BOISE - After Boise State's 1-point loss to TCU, the flickering light of a big-money Bowl Championship Game was snuffed out. The improbable scenarios were far-fetched and not worth mentioning - and talk shifted to bowls with names like Maaco and Independence -- not Fiesta or Sugar.
But a remarkable, chaotic weekend in college football has lit a new flame of BCS hope for Boise State fans. The team gained three spots in the Coaches' Poll - moving from 11th to 8th.
What happened?
Friday, second place Oklahoma State fell to unranked Iowa State, losing 37-31. That seemed to send the dominoes falling.
Number four Oregon lost a roller-coaster game to unranked USC 38-35 despite a late rally by the Ducks. In a fit of irony, Oregon missed a 37-yard field goal that would have given them the win - the same distance Boise State missed by a week prior.
Number five Oklahoma dropped to 22nd-ranked Baylor in another thrilling upset that saw Bob Stoops' crew lose after a late-game 36-second scoring drive by Baylor - a team Oklahoma had never lost to.
Number seven Clemson also lost to an unranked team - North Carolina State - and unlike the other games, it wasn't even close. The Tigers lost 37-17.
Number nine Stanford broke the top ten curse in the last game of the day - surviving a stiff challenge by unranked California 31-28.
With the Broncos win over San Diego State, the team is poised to move up in the BCS standings. But the ever complicated twist of rules and caveats mean Boise State is still far from a big bowl berth.
Only two undefeated teams remain now, LSU and Houston. The Broncos remain ranked above Houston.
What's possible?
The team will not get an automatic bid, since TCU beat Colorado State 34-10. The Horned Frogs will take home the Mountain West Conference championship - and BCS rules say to attain an automatic BCS bid from a non-AQ conference a team must win its league.
But the door opened a tiny bit further with the chaos. One of the bowls could pick the Broncos as an at-large team. While still on the fringe of possibility - it is not out of the question. Boise State has to win its final two games of course, and if the pattern of chaos continues the team could slide into a slot.
Boise State has a few intangibles going for it: a pattern of exciting BCS contests (see Fiesta Bowls 2007, 2010); a large traveling fan base (upwards of 10,000 blue-and-orange clad fans in San Diego) and historically strong TV ratings for national contests.
Teams like Oregon and Oklahoma hurt their cases for the at-large slots by each notching their second loss of the year to Boise State's one.
What to watch?
One game Boise State fans will want to keep an eye on is this weekend's matchup between Notre Dame and Stanford. A win by the Fighting Irish could eliminate the Cardinal as at-large competition for Boise State. Notre Dame is on a four-game winning streak, though it barely squeaked by a weak Boston College team Saturday. Stanford hosts.
What's next?
The BCS rankings bumped the Broncos to the number 7 spot; a beacon of BCS hope. The Broncos will face Wyoming next in a home game that will be broadcast on The Mountain.
Bowl Championship Series Standings
1 LSU
2 Alabama
3 Arkansas
4 Oklahoma State
5 Virginia Tech
6 Stanford
7 Boise State
8 Houston
9 Oklahoma
10 Oregon
Harris Interactive Poll Top 25
1 LSU (115)
2 Alabama
3 Arkansas
4 Stanford
5 Virginia Tech
6 Oklahoma State
7 Houston
8 Boise State
9 Oregon
10 Oklahoma
11 Michigan State
12 Georgia
13 South Carolina
14 Wisconsin
15 Kansas State
16 Michigan
17 Clemson
18 Penn State
19 TCU
20 Baylor
21 Nebraska
22 Georgia Tech
23 Notre Dame
24 West Virginia
25 Virginia
Other teams receiving votes: Southern Miss 116; Auburn 94; Tulsa 64; Rutgers 52; Florida State 20; BYU 12; Cincinnati 12; Arkansas State 9; Texas 9; Iowa 6; Iowa State 3; Missouri 3; Northern Illinois 3; Ohio 2.
Dropped out of Top 25: Southern Miss, Florida State.
USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25
1 LSU (59)
2 Alabama
3 Arkansas
4 Virginia Tech
5 Stanford
6 Oklahoma State
7 Houston
8 Boise State
9 Oregon
10 Michigan State
11 Oklahoma
12 Wisconsin
13 South Carolina
14 Georgia
15 Kansas State
16 Michigan
17 Clemson
18 TCU
19 Penn State
20 Baylor
21 Georgia Tech
22 Nebraska
23 West Virginia
24 Notre Dame
25 Virginia
Others receiving votes: Rutgers 54, Auburn 33, Southern Miss 25, Tulsa 23, Brigham Young 21, Arkansas State 10, NORIL 10, Missouri 8, Texas A&M 4, Utah 3, Texas 1, Florida State 1, Iowa State 1.
Associated Press Top 25
1 LSU (60)
2 Alabama
3 Arkansas
4 Stanford
5 Oklahoma State
6 Virginia Tech
7 Boise State
8 Houston
9 Oregon
10 USC
11 Michigan State
12 Oklahoma
13 Georgia
14 South Carolina
15 Wisconsin
16 Kansas State
17 Michigan
18 Clemson
19 TCU
20 Penn State
21 Baylor
22 Nebraska
22 Notre Dame
24 Virginia
25 Georgia Tech
Others receiving votes: West Virginia 37, Tulsa 34, Auburn 28, Southern Miss 12, Rutgers 6, Arkansas State 4, Iowa State 3, Cincinnati 1.
