Who Has The Clearest Road to the BCS Championship?

1) Ohio State - The Buckeyes will probably have their most difficult test of the rest of the year this Saturday at #18 Wisconsin. After that, they should get two easy wins against Minnesota and Purdue, followed by a home game against Penn State that is suddenly looking a lot less vital after Penn State's home loss to Illinois. In all likelihood, the Big Ten will be decided on Nov. 20, when Ohio State travels to #15 Iowa. However, the Hawkeyes will need to be perfect going into that game in order for it to have major BCS implications. And the bottom line is that, aside from whoever is the eventual SEC champ, Ohio State has the best chance of making it to the National Championship with one loss.

2) Oklahoma - No one's road to the National Championship game is easy. But the Sooners have already passed their toughest challenges of the year, with impressive wins over Florida State and Texas. They're at #21 Missouri on Oct. 23, and finish their year at #20 Oklahoma State. Even though both of those teams are undefeated right now, the Sooners should still be heavy favorites in both of those games. It is very possible that UO will be undefeated going into the Big 12 Championship, and a 13-0 Oklahoma team should be a lock for the National Championship. Emphasis on "should".

3) Nebraska - The only difference between Nebraska and Oklahoma right now is that the Sooners have already beaten Texas, whereas Nebraska will get that chance this weekend. That starts a tough - although not brutal - stretch for the Cornhuskers when they play at Oklahoma State and host Missouri. If they survive undefeated, a Big 12 title match with Oklahoma would be a de facto national semifinal. Lose, however, and odds are they'll be playing for the rights to the Fiesta Bowl, and the Fiesta Bowl alone.

4) Oregon - The good news for the #2 Ducks: Win and you're in. The bad news: "Winning" entails games at USC (Oct. 30), at Cal (Nov. 13), and at Oregon State (Dec. 04). The bad news, part 2: They'll probably have to run the table in order to have a shot at the National Championship. Even though the Pac-10 is probably the deepest conference in the nation this year, voters tend to not give the Pac-10 champ the benefit of the doubt when it comes time for selecting the BCS championships. A one-loss Ohio State or Oklahoma would most likely, get the nod before the Ducks, let alone the SEC champ.

5) Boise State - Of course the Broncos absolutely must win out in order to have a chance at the Championship game. But that's not going to be a problem for them, a November 26 trip to #19 Nevada notwithstanding. They'll be spending a lot of this year rooting for the other top teams in the country to lose. In a way, Boise State may have benefited the most from Alabama's loss to South Carolina. They'll still need at least three of the four teams ahead of them to lose at least once, and probably some more havoc in the SEC. Nevertheless, Boise State remains in a better position now for making it to the National Championship than they ever have before.

SEC Champ .... Nobody? South Carolina's 35-21 win over Alabama on Saturday turned the SEC on it's head. Even though the SEC is still the toughest conference in football, it's perceived weakness this year means that it's champion will not get a free pass to the BCS game. The conference's problem seems to be that no team has a clear path to the SEC title game with one or fewer losses. Auburn has Arkansas, LSU, and Alabama. South Carolina has Arkansas and Florida (and Clemson!). LSU has Auburn, Alabama, and Arkansas. And so on, and so forth. It's like football roulette. I'm not saying that we won't see an SEC team on the field in Glendale on January 10. But in a down year for the SEC, and with Boise State and TCU set to hold voters' feet to the fire, whoever wins in Atlanta this year will not automatically be booking their flights to Arizona.