its VEEERRRY possible. they did themselves no favors by playing a non-division one team, but strenght of schedule is the weakest component and if alabama and maryland can turn it around and start winning, they got one hell of a shot.
for those that don't know, here is what one must do to make a bcs bowl.
there are eight spots.
-all bcs conference champions (big 12, pac 10, big 10, sec, acc, big east) receive automatic bids. that is six teams.
-all teams that are not in bcs conferences (mac, wac, mwc, cusa, sun belt) that finish with a bcs ranking of 6 or better receive automatic bids. (this has never happened).
-in the even that the eight spots are not filled by this point, they may select at-large births. to be eligible for an at large birth to a bcs bowl, a team must win 9 games and finish in the top 12 of the bcs rankings. all of the at large teams selected must be from different conferences.
-two non-bcs conference teams have been eligible for bcs bowls. tulane (1998) and marshall (1999). however, neither were invited.
-if there are more than eight teams that automatically qualify, someone gets their feelings hurt, but seeing is how that the only teams that have automatically qualified in the past have been the winners of the bcs conferences, it is not a likely scenerio. for this to happen, three of the top six teams in the bcs rankings would have to be from non-bcs conferences.
essentially, this is the way i see it. if northern illinois wins out, they will DEFINITELY be bcs eligible. whether or not they get an invite is up to the bowls. as far as automatically qualifiying, i think they have as good a chance as anyone else that isn't in a bcs conference right now. fresno state was on track in 2002, but two conference losses kept them out. i believe they would have automatically qualified.
as far as automatically qualifying, it is possible. they must beat iowa state, and have maryland, alabama, or preferribly both go on to have big years. since alabama cannot be rated in the coaches poll, the ranking in the ap poll is calculated twice in the bcs formula.
right now, northern illinois's bcs ranking is 15. they must be rated 12 or better and have 9 wins against division 1a teams to be eligible for a bcs bowl.
THIS IS THE YEAR IT FINALLY HAPPENS!!!!!
GOOD LUCK HUSKIES!!!!
also, not to beat a dead horse, but had bowling green beaten ohio state, THEY would have been on pace to make a bcs bowl. if ohio state finishes in the bcs top 10, it would count as a quality win which would boost their bcs ranking signicantly. had that happened, it would have greatly increased the mac's chances of getting a team in because they would have two teams in the running instead of one. with a bcs ranking of 23, bowling green still has a shot at being bcs eligible, but it is unlikely they will be invited. also, to become eligible, they will have to beat northern illinois.
|
