If tOSU wins out, thus staying in the BCS top-14, they will likely get either a Rose or Fiesta bowl bid, but it is not guaranteed.
Even if Utah and Boise St. both finish in the top-12, only 1 of them is guaranteed a spot. The fan base and TV ratings make tOSU an easy choice over the lower-rated of Boise and Utah. And as long as tOSU only has 2 losses, no 2nd place ACC or Big East team would get picked ahead of tOSU.
But there are two scenarios in which tOSU would be denied:
1. If MSU wins out, and PSU's only loss is to MSU, Michigan State wins the automatic Rose Bowl bid. The 3-way tie-breaker, when each of the teams have a 1-1 record against each other, is that the team that played the fewest FCS (1-AA) opponents gets the Rose Bowl bid. I'm not kidding, the YSU game would cost tOSU the Rose Bowl. If tOSU hadn't played YSU, PSU would have been eliminated in the tie-breaker because of Coastal Carolina, and then tOSU would get the bid based on beating MSU head-to-head.
2. If Penn State is in the Rose, and either Oregon State or Cal win out and gets the Pac-10 automatic bid in the head-to-head tiebraker over USC, tOSU could get bypassed as an at-large.
If the Rose Bowl is Oregon-State-Penn State (or Cal-PSU), tOSU would probably NOT get an at-large bid (SEC, Big 12, USC, and Boise/Utah would get them).
The selection process would be:
#1 Alabama #2 Texas Tech (if they're both undefeated)
Rose: Oregon State/Cal automatic
Rose: Penn State automatic
Orange: ACC champ automatic
Sugar: 1st replacement pick for Bama: USC, or 2-loss Florida
Fiesta: 2nd replacement pick for Texas Tech: Texas (if they have only 1 loss, they're #3 or #4, and Fiesta has a relationship with the Big 12)
Fiesta: USC, or 2-loss Florida
Sugar: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Orange: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
But if Penn State makes the Title game, and Oregon State or Cal make the Rose Bowl, it gets interesting.
If USC is not in the top 2 of the BCS, the at-large bids would be either:
tOSU, Big 12 team, USC, and a top-12 Utah/Boise St. team, OR
SEC team, Big 12 team, USC, and a top-12 Utah/Boise St. team.
So if the Rose Bowl selected tOSU to play oOSU/Cal, the other bowls would have to leave out USC, SEC runner-up, or Big 12 runner-up (If USC and Texas each only have 1 loss, and get selected, the SEC would raise hell, and it would be tOSU's fault).
The selection process would likely be:
#1 Texas Tech plays #2 Penn St (if they're both undefeated and Bama gets beat)
Rose: Oregon State automatic
Sugar: SEC Champ automatic
Orange: ACC champ automatic
Fiesta: 1st replacement pick for Texas Tech: Texas (if they have only 1 loss, they're #3 or #4, and Fiesta has a relationship with the Big 12)
Rose: 2nd replacement pick for PSU: Ohio State (to keep the conference tradition, and avoid a USC-Oreg St/Cal. rematch)
Fiesta: USC, because they can, and it's a great game
Sugar: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Orange: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Here's the likely selection process if USC is in the Rose and Penn State is in the Title Game:
#1 Texas Tech plays #2 Penn St (if they're both undefeated and Bama gets beat)
Rose: USC automatic
Sugar: SEC Champ automatic
Orange: ACC champ automatic
Fiesta: 1st replacement pick for Texas Tech: Texas (if they have only 1 loss, they're #3 or #4, and Fiesta has a relationship with the Big 12)
Rose: 2nd replacement pick for PSU: 1-loss Alabama, if they only lose the SEC CCG (over 2-loss Ohio State, to avoid the USC-tOSU rematch)
Fiesta: Ohio State
Sugar: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Orange: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Here's the likely selection process if USC and Penn State are in the Rose Bowl:
#1 Alabama plays #2 Texas Tech (if they're both undefeated)
Rose: USC and Penn State automatic
Orange: ACC champ automatic
Sugar: 1st replacement pick for Alabama: 2-loss Florida (Fiesta would have to approve selection of Texas)
Fiesta: 2nd replacement pick for Texas Tech: Texas
Fiesta: tOSU
Sugar: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Orange: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Even if Utah and Boise St. both finish in the top-12, only 1 of them is guaranteed a spot. The fan base and TV ratings make tOSU an easy choice over the lower-rated of Boise and Utah. And as long as tOSU only has 2 losses, no 2nd place ACC or Big East team would get picked ahead of tOSU.
