Even though Stanford were the team that won the Pac-12 game of the year against Oregon, Florida State of the ACC are the big winners of that outcome, permanently moving up to the number 2 spot in the BCS standings, which means a ticket to the national champions game, as long as they don’t mess up in the road left for them to travel.
So who do the Seminoles have on the list? They have to play in Wake Forest (a 4-5 team), host Syracuse (a 4-4 team), host Idaho (who are 1-8) and end the season against Florida in the swamp. The Gators usually provide more of a challenge, but it’s not going to be an easy game in any case. Then there’s the ACC championship game, which right now seems to be another game against Miami who they had no problem beating last time they met.
Alabama are less likely to fall on the road left for them to walk: LSU and Auburn aren’t going to be easy games, and there’s also the SEC championship game, but right now it’s hard seeing them losing and sending the whole BCS standings into a whirlwind, which means Ohio State and Baylor move up as well, with the Buckeyes the least likely team among the current undefeated teams to pick up a loss along the way.
Oregon? Right now all they can hope for is for Stanford to mess up along the way (USC, Cal, Notre Dame) while the Ducks have Utah, Arizona and Oregon State left to play. If not that, then they’ll probably be one of the at-large BCS picks, like they were last season. Stanford? Right now the Rose Bowl seems to be where they’re heading, if they beat their Southern rivals in the conference championship game. If they lose in that game, UCLA or Arizona State will go to the Rose Bowl, while Oregon will be the higher ranked team in the Pac-12, leaving Stanford out of a BCS bowl game.