1. Out of chaos comes order. I think Kirk Ferentz said that once. Anyway, the top of the Bowl Championship Series standings got muddled again this weekend, but that has allowed everyone to see the true picture and exactly what will happen these next few weeks.
2. First, a nod to Penn State. Ferentz’s Iowa Hawkeyes sent Penn State away from the BCS title game for good.
A shame for Joe Paterno, but let’s be honest: No team from the Big Ten was good enough to claim a national title this year. Enjoy the Rose Bowl, Nittany Lions.
3. But here’s why that makes sense. Alabama clung to the No. 1 spot thanks to the Tide’s quarterback, John Parker Wilson (good), and the LSU QB, Jarrett Lee (much less good).
Florida is No. 4 in the BCS. The Tide and Gators are assured of meeting in the SEC title game Dec. 6, which means the winner is assured of being in the BCS title game.
4. And that will be Florida. Wouldn’t it be a kick if Tim Tebow ended up winning another Heisman and the Gators won another national championship?
Both could happen. Florida is clicking, Alabama is … not. Or rather, Nick Saban’s boys are playing as close to the edge as a No. 1 team can be.
5. And the BCS title game opponent? That I cannot say yet, but it will be a team from the Big 12 South. Texas Tech crushed Oklahoma State out of the picture, so it’ll be among No. 2 Tech, No. 3 Texas or No. 5 Oklahoma. Tech visits Oklahoma on Nov. 22, so that should decide matters.
6. What if Oklahoma wins that game? More chaos.
That would leave Tech, Oklahoma and most likely Texas with one loss in conference, a three-way tie atop the south division.
The tiebreaker? Why, it’s the BCS standings, of course. Which means voting in polls will determine who wins the division.
7. Is this fair? It smells real bad, that’s for sure. I’d hate to be the third-place team of the three, because that team won’t go to any BCS bowl, only two teams from each conference can do that.
8. Anything else clear?
USC seems to be set for a Rose Bowl date with Penn State. Utah still has BYU on the schedule, but a win there will have the Utes as the non-power conference rep in the BCS, with Boise State waiting in the wings.
9. Oh, and the ACC stinks. But we all knew that already. The Big East is still right there with the ACC, to think that Cincinnati has a chance to be in a BCS game. I’d take the seventh-place team in the Big 12.
10. What about that Heisman? Tebow would be a nice pick, but Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree should share it.
Where would either of them be without the other?
