[Farm93]

I'm surprised there's even talk of BCS bowls not named Rose. Aside from winning the league and going to the Rose (which, admittedly, is highly unlikely), there's no way we make it to a BCS bowl.

Even with one loss (to a highly-ranked Oregon) and the TV appeal of Luck, there were serious questions about our viability as a BCS at-large the past two years (especially after the 2010 season). This year, with 3 losses and no Luck-level national interest? Forget it...

OK, that is not really true.  Here are some available BCS at-large options.
Stanford wins out, but falls to USC in the Pac-12 Championship game.  USC goes to the BCS CG or the Rose Bowl.  Either way 2 loss Stanford (+1 in the Pac-12 game) is viewed as the second best Pac-12 option.  Notre Dame takes a slot, but the BigTen only has one team in the top 14, so Pac-12 #2 gets an invite.  Oregon would have to lose twice in this scenario (Stanford and USC) so they are not taken ahead of Pac-12 runner-up that beat them a few weeks earlier in their house.

Stanford loses to Oregon, but looks respectable.  Oregon goes to the BCS CG by beating Stanford in a close game and KILLING SC two times.  The Rose Bowl wants SC, but the media backlash would be too much.  3 loss USC vs 3 loss Stanford, but remember Stanford won the head-to-head AND looked better against Oregon.  (Just go with it for the moment)  Notre Dame is not a Rose Bowl option since Michigan wins the BigTen.

Stanford loses to Oregon, but looks respectable.  Oregon goes to the BCS CG by beating Stanford in a close game and KILLING ASU twice.  ASU beat SC to get into the Pac-12 CG, but clearly serves the role UCLA played last year.  Again, BigTen only has one BCS eligible team, so the Rose Bowl takes Stanford.

There are possibilities that are not unbelievable.  The secret ingredients?  The Pac-12 getting a BCS CG team.  The BigTen having Ohio State ruin the chances of two BigTen BCS eligible teams.  Stanford winning or looking good losing at Oregon.  Stanford looking like the second best Pac-12 option.

Don't get me wrong I am not making Rose Bowl at-large bid plans, but stranger things have happened.

Why just this weekend I discovered that apparently a miracle happened 30 years ago for this team in Berkeley.... :P

[Farm93]

I'm surprised there's even talk of BCS bowls not named Rose. Aside from winning the league and going to the Rose (which, admittedly, is highly unlikely), there's no way we make it to a BCS bowl.

Even with one loss (to a highly-ranked Oregon) and the TV appeal of Luck, there were serious questions about our viability as a BCS at-large the past two years (especially after the 2010 season). This year, with 3 losses and no Luck-level national interest? Forget it...

OK, that is not really true.  Here are some available BCS at-large options.
Stanford wins out, but falls to USC in the Pac-12 Championship game.  USC goes to the BCS CG or the Rose Bowl.  Either way 2 loss Stanford (+1 in the Pac-12 game) is viewed as the second best Pac-12 option.  Notre Dame takes a slot, but the BigTen only has one team in the top 14, so Pac-12 #2 gets an invite.  Oregon would have to lose twice in this scenario (Stanford and USC) so they are not taken ahead of Pac-12 runner-up that beat them a few weeks earlier in their house.

Stanford loses to Oregon, but looks respectable.  Oregon goes to the BCS CG by beating Stanford in a close game and KILLING SC two times.  The Rose Bowl wants SC, but the media backlash would be too much.  3 loss USC vs 3 loss Stanford, but remember Stanford won the head-to-head AND looked better against Oregon.  (Just go with it for the moment)  Notre Dame is not a Rose Bowl option since Michigan wins the BigTen.

Stanford loses to Oregon, but looks respectable.  Oregon goes to the BCS CG by beating Stanford in a close game and KILLING ASU twice.  ASU beat SC to get into the Pac-12 CG, but clearly serves the role UCLA played last year.  Again, BigTen only has one BCS eligible team, so the Rose Bowl takes Stanford.

There are possibilities that are not unbelievable.  The secret ingredients?  The Pac-12 getting a BCS CG team.  The BigTen having Ohio State ruin the chances of two BigTen BCS eligible teams.  Stanford winning or looking good losing at Oregon.  Stanford looking like the second best Pac-12 option.

Don't get me wrong I am not making Rose Bowl at-large bid plans, but stranger things have happened.

Why just this weekend I discovered that apparently a miracle happened 30 years ago for this team in Berkeley.... :P