FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Before you Bajou Bengals, and Jayhawks start jumping up and down, making plans for the "Big Easy"...before you Buckeye fans lament that loss to the Fightn Illini....remember this.....It ain't over yet !!!

Kansas should especially beware !!! They are in the #2 position in the BCS and that spot has been brutal on its teams....see USC, Oregon, Oklahoma, ect, ect.  Ohio State thought they were set and then came a hungry Illinois team.  So all is not so cut and dry for the Jayhawks.  Granted the Jayhawks have been very impressive in racking up their 11-0 record thus far !!! But that will mean absolutely nothing if they don't parlay it to at the very least an appearence in the Big 12 Championship game.  The Jayhawks to get there have to win their schedule ending tilt against Mizzou at Memorial in Lawrence.  Mizzou has had this meeting penciled in ever since their loss to Oklahoma...as their shot at redemption and possibly another crack at the Sooners. Unfortunetly for the Tigers, they have to do it on the road...which won't be easy.  The winner of course is headed to the Alamo Dome for the Championship game....the loser is not, and may be out of the BCS mix as well !!! Oklahoma for weeks...ever since their win over Texas in the "Red River Shootout" has been a lock for the Big 12 Championship game....but "Hold on there Doggies", that's no longer in stone !!! The loss of Sam Bradford not only cost the Sooners a shot at the National Championship...but also may have cost them the Big 12 title as well !!! Bradford left the game against Tech in the 1st quarter with a concussion and the Sooners never recovered.  Bradford will be evaluated later this week, as will a lot of other starters that are banged up right now. Oklahoma must beat State to earn their trip to San Antonio. If they get beat and the Longhorns beat A&M...then the Longhorns...not the Sooners go to the Alamo.  So the bottomline here kids is that the participants in the Big 12 title game is "TBA" and at best only one of those teams and possibly none of those teams will still be in the BCS Title race when the smoke clears.

Licking their chops at that prospect are the Mountaineers of West Virginia !!! Suddenly back in the mix at #3 in the BCS standings...the Montaineers are poised to jump into the mix should someone above them falter.  Speaking of faltering though...West Virginia still has some work to do !!! All year they have been dogged by the Huskies of UConn.  While everyone thought the Big East would be a 3 way battle between the Mountaineers, Louisville and Rutgers....UConn and for a while USF jumped up to steal the spotlight !!! The Bulls have since faltered, but the Huskies have not...and seem poised to surprise everyone...including themselves with the Big East title !!! While we are scratching are heads asking ourselves who would have thought that the Kansas-Missouri meeting would be for a shot at the Big 12 title....who thought that WVU-UConn would be the game to decide the Big East title ???  On the plus side for the Mountaineers is the fact that both of the Huskies losses this year (UVA and Cincy) were on the road...and this game is in Morgantown.  The negative is that the Mountaineers should they pass this test and win the Big East....still have the always tough Rivalry (or should we say potential upset game) against Pittsburgh after UConn.  Either way...West Virginia's ticket to the BCS is far from being punched just yet !!!

Sitting back at #5 and #6 in the BCS standings are the two teams that are absolutely loving their chances right now.  Ohio State is #5 and out of the mix....especially seeing as their season is done...right ???  Au Contraire Mon Ami (Sorry my French just isn't what it should be) !!!  So what if Kansas beats Missouri, but then falls to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game ??? What if West Virginia stumbles against UConn or Pittsburgh.  What if Georgia upsets LSU in the SEC Championship game....what if ?????  None of that scenario is that far fetched is it ??? The Benefactor of course will be Ohio State who shouldn't be booking those plane tickets to Pasedena just yet....New Orleans is still very much in the mix for the Buckeyes who could rise into the top two in the next couple of weeks while watching everything play out from the comfort of their couches...how sweet is that !!! And the the Sun Devils....while they have a tough game against USC this weekend, that suddenly now will decide the PAC-10 title...also are still in the mix !!! Win over USC and its at least Roses...again, now that the Ducks are without Dennis Dixon !!! Beat USC and the Wildcats and get some help from above and the Sun Devils might be heading East rather than West for their Bowl Game.  Now do I think that realistically the Sun Devils or the Buckeyes have a realistic shot at getting to New Orleans ??? No...No I don't....mind you how many of us had Appalachian State penciled in for a win over Michigan in the Big House ??? How many of us had UConn playing for the Big East title ??? Who saw Virginia battling for the ACC Crown ??? Who saw Kansas potentially going undefeated ???  Who saw the Sun Devils in the Pac-10, who saw Florida losing 3 times, who saw Notre Dame losing to Navy, Hell who saw South Dakota State upsetting North Dakota State to crush the Bison's perfect season bid (man did I lose some cash on that one) ???? Anyone...anyone at all ????

So what's so far fetched about thinking about Arizona State against Ohio State in the BCS title game ???  While I admit that's pretty much as long as long shots get, but....It ain't over yet !!!!