BCS Rankings Week 12: TCU Stuck In BCS Standings

NEW YORK — TCU's big victory wasn't enough for the Horned Frogs to make a move up the BCS standings.

TCU (10-0) on Sunday remained behind Florida, Alabama and Texas in the race to the national title game.

The Horned Frogs defeated Utah 55-28 on Saturday night in what figured to be the most difficult game left on their schedule. But they remained stuck in fourth place in Bowl Championship Series standings.

TCU, from the Mountain West Conference, last week became the first team from a league without an automatic BCS bid to break into the top five of the standings this late in a season.

If the Horned Frogs can beat Wyoming and New Mexico to finish a perfect regular season, they will earn their first BCS bid and cross off another achievement on the pyramid of goals coach Gary Patterson has on display for his team.

"If we win two games, we have an opportunity to color in a box higher than we've ever colored in in this program, to go to a BCS," he said Sunday. "That's about as far as I take it."

Unless Alabama, Florida or Texas slip up, that's about as far as TCU will be able to take it.

Florida has been in first since the standings were initially released last month. Alabama is second and Texas is third.

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The Gators and Crimson Tide meet in the SEC championship on Dec. 5. If they can both reach that game undefeated, a spot in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 would be guaranteed to the winner.

If Texas can win its remaining two regular-season games and the Big 12 championship game, it's a virtual lock to play for the national championship at the Rose Bowl.

Undefeated Cincinnati is in fifth place and unbeaten Boise State is sixth in the latest BCS standings.

Like the Horned Frogs, the Bearcats and Broncos need help from the teams in front of them in order to make a national title game appearance.

At least the Bearcats control their fate when it comes to getting into one of the other four big-money bowl games. If Cincinnati can beat Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale, it will earn the Big East's automatic BCS berth for the second straight year.

Boise State from the Western Athletic Conference is in danger of being left out of the BCS after a perfect regular season for the second consecutive year.

Only one team from the conferences without automatic bids can earn an automatic bid by finishing in the top 12 of the final standings, and TCU is in line to earn that invite.

The Broncos are in position to be eligible for an at-large bid but no team from outside the six automatic-qualifying leagues has ever been an at-large selection.

Comments

[DC Democrat]

What an unbelievably stupid way to determine a champion. If every other sport, and every other level of NCAA football, can determine their champion through a playoff, why not Division 1?

[Palemoon]

Ok, so realistically you could have 4 undefeated teams after all is said and done. Even if they pair them 2 x 2 in the bowls, you STILL have 2 undefeated teams after all is said and done. How do you determine the champion fairly?

Course, it's not going to be the 2 undefeated teams that you will expect. muahaha. Cause this is how it's going to go down.

UF loses to FSU, then Bama. That much is certain. Boise loses to Nevada. That leaves 4 unbeatens. Bama probably plays creampuff Texas in championship and obliterates them. Meanwhile TCU plays Cincinnati in the game of the other 2 unbeatens which Cincy possibly wins if they can get past Pitt. If Cincy loses to Pitt, it's probably Pitt against TCU with TCU winning in a rout. Obviously everyone will say that the BCS "got it right" because Bama was gifted that national title by being matched with a greatly inferior opponent. But did they get it right? I don't think so because they are giving Bama no credit right now. They somehow think that Bama has played a weaker schedule than Florida even tho both play many of the same teams. Go figure. That's the kind of obvious bias I am speaking about.

[benji85]

Florida is playing Alabama in the SEC Championship game so there will be only 3 from BCS qualifying conferences.

[DC Democrat]

Yeah, but unless TCU trips up they're going to a BCS game.

[Palemoon]

I hate the BCS and NCAA rankings people because they are so biased. Everything is rigged in order to try and make the BCS work when it has failed miserably, year in and year out.

Right now there are 5 undefeated top tier teams. There is a very good chance that 4 of those 5 will be undefeated going into the bowls. How then, can you state that TCU and Boise isn't as deserving as Texas the the SEC team?? Especially since Boise has beaten everyone they've played from the BCS major conferences, powerhouse teams like Oklahoma and Oregon. Not just beating them, but beating them when it mattered. And look at last year with Utah, they faced just as many top 10 teams and number 1 ranked teams as Florida did, yet they were denied a chance to blowout Florida the way in which they blew out Alabama. And I'll remind the nay-sayers that Florida was losing the entire time against Alabama and if not for a lucky break, it would have been Bama in last years title game. Florida comes from behind to beat Bama by the skin of it's teeth while Utah manhandles Bama and wins decisively going away. There is no comparison, Utah was last years rightful National Champions.

I'm running out of room, more....

[Palemoon]

I guess I made a mistake there and would like to correct it. The undefeated teams are Florida, Alabama, Texas, Cincy, Boise and TCU. I guess that's 6 undefeated top tier teams right now. And that it's a very good chance 4 of the 6 remain unbeaten going into the bowl games.

