ShareThisYou might not have a lot to take to the bank these days, but in college football, there's plenty you can bank on:
With six unbeatens occupying the top six spots in the BCS standings heading into Week 12 -- and only two matched up before the bowl season -- BCS bashers will be coming out of the woodwork en masse.
The playoff debate will rage anew.
After championship Saturday, Dec. 5, chances are there will still be four -- maybe even five -- unbeatens.
No. 3 Texas, No. 4 TCU and No. 6 Boise State are as close as you can get to shoe-ins to finish the season unscathed. They will likely be joined by the winner of the SEC championship game (either No. 1 Florida or No. 2 Alabama), and possibly No. 5 Cincinnati.
You could then multiply times three the volume of any previous cry for a playoff.
TCU and Boise State getting BCS bowl berths is money in the bank, perhaps even as certain as both getting the proverbial title game shaft.
It's one of those deals where BCS power brokers will have to hope the Horned Frogs and Broncos are happy just to be on the card, even if they're not in the main event.
It would mark the first time two mid-major programs crashed the BCS bowl party. But that's not likely to pacify the anger and disappointment of not getting a shot at the national title.
How do you convince competitive young men who played their hearts out and completed a perfect season that they're just not good enough to play for the national championship... that they don't measure up?
Why? Because some incredibly fallible polls and computers say so?
These are college kids; they don't buy into it. Why should they? Their alumnae and fans don't. Do you?
The BCS can only hope to quell some of the outrage and put down the ever-growing pro-playoff sentiment. Cause you can bank on it: TCU and Boise are going to be unbeaten, and neither is going to play in the BCS title game.
Now imagine the uproar if, in addition to TCU and Boise, Cincinnati closes out a perfect season with wins over Illinois Nov. 27 and at No. 9 Pittsburgh Dec. 5.
Five unbeatens, all with legitimate title game credentials, would be a BCS nightmare of unprecedented proportions.
But everyone would eventually wake up to realize, nobody's going to be crying all the way to the bank, except maybe Notre Dame.
After the six BCS conference champions are added to the bowl mix, along with the loser of the SEC title game, that will leave one at-large bid up for grabs.
If No. 14 Penn State beats Michigan State Saturday in East Lansing, which is anything but a sure thing, the Nittany Lions might have the inside track. Not because they would deserve it most, but because they would be the most attractive team from an economic standpoint.
When it comes to the at-large qualifiers, that's what it's all about -- TV marketability and filling stadiums.
In that arena, Penn State has the upper hand over No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 13 Iowa and No. 9 Pittsburgh, if the Panthers fall to either West Virginia next Friday or Cincinnati the following weekend.
In a rather pathetic twist of irony, even though 6-4 Notre Dame won't qualify for a BCS bowl, the Irish are guaranteed $1.3 million under their exclusive arrangement with the BCS.
Add that to some of the millions Notre Dame reaps from its exclusive NBC deal, and maybe the Irish can scrap together enough cash to settle their prenup with coach Charlie Weis.
No matter how costly, a divorce appears imminent in the wake of last Saturday's 27-22 loss to Pittsburgh.
In nearly five full seasons, Weis has compiled a 35-25 record, the same mark Bob Davie had when he was fired and the same winning percentage (.583) Tyrone Willingham had when he was fired after just three seasons.
A loss to either Connecticut Saturday in South Bend or to Stanford the following week will merely make the goodbye -- or shall we say good riddance -- that much easier.
Of course, the rest of college football nation are rooting for the Irish to show Weis a little more mercy.
Too bad Stanford hit those road bumps at Oregon State and Arizona in mid October. It's pretty clear after back-to-back wins over then No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 Southern Cal, the Cardinal is the best of the Pac-10.
No. 11 Oregon controls its destiny, but with games at Arizona Saturday and against rival Oregon State Dec. 3, Stanford, and even Arizona, are still very much alive in the Rose Bowl chase.
(Email John Tucker at jtucker(at)unionleader.com)
(E-mail John Tucker at jtucker(at)unionleader.com)
columnUNBALANCED LINEMust credit New Hampshire Union LeaderColumn
