10 Big Ten teams Bowl eligible?

[kartaron]

Originally Posted by sandgk

No - if the Buckeyes go to championship bowl game then the next in line from Big Ten will very likely go to another BCS game - most likely the Rose Bowl.

I dont see how... A 3 loss Michigan is going to be between 15-20 at the best... If Purdue or Penn St win out they could be ranked but I doubt they climb higher than Michigan... If Wisconsin beats Michigan it would probably just keep both of them unranked...and like someone said above, the pollsters are not going to play a 1 loss Oregon or undefeated Az St team against a 3 loss barely ranked team thats already lost badly to the ducks.

[scooter1369]

If The Bucks go to the Big Easy, I can't see the Rose Bowl taking scUM. They got prison raped by Oregon and no one wants to see that potential rematch.

[sandgk]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeSoldier

Actually that seems pretty unlikely unless you think the rose would take a 3 loss michigan team..

Originally Posted by kartaron

I dont see how... A 3 loss Michigan is going to be between 15-20 at the best... If Purdue or Penn St win out they could be ranked but I doubt they climb higher than Michigan... If Wisconsin beats Michigan it would probably just keep both of them unranked...and like someone said above, the pollsters are not going to play a 1 loss Oregon or undefeated Az St team against a 3 loss barely ranked team thats already lost badly to the ducks.

Originally Posted by scooter1369

If The Bucks go to the Big Easy, I can't see the Rose Bowl taking scUM. They got prison raped by Oregon and no one wants to see that potential rematch.

Your collective points concerning the Rose Bowl may be sound - though the Rose Bowl and the Big 10 do go hand in hand, and there is a way that Michigan may get to go regardless.

The assumption stated above that Michigan would be ranked 15-20 at best isn't on as a sound a footing.

Right now Michigan is ranked in the top 12 in the BCS rankings. It is much likelier that they will the remaining two contests before The Game than that they would lose them. Their ranking only remains static if nobody above them from other conferences loses. I'd say that is highly unlikely, for Arizona State and Oregon must go head-to-head, two teams go in, only one remains. Georgia may be looking to sit well right now, but if they win through their game with Georgia Tech they likely face LSU. Either LSU falls, or Georgia does, most likely the latter. Likewise BC may end up facing off against Virginia Tech or - equally likely - find a way to lose against one of remaining challenges on their schedule, my money being on Clemson. Then of course you have the Oklahoma question, do they play for the championship against Kansas or Missouri? Two of the top 10 BCS teams would be putting their post-season bowl game on the line as it now stands, either way that match is scheduled. The collective fallout from the remaining schedule matchups and the championships games can conspire to solidify TSUN's position in the top 10 in the BCS, even with a loss to Ohio State in Ann Arbor.

Which leads me to this - how TSUN plays for the Roses.
Here is one way:

Oregon loses to Az. State, but Az. State then inexplicably fall apart against a resurgent USC with a healthy Booty at the helm. Oregon State, playing the game of their lives, dusts up Oregon's record yet more in the final game of the season.

So, at that point who would the Pac-10 champion be? And would the Rose really blink an eye over matching a 9-3, top-10 ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl against a Pac-10 champion that they did not get trounced by in the second game of their season? Or, would they elect to take the other door offered should Ohio State be destined to play in New Orleans for the Chanpionship? That is put Michigan up against whomsoever they please within the rules of BCS selections.

Also, should the Rose look past a 9-3 and top-10 ranked Michigan team there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that they would still be placed in one of the other BCS bowl games.

[daveeb]

It's possible for Michigan to make it. 3 Big 12 teams means 1 is automatically out of it. That means that Michigan is really in the Top 11 of the BCS. That is only 1 team to really pass up.

And remember, the 2nd best team in the SEC will have 3 losses, unless LSU runs the table and then losses in the SEC Championship Game. What I mean by that is:

-Every team in the SEC East has at least 2 losses.
-If Alabama beats LSU, LSU has 2 losses, and Alabama has 2 losses.
-If LSU wins out, they would obviously be 12-1 heading to the BCS Bowls, but the loser of the SEC Championship Game would have 3 losses.

So, logically, the only way for the SEC runner-up to have 2 or fewer losses is if LSU runs the table and loses in the SEC Championship Game.

[BengalsAndBucks]

Also remember that Kansas and Missouri play in the last regular season game of the season, and then the winner has to play Oklahoma in the B12 title game. If Missouri beats Kansas and then loses to Oklahoma, then we would have an 11-1 Kansas team, an 11-2 Missouri team, and a 12-1 Oklahoma team (assuming they all win their games up to that point). But watch out for Missouri losing to Colorado this week, and Kansas could very well lose at OK State in 2 weeks. Regardless, I dont think an 11-1 Kansas team makes a BCS bowl, and I think an 11-2 Missouri team and a 9-3 Michigan team is a toss-up.

[BB73]

The other big factor is the Hawaii/Boise State winner and a possible BCS bid.

If a non-BCS team is in the top-12 of the BCS, they get a spot. Or if they are between 13-16, and are ranked higher than any BCS conference champion (possible if Okie State, Virginia, UConn, or a 4-loss SEC team win their conference) then the non-BCS team (Hawaii/Boise) gets a BCS spot.

If neither one of those conditions exists (quite possible if Hawaii loses a game), then there are 10 BCS spots for teams from the 6 BCS Conferences, with no conference being allowed more than 2 spots.

However, any BCS Conference team that didn't win its conference has to be ranked in the top-14 of the final BCS standings to get a BCS spot.

Pac 10 - 2 BCS bids, almost certainly
Big 12 - 2 BCS spots, probably (CCG winner, and 1-loss Kansas/Missouri or 2-loss Oklahoma/Texas)
Big East - 1-2 BCS bids. If Champion is 1-loss W.Va, would 2-loss USF get a bid over 3-loss TSUN?)
Big 10 - 1-2 bids. tOSU and maybe TSUN
SEC - 1-2 bids. If LSU wins the CCG, the loser could have 4 losses. A 3-loss Florida or Alabama team would have a shot at a BCS bid.
ACC - 1-2 bids. Va. Tech plays Va, Wake plays Clemson, plus the CCG. Very possible all but 1 ACC team has 3 losses.

So a 3-loss TSUN (and every other member of the Big Ten looking for more bowl dollars) should be rooting for Hawaii to lose, and for teams near the tpo of the Big East, ACC, and SEC to get more losses.

[Nordberg]

I was looking on Rivals.com and found these bowl predictions.

Rivals.com College Football - Rivals.com projects OSU-LSU title game

They have NINE Big Ten teams going to a bowl.

OSU v LSU - BCS National Title
scUM v Oregon - BCS Rose Bowl (Rematch)

PSU v Florida - Capital One

Illinios v Tenn - Outback

Purdue v Colorado - Insight

Indiana v Air Force - Armed Forces

Wisconsin v Texas Tech - Alamo

Iowa v Virginia Tech - Champs Sports

MSU v Central Mich - Motor City

I think these make sense. I especially like the idea of the Motor City Bowl. They must not think that Northwestern will be able to win 1 more game. Or they think that they will be bowl eligable and then get screwed or something.