Who will Penn State play in the Rose Bowl?
By Cory Giger, cgiger@altoonamirror.comOregon State's loss to Oregon on Saturday has made a Penn State versus USC matchup in the Rose Bowl a very strong possibility.
But nothing is definite yet.
If USC beats UCLA next week, the Trojans will win the Pac-10 and earn the conference's bid to the Rose Bowl. However, if USC loses, Oregon State once again would own the conference tiebreaker and would get the Rose Bowl bid.
There's also this possibility: USC still could conceivably play in the BCS championship game, though some quirky things would have to occur for things to shake out that way.
The winner of Alabama vs. Florida in the SEC championship game will advance to the BCS title game.
Either Texas or Oklahoma will play Missouri in the Big 12 championship game. The conference's tiebreaker will be determined by which team is ranked higher when the BCS standings are released today. Texas was higher last week (No. 2 to Oklahoma's No. 3).
If Texas or Oklahoma wins the Big 12 title game, that team almost certainly would play in the BCS championship.
If Missouri were to upset the Sooners or Longhorns, then USC still may have a shot at the BCS title game. At that point, voters and the computers would have to decide between USC and whichever team -- Texas or Oklahoma -- that didn't play in the Big 12 title game.
Yes, a team that didn't even reach its own conference championship game could play in the BCS title game if Missouri were to pull off the upset.
If somehow USC were to sneak past Texas and Oklahoma into the BCS title game, the Rose Bowl would pick an at-large team as Penn State's opponent. That team would have to be ranked in the top 14 in the BCS standings to be eligible.
So even though USC appears to be the likely opponent, Penn State will have to wait until next week to know for sure.
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ferndawg44
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12-02-08 5:47 PM
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It's most likely going to be PSU and USC. I currently live in Los Angeles and let me tell everyone that USC is taking PSU very lightly based on the past three years of playing the Big 10. Ohio States lousy bowl record with Illinois getting pounded by USC last year. They are predicting a 4 touchdown victory. The USC alum as well as the players are taking Penn State very lightly. It disturbs me to see the outcry of USC fans. They don't even want to play in the Rose Bowl. All I want for Christmas is a Penn State Victory. Come on Blue and White, Show these people who we are. WE ARE... PENN STATE
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