Sunday will be a dramatic day in college football when the new polls are announced, setting up the national title game. However, only people who know the square root of 484 will be able to figure it out.
This gets confusing, so follow the bouncing voter.
The pairings will be determined by the bowl coalition poll. This innovation combines point totals from the Associated Press media and USA Today/CNN coaches’ polls.
Last week, Nebraska was No. 1 in the coaches’ poll, and Florida State was No. 1 in the media poll. The Cornhuskers, though, had more total points, putting them on top of the bowl coalition poll-the only one that matters.
West Virginia, meanwhile, was fifth in the media poll, but third in the bowl coalition poll.
Stay with us.
Nebraska is likely to stay on top in the bowl poll after its 21-7 victory Friday over Oklahoma. According to the coalition, the Cornhuskers will meet the No. 2 team in the Orange Bowl.
Will it be Florida State, which has one loss but played the toughest schedule in the country? Or will it be West Virginia, which went 11-0 and finished with victories over Miami and Boston College?
Once that’s determined, the bowl coalition will go into action. Here’s how it works:
Conference tie-ins are the keys. The Orange Bowl gets the Big Eight champ, the Sugar Bowl gets the Southeastern Conference champ and Cotton Bowl gets the Southwest Conference champ. The bowl with the highest-ranked champion gets the first pick from among Notre Dame, the Atlantic Coast Conference winner (Florida State) and the Big East winner (West Virginia).
Using that format, the Orange Bowl will choose either Florida State or West Virginia, depending on which is ranked higher. Because Florida lost Saturday and still has to play Alabama in the SEC title game next week, SWC champ Texas A & M will vault ahead in the polls. That means the Cotton Bowl will pick second.
If the Orange Bowl is Nebraska-Florida State, the Cotton Bowl then would decide between Notre Dame and West Virginia, with the other one going to the Sugar Bowl. The official pairings will be announced Dec. 5, although the Orange Bowl matchup will be known once the polls are revealed Sunday afternoon.
