There are two at-large BCS berths available this year. The collective wisdom says Notre Dame will receive one and the other is up for grabs. The rules of the BCS state a team is eligible for an at-large selection if they have nine wins over Division I opponents and finish in the top 12 in the final BCS standings. If we assume USC, Texas, Penn State, LSU, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia earn automatic bids that will leave Ohio State, Oregon, Notre Dame, Miami, Auburn, and UCLA eligible for the two at-large selections. All these teams have finished their regular season except UCLA. If the Bruins lose to USC, they will likely drop out of the top 12 and therefore will not be included in this discussion. Let's take a look at who is most deserving based on record, not on name alone or TV draw.
Numbers are according to the Sagarin ratings used in the BCS formula.
Ohio State: (9-2, 7-1) Co-Big Ten Champs
Strength of Schedule: #2.
Record vs. Top 10: 1-2.
Record vs. Top 30: 5-2.
Record vs. Bowl Eligible teams: 5-2.
Quality Wins: @ Michigan, @ Minnesota, Iowa, & Northwestern.
Losses: Texas, @ Penn State.
Oregon: (10-1, 7-1) Second place in Pac 10
Strength of Schedule: #31.
Record vs. Top 10: 0-1.
Record vs. Top 30: 1-1.
Record vs. Bowl Eligible teams: 4-1.
Quality Wins: Fresno State, California.
Loss: USC.
Notre Dame: (9-2)
Strength of Schedule: #20
Record vs. Top 10: 1-1.
Record vs. Top 30: 1-2.
Record vs. Bowl Eligible teams: 3-1.
Quality Wins: @ Michigan.
Losses: Michigan State, USC.
Miami: (9-2, 6-2) Second place in ACC Coastal
Strength of Schedule: #33.
Record vs. Top 10: 1-0.
Record vs. Top 30: 3-1.
Record vs. Bowl Eligible teams: 5-2.
Quality Wins: @ Virginia Tech, @ Clemson, Colorado.
Losses: @ Florida St, Georgia Tech.
Auburn: (9-2, 7-1) Tied for first in SEC West
Strength of Schedule: #66.
Record vs. Top 10: 0-0.
Record vs. Top 30: 2-2.
Record vs. Bowl Eligible teams: 3-2.
Quality Wins: @ Georgia, Alabama.
Losses: Georgia Tech, @ LSU.
I would rank the teams this way--Ohio State, Oregon, Notre Dame, Miami, and Auburn. The Buckeyes are way ahead of the others. The other four are extremely close and could be in any order. Miami has the best win, @ Virginia Tech. Auburn is playing as good as anyone in the country. Oregon's only loss is to USC. The Irish also lost to USC, but fell to a 5-6 Michigan State team as well.
Comments??
--AW--