2012 BCS Rankings Update: Week 15

The eighth and last BCS rankings came out Sunday. This ranking is important because it decides which if a school makes a BCS bowl game or not and which two schools goes to the BCS National Title Game. I don't really like the BCS because it doesn't give every team a chance to compete for a National Title. There will be a 4 team playoff in starting in the 2014 season which is a start. I would prefer a 16 team playoff, that way if you lose you can still compete for the National Title. The top 10 stayed almost exactly the same this week. The only change was Georgia who lost to Alabama. Notre Dame and Ohio State both finished the regular season 12-0. Notre Dame will try to stay undefeated by beating Alabama in the BCS Title game but I will talk about the bowls later on. Ohio State is already looking forward to next year due to their postseason ban for this season. No madder how good Ohio State is this year they will not appear in the BCS rankings due to their postseason ban for this season. The only surprise I had was to see Northern Illinois in a BCS Bowl. I will tell you which team is playing in each BCS Bowl and tell might thoughts on the Top 10. All mine bowl games predictions will come in a future post. 

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 12-0

Next Game: vs. Alabama.

Last Game: @ USC, W 22-13.

Last Week Rank: 1st ↔

Bowl Game Invited To: BCS Title.

More Information: Notre Dame's defense has looked great. They are 1st in the nation allowing 10.3 PPG on defense. Manti Te'o has led the defense with 7 INTs and 101 tackles and is looking like a the second best Heisman candidate. It wasn't pretty for the most part but Notre Dame did what no other school could do this season (not counting Ohio State) which was go undefeated. With that undefeated they will play Alabama for the BCS National Championship. This is Notre Dame's 4th time in the BCS and first time playing in the BCS National Championship. My predictions for all bowls will come later but I will say this game will have a lot of defense since the top 2 scoring defense are in  the game. My Rank: 1st

2. Alabama Crimson Tide 12-1 (7-1)

Next Game: vs. Notre Dame. 

Last Game: vs. Georgia, W 32-28.

Last Week Rank: 2nd ↔

Bowl Game Invited To: BCS Title.

More Information: Just like last year Alabama's defense is great. They 1st in the nation at 10.7 PPG allowed on defense. Alabama offense has been very good as well. AJ McCarron also has been very solid. He has 2669 passing yards, 26 TDs and 3 INTs. With the win vs. Georgia they won SEC Title Game. They will play Notre Dame for the National Title. Alabama became the first team since Ohio State in 2006 and 2007 to make it back to back BCS Title games. They also look like they could become the first team ever in the BCS era to win back to back National Championships and bring home the 7th straight BCS National Title for the SEC. This is also Alabama's 3rd trip to the BCS Title game in 4 years. My Rank: 2nd

3. Florida Gators 11-1 (7-1)   

Next Game: vs. Louisville.  
Last Game: @ Florida State, W 37-26.

Last Week Rank: 4th ↑

Bowl Game Invited To: BCS Sugar.

More Information: Florida's defense is very strong. They are 3rd in the nation at 12.9 PPG allowed on defense. They have only allowed 20 points once this season. Florida finished 2nd in the SEC East due to their loss vs. Georgia. They took care of buisness going into Florida State and winning. They will play Louisville in the Sugar Bowl. It will be interested to see Florida play and see if they can step up since they have struggled at times. This is Florida's 9th time in the Sugar Bowl. My Rank: 3rd

4. Oregon Ducks 11-1 (8-1)

Next Game: vs. Kansas State.

Last Game: @ Oregon State, W 48-24.

Last Week Rank: 5th ↑

Bowl Game Invited To: BCS Fiesta.

More Information: Oregon has a great at offense averaging 50.8 PPG which is 2nd in the nation. Marcus Mariota has been a great QB for only being a freshman just like Johnny Manziel from Texas A&M. Mariota has put Heisman like numbers with 3201 total yards and 34 total touchdowns. Kenjon Barner had a great game to cap the great regular season he had. He looks like the best RB in the nation. He is 7th in the nation in rushing yards with 1624 yards and is tied for 4th in the nation with 21 rushing TDs. Barner stills remains in the Heisman race. Oregon will play in the Fiesta Bowl and will face Kansas State. This game should have a lot of points scored in it with these two great offenses. This Oregon's 2nd time in the Fiesta Bowl. My Rank: 4th

5. Kansas State Wildcats 11-1 (8-1)

Next Game: vs. Texas. 

Last Game: vs. Texas, W 42-24.

Last Week Rank: 6th ↑

Bowl Game Invited To: BCS Fiesta.

More Information: Their offense has been great this season, scoring 40 or more 8 times out of 12 games. They are averaging 40.7 PPG which 10th in the nation. Collin Klein continues to look like the Heisman candidate (probably not the front runner after their loss) with 3380 total yards and 37 total touchdowns. With the win vs. Texas they won the Big 12 and earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. They will face Oregon in the game. It will be interested to see if Kansas State can stop Oregon's offense. This Kansas State's 3rd time in the Fiesta Bowl. My Rank: 5th

6. Stanford Cardinal 11-2 (8-1)

Next Game: vs. Wisconsin.

