The Weekend Ahead: What Big Conference Games Mean

Before we get into previews of the games that our conferences have lined up this weekend, let’s take a look at what the implications are of the other games on the docket for this week and weekend.

Oregon State at Oregon (Thursday): National Implications: Winner advances to the Rose Bowl. Non-BCS Implications: Virtually none.  The loser will be down to at least three losses, and the winner will take a spot that was never available for a non-BCS team.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh:National Implications: Winner is Big East Champ & Earns BCS Auto-Bid. Non-BCS Implications: If Cincy wins as expected, it should not affect either team (Boise State or TCU).  If Pitt wins, you then have an 11-1 Cincinnati making a decent case for inclusion in the BCS, which could knock Boise out.

Alabama vs. Florida: National Implications: Winner likely advances to BCS Championship Game, loser likely advances to Sugar Bowl. Non-BCS Implications: Most likely, only in determining an opponent.  It seems likely that one or the other will wind up in the Sugar, so they will likely expect to see the SEC runner up.

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech: National Implications: Winner advances to BCS bowl, loser likely out of consideration. Non-BCS Implications: Most likely none.  If Tech loses, that’s their third loss of the year, and the consensus is that a 3 loss team will not get picked over a 13-0 Boise State.

Nebraska vs. Texas: National Implications: If Texas wins, likely to advance to BCS Championship Game.  If Nebraska wins, they earn a BCS bowl bid and relegate Texas to at-large. Non-BCS Implications: Huge.  If Nebraska pulls off the upset, Boise State is very likely out of the running- they’ll be competing with Iowa/Penn State and Texas for only 2 spots.  But if that happens, then TCU has an open door to the Championship Game unless they get jumped by Cincinnati, which is a possibility.  But if Texas wins, especially if Cincy wins earlier in the day, then Boise State can finally take a breath, and both teams should find homes in the BCS mix.