New BCS Rankings Kind To K-State
Kansas State is running out of time in its bid to get into the Fiesta Bowl.
Tennessee remained in first place in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings, while UCLA increased its lead over the Wildcats for the second spot in the Fiesta, where the national title will be on the line.
K-State (11-0), which has the weekend off, completes its regular season on Dec. 5, when it plays Texas A&M in the Big 12 title game. UCLA (10-0) also is off this weekend before its season finale against Miami.
Tennessee (10-0), it appears, can clinch a berth in the Fiesta Bowl by winning its final two games against Vanderbilt (2-8) on Saturday and either Arkansas or Mississippi State in the SEC title game on Dec. 5.
If the top three teams continue to win, the Wildcats would need lots of help in the strength-of-schedule department, which is part of the BCS formula for determining the top teams. K-State's schedule is ranked 62nd, while UCLA's is rated eighth and Tennessee's 14th.
This weekend, the Wildcats will be rooting for Syracuse to beat Miami (which would weaken UCLA's schedule) and Texas A&M to beat Texas (which would strength K-State's).
The BCS standings are calculated by using The Associated Press' media poll and the coaches' poll, three computer rankings, strength-of-schedule and number of losses.
Tennessee, ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, had 4.39 points 1.5 points for poll average, 2.33 for computer rank average, 0.56 for strength-of-schedule and zero for losses. The Vols beat Kentucky 59-21 on Saturday.
UCLA, after a 34-17 win over USC, had 5.07 points 3 points for poll average, 1.75 for computer rank average, 0.32 for strength-of-schedule and zero for losses.
Kansas State, a 31-25 winner over Missouri, had 6.31 points 1.5 points for poll average, 2.33 for computer rank average, 2.48 for strength-of-schedule and zero for losses.
Last week, the Wildcats trailed the Bruins by .74 points. This week, the difference is 1.24 points.
Florida State, with 8.20 points, was in fourth place, followed by Texas A&M, Ohio State, Arizona, Florida, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
The final BCS standings will be released on Dec. 6, and determine only who plays in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4.
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