Rutgers has blown up the BCS tonight with their stunning 28-25 win over Lousiville. The Scarlet Knights were brillaint shutting out the Cardinals in the second half and rallying from a 25-7 deficit to win. So, what does it all mean?
Well, first, Greg Schiano is now the hottest coaching prospect in the country. EVERYBODY will be going after him. Second, Rutgers joins Ohio State and Michigan as the only BCS unbeatens left. Let the great debate begin.
First off, I want to congratulate Mark May on being the biggest idiot in college football. At halftime of the game, he said Southern Cal was the best of the one-loss teams. He must not have been paying attention when they squeaked past Washington State, Washington and Arizona State before losing to Oregon State. The Trojans will lose to Cal and most likely Notre Dame as well.
Okay, onto the BCS ramifications of tonight. I don't see Rutgers climbing into the national title game, even if they end up undefeated. The polls are just too much against them -- the highest they'd finish is fifth, which is too low. Louisville is out of the national championship race, but has an outside shot at the BCS. If West Virginia beats Rutgers in the final weekend of the season, there is a three-way tie and the highest ranked team (I think in the BCS standings) earns the bid.
As for the national title, we know the Ohio State/Michigan winner is in. So, who's No. 2? I hate it when people debate who's No. 2 right now, because it really doesn't matter. We need to know who's No. 2 on Dec. 5. Here's the way I see it.
The SEC has a HUGE role and its currently a weird situation. Auburn is ranked ahead of Florida in the human polls, but might not even play for the SEC title. The best scenario for both teams to play each other for the crown. You can almost guarantee the winner playing in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 8. If somehow Arkansas runs the table, I don't see them pulling enough weight to reach No. 2.
The Gators are already ahead of Texas in the BCS and would only get stronger by moving into Auburn's ranking slot. Also, the computers HATE Texas because the Big 12 blows and the Longhorns haven't beaten anybody. If Auburn won, the computer numbers would likely be strong enough to pass the Longhors for No. 2.
However, you can't rule out Cal, USC and Notre Dame. Of course, USC plays both down the stretch, but I don't expect them to win either, much less both. If Cal and Notre Dame win, Cal's computer numbers would be better, but Notre Dame's ranking would be better. In effect, they would cancel each other out. However, if somehow Cal can leapfrog Notre Dame in the polls (or beat USC while the Trojans beat the Irish), the Bears are dangerous. On Sunday, they'll have the third best computer ranking in the nation. By the end of the year, it might just be enough to sneak past the SEC Champion and Texas for a national title berth.
Whew, did you get that? Basically what it means is everything is wide open at this point. Pretty much the only thing that can be counted on is Texas isn't going to lose again in the awful Big 12 and either Ohio State or Michigan will be in the NC game. Outside of that, it's open season in college footabll.
The one thing I hope doesn't happen is a rematch. I hate rematches. In a sport where the regular season is everything, you shouldn't get a re-do. Texas had its shot at Ohio State. The loser of the Ohio State/Michigan game had its shot too. I don't mind a Michigan-Texas national title game, but don't give me a team that has already lost to another.