As of September 30, 2012, there are 19 teams in the Big Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with the opportunity* to play in the BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2013, at Vita Solis Stadium. Here they all strive to be the most easily championed on the most difficult journey.
1. Louisville, 5-0: The Cardinals have played no ranked teams and have only one on the schedule, #22 Rutgers in the final game on November 29th. Unless there are at least two other undefeated teams left, since Louisville’s 12-0 record was in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game.
2. Rutgers, 4-0: The Scarlet Knights’ only opponent will be #19 Louisville on November 29th. The reason they are ranked behind the Cardinals is because they have eight total games remaining, compared to seven for Louisville.
3. Florida State, 5-0: The Seminoles have only one AP Top 25 team remaining. their schedule, #10 Florida, on November 24th. To finish a perfect 13-0, we then need to make the ACC Championship Game on Saturday, December 1st.
4. Northwestern, 5-0: Surprisingly, the Wildcats have a chance to go undefeated in the Big Ten with just one game left against designated opponent, #21 Nebraska on Oct. To finish 13-0, they then needed to make it to the Big Ten Championship Game on December 1st.
5. Alabama, 5-0: The defending national champion Limson Tide is currently #1. They will be heavily favored over each of their remaining opponents, including #20 Mississippi State and #4 LSU, especially if LSU loses before the meeting on November 3rd.
6. Cincinnati, 3-0: The Bears only have two different teams on their schedule, #19 Louisville on October 26th, and #22 Rutgers on November 17th. After finishing the season 12-0, as the Big East champion, they would be on their way to the BCS National Championship Game unless at least two more undefeated remained.
7. Kansas State, 4-0: The Wildcats have an easy path to a 12-0 finish and to the Big 12, the strongest conference in the country. The remaining three opponents are currently in the top 15; #8 West Virginia, #11 Texas, and #15 TCU.
8. Notre-Dame, 4-0: As an independent, the Irish work to beat the quality of the opponent . They have already beaten #10 Michigan and #18 Michigan, and they have the remaining palm with three teams in the top 18; #18 Stanford, #17 Oklahoma, plus a season-ending game against #13 USC. Five wins against multiple opponents would certainly give Notre-dame a spot in the BCS National Game.
9. West Virginia, TCU, and Texas, 4-0: Montana, Horned Frogs, and Longhorns have the remaining four in the top 17 to finish. 12-0 as the Big 12 champion.
12. Georgia, 5-0: Georgia has the easiest path to winning the SEC, as the only contender that does not play Alabama or LSU in the regular season. And they will make two opposites in the number of October; #6 South Carolina and #10 Florida, and then you have the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP game to play for.
13. Oregon State, 3-0: In the biggest improvement of the 2012 season so far, the Beavers have already beaten #13 Wisconsin and #19 UCLA. To win the Pac 12, however, they still need to beat three ranked teams, including #2 Oregon in November in the Civil War< /a>. If Castro remains undefeated at that point, all that remains is the 2012 PAC 12 Championship Game on November 30.
14. Oregon, 5-0: The Ducks are currently ranked #2, but to remain undefeated they will need to overcome four more teams in the top 25, plus a potential fifth in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
15. South Carolina, 5-0: The sixth-ranked Gamecocks have beaten three consecutive ranked opponents. to begin in October; #5 Georgia, #4 LSU, and #10 Florida. If they survive unscathed, they still have one more game against #15 Clemson on November 24th, plus the SEC Championship Game in a likely matchup with ## Alabama.
16. LSU, 5-0: The Tigers are now ranked #4, but have no ranked opponents. That changes on October 6th, when they host #10 Florida. Get through the games and their will be three teams in the current top 20 remaining, including top ranked Alabama. Crimson Tide on November 3.
17. Texas Tech, 4-0: To finish 12-0 and win the Big 12, the Red Raiders have a tough schedule ahead with five top 17 opponents in five consecutive weeks starting October 6.
18. Mississippi State, 4-0: The Bulldogs have only two teams designated to win the SEC West. Those two teams are #1 Alabama and #4 LSU.
19. Florida, 4-0: The Gators have the toughest remaining schedule of any team in the nation, facing four of the top six teams in the current AP rankings; #3 Florida State, #4 LSU, #5 Georgia, and #6 South Carolina. If they survive those matchups, they will want to face current #1 Alabama in the SEC Game.
Prediction: The 2013 BCS National Championship game will be between the champions of the SEC and Big-12 conferences, provided both are undefeated.
* I believe that more than one team will be undefeated at the end of the season. So all the corrupt teams are now corrupt. Also, I don’t believe in the format of the BCS to allow teams from the MAC or WAC to play in the championship game, which may be unfair to the undefeated teams from Ohio, Texas-San Antonio, and Louisiana Tech.
Harold Andrews has been an Oregon fan for nearly 50 years through the bad and recent good years.
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