[mltaylor13pt1]

Florida is the national champion and they were the best team in the country. (It hurts to say that as a TN alum.) Utah would not have been undefeated in the SEC - Florida lost to Ole Miss last year.

Here's how I can state that TCU & Boise aren't as deserving as Texas, Alabama or Florida - they play in weaker conferences. The bottom line is that the SEC and Big 12 are the best conferences in the country. Sure, TCU and Boise can pick off a school from a power conference, but if you look at when these upsets occur, it's either the first game of the season or a bowl game. Instances when everyone is healthy and not banged up from having to face teams just as big, strong, fast, physical, and familiar with them.

Utah would not have beaten FL in the championship game. They would have no answer for Percy Harvin. Mountain West and WAC teams simply don't see the combination of size and speed seen in the SEC.

[DC Democrat]

If the only argument against teams like Boise and TCU is that they play in "weaker conferences", then let's cut the bull and make Division 1 only the six "major" conferences and degrade everyone else to tier two status.

My problem with the BCS is that it purports to present a champion, whilst making it so that half of the division 1 teams have no realistic shot at the title even if they go unbeaten.

TCU, Boise and Cinci are for real--weaker conference or not. It's just unfortunate that they've basically been told they have no chance of winning the title because they don't play in the SEC or Big 10.

[Beka13]

Why is everyone so obsessed with this TCU Cinderella story when The UC Bearcats have been stuck at 5 for 3 weeks while Tebow is playing like he cant get over the psychology of his concussion and they have been playing cupcake teams....

[Palemoon]

I agree, Cincy deserves probably more attention than TCU to be honest. Cincy doesn't have that weak of a schedule and has been some traditionally powerful teams with 2 very tough games remaining for them.

Plus the fact that not only do they have 1 Heisman caliber QB, but when he got hurt the backup came in and has played at a Heisman level as well. Either of which would easily start ahead of Tebow had they gone to Florida.

Everyone forgets, Tebow is only playing because that's all they got. Everyone forgets, Tebow wasn't good enough to beat out Chris Leak and had to be his backup.

[sbmulqueen]

That's not how it works. Leak was a senior, the starting QB. Tebow was a freshman. It wasn't a contest to see which gladiator would win the job, that was the setup from the getgo. You can make your other arguments (some I agree with, some I don't), but you lose credibility when you make things up.

[mltaylor13pt1]

Let's be reasonable, neither Tony Pike nor Zach Collaros would start ahead of Tim Tebow @ Florida.

Also, it's rare for a true freshman to beat out a senior quarterback. The senior knows the system and has played in it for up to 3 years whereas the true freshman is coming in off the street trying to learn the offense while adjusting to college life and being away from home.

[Smurfaveli]

A win is a win but Cincy nearly lost to my unranked UConn Huskies two weeks ago. They can't climb the polls with narrow victories.

[DC Democrat]

And Florida looked pretty crummy against an unranked South Carolina last week. No team looks unbeatable throughout an entire season.

[PepeLepew]

Both TCU and Boise State are going to get scr#wed, while the Big 10 and Pac 10 send middling teams to a BCS bowl.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

Well, at least my favorite PAC 10 team won't suffer the shame of going to a bowl game.

[Cogs]

TCU may wind up facing Florida, Texas or Alabama in a BSC bowl game and prove their worthiness by winning. I suspect any of top 3 would run them off the field.

[InfoGiant]

Seems like the same exact things were said about TCU's conference mate Utah when they went undefeated last year...and then the game started. They met up with an even better Alabama team and it wasn't close. Bama came back to make it a 31-17 game in the end. Almost respectable.

You may have noticed TCU just rolled that utah team. They're also one of just three teams in the top 15 who has beaten three top 25 teams. None of the other "top" three teams have done so. Of course that's tough when you're Texas and have only played ONE ranked team. "Too bad they aren't in a better conference­"...isn't that what the excuse is to keep the TCU's and Utah's out of the big game?

[JazzSax UT]

They Rolled a Utah team with a Freshman QB and no powerful Running Back. The Utes still put 28 points on the board.

Now, the Alabama game last year in the Sugar Bowl wasn't even close. Bama had no chance in that game, ever.

[Michael Malmrose]

Just like Alabama ran Utah off the field last year.

[Palemoon]

There is no way that the NCAA would allow TCU to play Florida, most especially if they are both undefeated. The NCAA would cry foul, further rig the BCS and make TCU play Boise State or something.

[mltaylor13pt1]

If Florida is undefeated and wins the SEC championship game and TX stumbles while TCU wins out then FL will play an undefeated TCU for the title. TCU is #4 right now , AL has to play FL in the SEC championship game while Texas has to play the winner of the Big 12 North. Let's say TX loses to the Big 12 North winner and FL beats AL, TCU moves up to #2 and plays Florida for the title.