Whither 12-0 Boise State?

The only reason the Boise State-Fresno State game was ever 10-10 was because Boise decided to start its backup QB (a senior) on senior day and the poor kid threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown on the first series. They then put in their real starting QB and went on to win 61-10 and finish their regular season 12-0.

For this, we have Boise State projected to play in the...San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl?

Tough stuff. After all, what more could they have done? But the BCS math isn't working out for them.

Since the ACC, Pac 10 and Big East will all apparently have champions that are ranked outside the BCS top 10, Boise State (which is ranked ninth) is going to have a tough time snagging an at-large berth. The BCS takes the champions of its six conferences (those three plus the Big 10, SEC and Big 12), plus the highest-ranked champion of another conference (in this case, No. 7 Utah), then fills in the final three at-large spots as it sees fit. At this point, those three at-large spots look certain to go to USC, the loser of the SEC title game (Alabama or Florida) and whichever team (Oklahoma or Texas) gets hosed out of a shot at the Big 12 title game.

That leaves the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl to fight it out with the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl for the right to put a 12-0 Boise State team in its game.

Now, there are some things that could, technically, still happen. They include:

-Oregon could beat Oregon State tonight. That would make USC the champion of the Pac 10 and drop Oregon State out of the BCS picture, opening up another at-large spot. But if that happened, would the BCS really pick Boise State over Ohio State? Given the records and the rankings, you can certainly make the case that they should. But WOULD they?

-Oklahoma State could beat Oklahoma tonight. That'd be a second loss for Oklahoma, a team many consider the best in the country, and would send Texas Tech to the Big 12 title game against Missouri, meaning one of those teams would earn a BCS berth and either Oklahoma or Texas would be left out. That doesn't really open up a spot, though, since the spot would go to a Big 12 champion team not currently in the BCS picture.

-Notre Dame could beat USC today. Yeah. And monkeys might fly out of my butt... But anyway, if that happened, USC would have two losses (one of which would be totally horrendous and inexplicable) and might lose its right to an at-large spot.

Tough stuff, sure. But it could be worse. They could be 11-0 Ball State, which is ranked 15th and has no shot whatsoever to crash the BCS party. This is the kind of thing that makes you think they do need a playoff. But if they had a playoff, what would this site be for?

Other nifty aspects of today's schedule include:

-Auburn at Alabama. The Tide can lose and still play in the SEC title game next week, but jeez. If they lose this week AND next week, they could lose their claim on an at-large spot. Would be a brutal fall for a team that's looked indestructible all year, but think about this: Auburn has won this game six years in a row.

-Maryland at Boston College. If BC wins, they're in the ACC title game. If they lose, Florida State is in the ACC title game. BC is starting a its 14th-string quarterback, but they're a team built on its running game and defense. All Dominique Davis has to do is not screw anything up, and they believe the rest will take care of itself.

-Baylor at Texas Tech. Stung from last week's thrashing in Oklahoma, Texas Tech is likely to try to score 100 points against the Bears in an effort to hang onto a shot at the BCS field.