Commentary

Oklahoma State's BCS title shot

Addressing the biggest BCS questions before the final standings are released

Updated: December 4, 2011, 9:59 AM ET
By Brad Edwards | ESPN Insider

The question that everybody will ask after Oklahoma State's blowout win over Oklahoma on Saturday is whether OSU could jump ahead of Alabama to earn the No. 2 spot in the BCS standings -- and a berth in the Allstate BCS National Championship Game.

Here's a look at the answer to that question as well as the other intriguing BCS scenarios heading into Sunday's release of the standings. We'll go through them team by team, starting with the two at the center of the BCS Championship Game debate.

Alabama Crimson Tide and Oklahoma State Cowboys

On Sunday, OSU should be No. 2 in every BCS computer and Alabama should be No. 3 in all of them. To jump ahead of Alabama in the final BCS standings, however, the Cowboys will need to receive 25 percent of the second-place votes in the polls and be ranked No. 3 on the rest of the ballots. For every ballot on which they are ranked No. 4, they'll need to acquire an additional second-place vote.


To read Brad Edwards' full take here, sign up for ESPN Insider.

Brad Edwards

ESPN Insider
• Analyzes college football and the BCS as part of ESPN's Stats & Information Group
• Analyst for both College GameDay on ESPN Radio and the ESPN College Football app

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