Can the MAC crash the BCS?
There are realistic scenarios that put a MAC team into a BCS bowl game
In the 15-year history of the BCS, rarely has there been a season when the games have seemed to determine things as clearly as they do this year with only one weekend left to play.
As of now, there are no difficult choices to be made. Consider:
• This Saturday's SEC Championship Game will determine Notre Dame's opponent in the BCS National Championship, and Florida will finish third in the standings to gain automatic entry to the BCS through the "Kansas State Rule" (after KSU finished third in 1998 and fell to the Alamo Bowl, a rule was put into place to protect a top-three team without a conference title from being left out of the BCS).
• The Rose Bowl spots will be filled by this weekend's championship games in the Pac-12 and Big Ten.
• The Big 12 champ (Kansas State if it beats Texas) will head to the Fiesta Bowl, and the ACC champ will be locked into the Orange Bowl.
• The Sugar Bowl will use the first selection to grab Florida to replace the SEC champ. The second selection goes to the Fiesta, which will undoubtedly take Oregon. The third pick goes to the Sugar, and as things currently stand, it would be a no-brainer to select Oklahoma and leave the Big East champion to fall to the Orange.
The emphasis there is on "as things currently stand," because it's possible that a certain combination of results on Friday and Saturday could drastically change these projected matchups for the Sugar and Orange.
And that's where the MAC could come into play. That's right -- MACtion. Here's how:
To see the details on how a MAC team will get into the BCS, you must be an ESPN Insider.
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