3afan
11-08-2005, 07:35 AM
not likely, but interesting .................
BCS: Tech has a shot
10:38 PM CST on Monday, November 7, 2005
By BRIAN DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News
Texas Tech coach Mike Leach believes in attacking every yard on the field. Find where the defense breaks down, and exploit mismatches to your advantage.
Tech fans should use that same mentality when breaking down the Bowl Championship Series standings. Examine every team, and determine whether a win or a loss helps the Red Raiders get into a BCS bowl.
Thanks to Virginia Tech's loss to Miami on Saturday, Southern California and Texas have a strong grip on the top two spots, and nobody else is even close.
Last week, the Longhorns led the Hokies by .0435. Now, UT has a .0951 lead over third-place Alabama. It's the biggest gap between No. 2 and No. 3 this season.
Elsewhere in the standings, Tech moved up to No. 12.
While that doesn't sound too impressive on its own, it's an important distinction. For a team to even be eligible for BCS consideration, it must win nine games and be ranked 12th or higher.
The Raiders are 8-1 with two games remaining – at Oklahoma State (Saturday) and home against Oklahoma (Nov. 19).
The Big 12 is anchored to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Under normal circumstances, the league champion would play in Tempe, Ariz.
This season, if Texas wins the Big 12 and plays in the Rose Bowl for the national title, the Fiesta Bowl would get to make an at-large selection.
Tech is already on the Fiesta Bowl's radar, according to Shawn Schoeffler, the Fiesta Bowl vice president of media relations. But the bowl could have a host of one-loss teams to choose from.
"We knew they had a good team, and there's a lot of excitement," Schoeffler said. "It's just a matter of who else is out there and what type of matchup is available."
Here's what needs to happen to help the Raiders move up in the BCS standings and make themselves more attractive for an at-large selection:
•Texas must keep winning. The Longhorns crushed the Red Raiders earlier this season, 52-17. But the computers reward Tech simply for playing UT. So as long as the Longhorns keep winning, that helps the Raiders.
•Definitely cheer against Notre Dame. BCS bowls have to be drooling at the idea of getting the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame, which is 11th in the BCS standings, would gobble up one of the two available at-large spots. Being a Division I-A independent, Notre Dame would receive an automatic berth in a BCS bowl if it finishes sixth or higher.
•Hope Alabama, Miami and Penn State win league championships. The Southeastern, ACC and Big Ten champs all receive automatic berths, as do the Big 12, Big East and Pac-10 champs.
The Tide, Hurricanes and Nittany Lions are third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in the BCS standings. Those teams would get automatic berths, which Tech can't control anyway, and take the Red Raiders off the board.
•Hope Virginia Tech, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia and Oregon all lose again. All of those teams are ahead of Tech, and several have rivalry games ahead. If they lose, that drops them in the polls and helps the Raiders move up.
•Win the final two games, and win big. All of this is moot if Tech drops one of its two remaining games. The Raiders must finish the regular season with a 10-1 record if they have any hope of playing in the Fiesta Bowl.
Blowouts get voters' attention. A blowout win against OSU would be expected, but a big win over OU would turn some heads.
E-mail brdavis@dallasnews.com
BCS: Tech has a shot
10:38 PM CST on Monday, November 7, 2005
By BRIAN DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News
Texas Tech coach Mike Leach believes in attacking every yard on the field. Find where the defense breaks down, and exploit mismatches to your advantage.
Tech fans should use that same mentality when breaking down the Bowl Championship Series standings. Examine every team, and determine whether a win or a loss helps the Red Raiders get into a BCS bowl.
Thanks to Virginia Tech's loss to Miami on Saturday, Southern California and Texas have a strong grip on the top two spots, and nobody else is even close.
Last week, the Longhorns led the Hokies by .0435. Now, UT has a .0951 lead over third-place Alabama. It's the biggest gap between No. 2 and No. 3 this season.
Elsewhere in the standings, Tech moved up to No. 12.
While that doesn't sound too impressive on its own, it's an important distinction. For a team to even be eligible for BCS consideration, it must win nine games and be ranked 12th or higher.
The Raiders are 8-1 with two games remaining – at Oklahoma State (Saturday) and home against Oklahoma (Nov. 19).
The Big 12 is anchored to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Under normal circumstances, the league champion would play in Tempe, Ariz.
This season, if Texas wins the Big 12 and plays in the Rose Bowl for the national title, the Fiesta Bowl would get to make an at-large selection.
Tech is already on the Fiesta Bowl's radar, according to Shawn Schoeffler, the Fiesta Bowl vice president of media relations. But the bowl could have a host of one-loss teams to choose from.
"We knew they had a good team, and there's a lot of excitement," Schoeffler said. "It's just a matter of who else is out there and what type of matchup is available."
Here's what needs to happen to help the Raiders move up in the BCS standings and make themselves more attractive for an at-large selection:
•Texas must keep winning. The Longhorns crushed the Red Raiders earlier this season, 52-17. But the computers reward Tech simply for playing UT. So as long as the Longhorns keep winning, that helps the Raiders.
•Definitely cheer against Notre Dame. BCS bowls have to be drooling at the idea of getting the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame, which is 11th in the BCS standings, would gobble up one of the two available at-large spots. Being a Division I-A independent, Notre Dame would receive an automatic berth in a BCS bowl if it finishes sixth or higher.
•Hope Alabama, Miami and Penn State win league championships. The Southeastern, ACC and Big Ten champs all receive automatic berths, as do the Big 12, Big East and Pac-10 champs.
The Tide, Hurricanes and Nittany Lions are third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in the BCS standings. Those teams would get automatic berths, which Tech can't control anyway, and take the Red Raiders off the board.
•Hope Virginia Tech, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia and Oregon all lose again. All of those teams are ahead of Tech, and several have rivalry games ahead. If they lose, that drops them in the polls and helps the Raiders move up.
•Win the final two games, and win big. All of this is moot if Tech drops one of its two remaining games. The Raiders must finish the regular season with a 10-1 record if they have any hope of playing in the Fiesta Bowl.
Blowouts get voters' attention. A blowout win against OSU would be expected, but a big win over OU would turn some heads.
E-mail brdavis@dallasnews.com