Week Two: The Pac Ten’s Race To The BCS

After the second BCS Standings were released there was some movement at the top of the BCS. Boise State (.775) and Cincinnati (.774) are no longer ranked ahead of USC (.794). Most people would agree that the Trojans are a better team than the Broncos and the Bearcats. USC is now looking to pass Iowa. For USC to qualify for the BCS Championship game Texas and Iowa will have to lose. Now that the Oregon Ducks (.646) have moved from the eleventh spot to the tenth spot a must see match-up of the BCS #5 team vs. #10 in the BCS will take place this Saturday when the Trojans travel to Autzen Stadium to battle the Ducks.

The winner of the USC/ Oregon game will qualify for the Rose Bowl if they run the table. There are a few ways to look at the BCS when analyzing the USC/ Oregon game. If USC wins they control their own destiny as far as qualifying for the Rose Bowl and have an outside shot at the BCS Championship if teams ahead of them lose. USC could lose to Oregon and still qualify for a BCS at large bid if they can defeat Arizona St., Stanford, UCLA and Arizona. The Oregon Ducks are currently ranked #10 in the BCS and even with a win over USC this weekend the Rose Bowl would probably be the only option as far as the BCS is concerned.

The Arizona Wildcats (.224) are #20 in the BCS and tied for second in the Pac Ten with USC. The Wildcats have a bye this week, but if Oregon loses to USC the Wildcats will be in a tie for first place. The Wildcats are ranked too low in the BCS to qualify for the BCS Championship Game, but if the win out they would qualify for their first Rose Bowl appearance. After their bye week the Pac Ten picture will be crystal clear for the Wildcats.