The Bowl Championship Series announced Tuesday the 20 football teams still under consideration for BCS berths, and, not surprisingly, it includes 10-2 Oregon. That means the Pac-12 bowl picture will likely remain in flux until announcements are made Sunday.
If the BCS had released Oregon, it could have set in motion a process by which the bowls in the Pac-12 pecking order could begin to commit to programs, or at least develop either/or scenarios. Instead, with the Ducks still a possibility for the BCS, albeit a slim one, little figures to be set in stone until Sunday.
The announcement was made after a teleconference involving conference commissioners and the BCS bowls.
The BCS listed 13 teams still in contention to receive automatic berths as potential conference champions: Central Florida and Cincinnati of the American Athletic Conference; Duke and Florida State (ACC); Michigan State and Ohio State (Big Ten); Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas (Big 12); Arizona State and Stanford (Pac-12); and Auburn and Missouri (SEC).
It named seven others as possibilities for the BCS: Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Carolina.
The loser of the Pac-12 title game will have three losses and is considered out of the BCS picture. Oregon's chances seem to hinge on a loss by Northern Illinois to Bowling Green in the MAC championship game, and Saturday's results in the Big 12's final regular-season games and the Big Ten title game.
Pending the weekend's games, Washington is a solid bet for the Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco on Dec. 27, and Washington State is a strong possibility for the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 21.
