. Cal is the only one of these four teams to have beaten USC in the previous four seasons, so all of these teams have a score to settle with the Trojans.
No. 4 West Virginia and No. 8 Louisville are the last two unbeatens left in the top 10 of the BCS. When the two teams face each other on Nov. 2 in a game that will likely decide the Big East title, it will be the first time either team has faced somebody with a pulse. Louisville did beat then No. 17 Miami Sept. 16, 31-7, but the Hurricanes' subsequent meltdown has taken some luster off of that victory. West Virginia has rolled to 8-0 on the backs of running back Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White by beating the likes of East Carolina and Eastern Washington.
Both teams must also face an emergent 7-0 Rutgers squad and a solid 6-1 Pittsburgh. Rutgers, ranked 19th in the nation, features the nations 3rd best scoring defense, giving up a mere 8.6 points per game.
Both Louisville and WVU could factor into the national title game picture if USC stumbles and either finishes the season undefeated, but they would need help in the computer polls of the BCS which take into account their fluffy schedules. It is possible that a one-loss SEC conference champion would jump an unbeaten Big East champion. Tennessee and Arkansas are two of the four one-loss SEC teams whose tough end of the season stretch could help give them a big boost in the standings, especially with a victory in the SEC Championship Game.
No. 13 Arkansas became a player in the national rankings after upsetting then No. 2 Auburn 27-10. The Razorbacks, led by sophomore runningback Darren McFadden, now find themselves with Florida as the only teams that control their own destiny to the SEC Championship Game. Many are discounting the Razorbacks, however, citing that other than the Auburn win, Arkansas has accumulated wins against weak opponents. Arkansas' lone loss, a 54-10 demolition at the hands of USC in their first game of the season, has led many to question the true makeup of this team.
Two tests remain for the Razorbacks that would quiet any doubters. On Nov. 11, Arkansas takes on No. 11 Tennessee and blossoming quarterback Eric Ainge. Then Nov. 24, McFadden will run into No. 14 LSU and their defense which is 8th in the nation in giving up just 72.6 rushing yards per game.
Tennessee will need some luck to qualify for the SEC Championship Game. A loss to Florida earlier in the season means that only if Tennessee wins out and Florida drops a game can the Volunteers make the championship game. Of course, hoping will not help if the Volunteers cannot make it through LSU and Arkansas in consecutive weeks at the beginning of November.
If USC does lose one game, the Big East champion finishes unbeaten, and an SEC team manages to come out of the Championship Game with one loss, then the BCS could be prime for its most disastrous season ending yet. Not only would the winners of both the SEC and Big East be able to stake a claim for a spot in the national title game, but if No. 5 Texas is able to win out the rest of its not too challenging schedule it would likely make a case, along with a potentially 11-1 Notre Dame squad hot off the heels of a victory over USC. And at the end of the day, the computers may simply put the loser of the Michigan/Ohio State game back in the national title game for a head-scratching rematch. What would November be like without a BCS train wreck?