But there are two scenarios in which tOSU would be denied:
1. If MSU wins out, and PSU's only loss is to MSU, Michigan State wins the automatic Rose Bowl bid. The 3-way tie-breaker, when each of the teams have a 1-1 record against each other, is that the team that played the fewest FCS (1-AA) opponents gets the Rose Bowl bid. I'm not kidding, the YSU game would cost tOSU the Rose Bowl. If tOSU hadn't played YSU, PSU would have been eliminated in the tie-breaker because of Coastal Carolina, and then tOSU would get the bid based on beating MSU head-to-head.
2. If Penn State is in the Rose, and either Oregon State or Cal win out and gets the Pac-10 automatic bid in the head-to-head tiebraker over USC, tOSU could get bypassed as an at-large.
If the Rose Bowl is Oregon-State-Penn State (or Cal-PSU), tOSU would probably NOT get an at-large bid (SEC, Big 12, USC, and Boise/Utah would get them).
The selection process would be:
#1 Alabama #2 Texas Tech (if they're both undefeated)
Rose: Oregon State/Cal automatic
Rose: Penn State automatic
Orange: ACC champ automatic
Sugar: 1st replacement pick for Bama: USC, or 2-loss Florida
Fiesta: 2nd replacement pick for Texas Tech: Texas (if they have only 1 loss, they're #3 or #4, and Fiesta has a relationship with the Big 12)
Fiesta: USC, or 2-loss Florida
Sugar: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Orange: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
But if Penn State makes the Title game, and Oregon State or Cal make the Rose Bowl, it gets interesting.
If USC is not in the top 2 of the BCS, the at-large bids would be either:
tOSU, Big 12 team, USC, and a top-12 Utah/Boise St. team, OR
SEC team, Big 12 team, USC, and a top-12 Utah/Boise St. team.
So if the Rose Bowl selected tOSU to play oOSU/Cal, the other bowls would have to leave out USC, SEC runner-up, or Big 12 runner-up (If USC and Texas each only have 1 loss, and get selected, the SEC would raise hell, and it would be tOSU's fault).
The selection process would likely be:
#1 Texas Tech plays #2 Penn St (if they're both undefeated and Bama gets beat)
Rose: Oregon State automatic
Sugar: SEC Champ automatic
Orange: ACC champ automatic
Fiesta: 1st replacement pick for Texas Tech: Texas (if they have only 1 loss, they're #3 or #4, and Fiesta has a relationship with the Big 12)
Rose: 2nd replacement pick for PSU: Ohio State (to keep the conference tradition, and avoid a USC-Oreg St/Cal. rematch)
Fiesta: USC, because they can, and it's a great game
Sugar: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Orange: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Here's the likely selection process if USC is in the Rose and Penn State is in the Title Game:
#1 Texas Tech plays #2 Penn St (if they're both undefeated and Bama gets beat)
Rose: USC automatic
Sugar: SEC Champ automatic
Orange: ACC champ automatic
Fiesta: 1st replacement pick for Texas Tech: Texas (if they have only 1 loss, they're #3 or #4, and Fiesta has a relationship with the Big 12)
Rose: 2nd replacement pick for PSU: 1-loss Alabama, if they only lose the SEC CCG (over 2-loss Ohio State, to avoid the USC-tOSU rematch)
Fiesta: Ohio State
Sugar: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Orange: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Here's the likely selection process if USC and Penn State are in the Rose Bowl:
#1 Alabama plays #2 Texas Tech (if they're both undefeated)
Rose: USC and Penn State automatic
Orange: ACC champ automatic
Sugar: 1st replacement pick for Alabama: 2-loss Florida (Fiesta would have to approve selection of Texas)
Fiesta: 2nd replacement pick for Texas Tech: Texas
Fiesta: tOSU
Sugar: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
Orange: Big East Champion or Boise St/Utah (whichever of those 2 is higher but inside the BCS top-12)
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guys certainly would deserve it.