Last Game: vs. UCLA, W 27-24.

Last Week Rank: 8th ↑

Bowl Game Invited To: BCS Rose.

More Information: Stanford's defense is very strong. They are averaging only 17.5 PPG which is 14th in the nation. Stanford did beat UCLA to claim the Pac-12 Title and the bid to the Rose Bowl. It will be interesting to see Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl after they upset Nebraska and won the Big Ten Title. Both teams in this game have good defenses. This Stanford's 13th time play in the Rose Bowl. My Rank: 6th

7. Georgia Bulldogs 11-2 (7-1)

Next Game: vs. Nebraska.

Last Game:  vs. Alabama, L 28-32.

Last Week Rank: 3rd ↓

Bowl Game Invited To: Capital One.

More Information: Georgia has struggled a times this season. They did win the SEC East but lost to Alabama this week by 4 in the SEC Title. The game was very close and they fell short in the final seconds. Aaron Murray has looked good this year with 3466 passing yards and 31 passing TDs. Due to the 2 team per conference limit in BCS Bowls with the loss and Florida playing in the Sugar Bowl, Georgia will play in the Capital One Bowl. They will play Nebraksa who lost in the Big Ten Title. Georgia is still a very talented team with 2 losses.  My Rank: 7th

8. LSU Tigers 10-2 (6-2) 

Next Game: vs. Clemson.  
Last Game: @ Arkansas, W 20-13.

Last Week Rank: 7th ↔

Bowl Game Invited To: Chick-Fil-A.

More Information: Like most SEC teams, LSU has a defense which is very strong. They are 11th in the nation at 16.9 PPG allowed on defense. Their QB, Zach Mettenberger, has struggled at times. LSU has struggled quite a bit during their 8 SEC games. At 10-2 and Alabama and Florida made the BCS, LSU gets to play in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. They will play a 10-2 Clemson team. It will be interesting to see LSU play a tough team and see what happens. Still a great season even with the two losses and they again finish the regular season in the top 10. My Rank: 9th

9. Texas A&M Aggies 10-2 (6-2) 

Next Game: vs. Oklahoma.  
Last Game: vs. Missouri, W 59-29.

Last Week Rank: 9th ↔

Bowl Game Invited To: Cotton.

More Information: Texas A&M has a very strong offense. They are averaging 44.8 PPG which is3rd  in the nation. Johnny "Football" Manziel might be the Heisman front runner now. He has 4600 total yards and 43 total touchdowns. Those numbers are better than Klein's whose was considered the Heisman front runner. More amazingly he is just a freshman. This week he broke the SEC record for most total yards in one season. The record before was held by Cam Newton who won the 2010 Heisman. At 10-2 and Alabama and Florida made the BCS, Texas A&M gets to play in the Cotton Bowl. They will play old Big 12 rivals Oklahoma. It will be fun to see these old rival fight each other again. My Rank: 8th

10. South Carolina Gamecocks 10-2 (6-2) 

Next Game: vs. Michigan.  
Last Game: @ Clemson, W 27-17.

Last Week Rank: 10th ↔

Bowl Game Invited To: Outback.

More Information: They have looked very week at times. They lost to LSU by 2 and Florida by 33. They did beat Georgia by 28. At 10-2 and Alabama and Florida made the BCS, South Carolina gets to play in the Outback Bowl. They will play Michigan. It will be interesting to see the two defense go at it with both teams have good defenses. It will also be interesting to see South Carolina play a tough non-conference team. My Rank: 10th

The BCS Bowl games are as listed below. The only really surpise was the Sugar Bowl which I thought TCU or Kansas State was going to make it. I will list the bowl name, the teams and their record, the date, the place and the payout.


2012 BCS National Championship Game:
#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 12-0 vs. #2 Alabama Crimson Tide 12-1.
Date & Location: 1/7/2013 in Miami Gardens, FL. 
Payout: Unknown.

2012 Rose Bowl:
#6 Stanford Cardinals 11-2 vs. Wisconsin Badgers 8-5.
Date & Location: 1/1/2013 in Pasadena, CA. 
Payout: $22.3 million.

 

2012 Fiesta Bowl:
#4 Oregon Ducks 11-1 vs. #5 Kansas State Wildcats 11-2.
Date & Location: 1/3/2012 in Glendale, AZ. 
Payout: Unknown.

2012 Sugar Bowl:
#3 Florida Gators 11-1 vs. #21 Louisville Cardinals 10-2.
Date & Location: 1/2/2012 in New Orleans, LA. 
Payout: $17.0 million.

2012 Orange Bowl:
#12 Florida State Seminoles 11-2 vs. #15 Northern Illinois Huskies 12-1.
Date & Location: 1/1/2012 in Miami Gardens, FL. 
Payout: Unknown.