When the Week 15 USA Today Coaches’ Poll came out this morning, it yielded the results that Alabama had been hoping to see. Alabama received 1,399 points in the voting, keeping the Crimson Tide just ahead of the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the 1,367 points that the team had. This likely predicts that the BCS title game will have LSU and Alabama as the two opponents unless the BCS computers make a shocking switch in support.
In the Week 15 polls, according to Yahoo! Sports, LSU remains No. 1, followed by Alabama, Oklahoma State and Stanford in that order. In the AP Top 25, USC moved up to No. 5, followed by Oregon, Arkansas and Boise State. In the Coaches’ Poll, No. 5 is Oregon, followed by Boise State, Arkansas and Wisconsin. It shows that the coaches are giving Boise State a lot more respect than the writers, and that could lead to a BCS bowl game invite if the selection committees think the tickets would sell well.
Oklahoma State crushed Oklahoma, according to Yahoo! Sports, on Saturday (Dec. 3) in the last chance that the Cowboys had to make an impression upon the voters. It gave the Cowboys the 2011 Big 12 title, but that loss to Iowa State on Nov. 18 could keep the team from realizing the dream of playing in the championship game. Instead, it looks like an Alabama team, which already lost to LSU this season, will get a second chance to play against a team from the same division in the SEC.
Other teams that have an argument about earning a spot in that title game include Stanford (11-1) and Boise State (11-1), but because those schools lost to the wrong teams this year, a different 11-1 team is heading to that title game. Houston was another team that had a great chance at making a BCS bowl game, but losing on Saturday (Dec. 3) dropped the Cougars all the way to No. 17 in the Week 15 USA Today Poll. The AP writers were not as kind though, dropping Houston all the way to No. 20 this week.
When the new BCS standings come out on Sunday night (Dec. 4), there is a chance that Oklahoma State could still catch up to Alabama. If not, the BCS is simply showing how broken the system really is, where two teams from the same division are going to face off in a title game that only SEC fans are going to care about.