In a season of zany upsets, this might have been the strangest weekend of all. Two words ruled: status quo.
The top seven teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings went unchanged from a week ago. But several intriguing questions remain, namely:
*If Boston College wins out, will the Eagles play for the BCS title?
*Forget BC. What about Arizona State?
*Can Michigan make the Rose Bowl even if the Wolverines lose to Ohio State?
Let’s tackle these in order.
The Eagles’ incredible comeback at Virginia Tech — BC was shut out for nearly 58 minutes, then scored two dramatic touchdowns — kept them No. 2, ahead of LSU in the BCS standings.
It would be difficult for LSU to jump them because the Tigers play only one more ranked team, No. 17 Alabama on Saturday, and their opponent in the Southeastern Conference title game will have at least two losses.
That means the BCS computers wouldn’t fawn over a 12-1 LSU team, leaving it up to the USA Today coaches and Harris polls, which make up two-thirds of the formula.
“Unless the voters have a revolution, I don’t think LSU would finish ahead of BC,” said analyst Jerry Palm of collegeBCS.com.
But Palm believes an undefeated Arizona State team, currently ranked fourth in the BCS, would jump both LSU and BC to reach the title game. The reason is Arizona State’s mighty remaining schedule: at No. 5 Oregon, at UCLA, vs. No. 19 USC, vs. Arizona.
Arizona State’s computer rating is already tied for second with Ohio State behind Boston College, and the Sun Devils gained in both polls by beating Cal 31-20 in a game that started at 10 p.m. EST.
The Oregon game has a public-friendly 6:45 EST start.
BC’s remaining schedule looks like this: Florida State (5-3), at Maryland (4-4), at Clemson (6-2), Miami (5-3) and the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, probably the winner of the Nov. 24 Virginia Tech-Virginia game.
No cupcakes, but no glamor teams.
Solving the maize
After throttling Minnesota without Mike Hart or Chad Henne, Michigan climbed just four spots in the Associated Press poll, to No. 15. But that matters only for pride. The BCS standings help determine who plays in the premium bowl games.
Thanks to losses by South Florida, Florida, USC, Kentucky, Virginia and South Carolina, Michigan shot up an incredible eight spots in the BCS, to No. 12. That opens the possibility that Michigan could lose to Ohio State in its regular-season finale and still make the Rose Bowl.
Michigan would have to finish in the top 14 in the BCS to be eligible. If the Wolverines beat Michigan State and Wisconsin and play Ohio State tight, that should happen.
Of course, the Wolverines aren’t thinking about losing to the Buckeyes after winning seven straight games.
Hitting the (record) books
Ohio State will vie for a piece of conference history Saturday when it hosts Wisconsin on the Big Ten Network.
A win gives the Buckeyes 20 consecutive Big Ten victories, topping Michigan’a 19 from 1990-92.
The Buckeyes also have won a school-record 27 consecutive regular-season games, dating back to their 17-10 loss at Penn State in 2005.
The 28th won’t come as easily as some might have figured. Wisconsin tailback P.J. Hill, who sat out the final three quarters of the Badgers’ 33-3 victory over Indiana with a bruised left foot, should be good to go Saturday.
“Every indication we have right now looks like he’ll be back this week,” Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said Sunday on his weekly TV show. “He basically got a bad bruise. All the X-rays were negative.”
Hill’s backup, Lance Smith, rushed for 79 yards on 15 carries but will be unavailable Saturday in Columbus. The university suspended him for the Badgers’ five road games after he was charged with battery and disorderly conduct in an incident involving his former girlfriend.
Roar of the Lions
Lost in the praise for the Buckeyes was how devastating a defeat this was for Penn State, which was outscored 31-3 from the middle of the first quarter until a 97-yard kickoff return with about three minutes to play.
The Beaver Stadium crowd of 110,134 booed coach Joe Paterno’s decision to punt on fourth-and-2 from the Ohio State 38 with Penn State trailing by 10 and two minutes left in the first half.
“There is no team in America that does not want to stay out there and go for it,” quarterback Anthony Morelli said. “That is coach Paterno’s call. He gets paid for that. That is all on him, not us.”
The Buckeyes’ offense was unstoppable for stretches, and Nittany Lions cornerback Lydell Sargeant thinks he knows one reason why — poor preparation by Penn State.
“They pretty much ran everything we did not see,” he said.
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
