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Ohio State, LSU to Play for BCS Title
College football's season of chaos will wind up with familiar names vying for the national championship after all.
Ohio State and LSU will square off in the Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans. The Buckeyes will be in the finale for the third time overall and second in succession since the inception of the BCS in 1998, while the Tigers will be making their second championship game appearance. Their first was also in New Orleans in which they won the 2003 national title.
The match-up of the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference champions seemed unlikely before Saturday's slate of games, with Missouri and West Virginia needing only one more win to cement a place in the top two in the final BCS standings. But Missouri's loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 final combined with the Mountaineers' home setback against archrival Pittsburgh opened the door for the Buckeyes and Tigers, who had each occupied the No. 1 ranking during the course of the season.
The USA TODAY coaches poll provided an early glimpse of the championship pairing Sunday when Ohio State returned to the No. 1 spot and LSU was elevated to second. The coaches poll comprises a third of the BCS standings along with the Harris Interactive poll and an average of six computer formulas. The Harris voters agreed, boosting LSU and Oklahoma ahead of idle Georgia.
Along with the championship showdown, the four major bowls of the BCS also announced their selections Sunday night. The Rose Bowl, which traditionally pairs the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Conference champs, lost one of its anchor teams when Ohio State moved into the BCS title contest. But the bowl committee upheld its league ties by choosing Illinois to replace the Buckeyes. The Fighting Illini, which handed Ohio State its only loss of the season, will play Southern California in Pasadena. The Trojans locked up their third consecutive Rose Bowl appearance with Saturday's victory against UCLA. The selection was a bit of a surprise since Illinois is 13th in the BCS standings. The Rose bypassed, among others, No. 5 Georgia.
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But that allowed the Sugar Bowl to maintain its SEC roots by picking the Bulldogs, who finished fifth in the final BCS rankings, to replace LSU. The Bulldogs' will face Hawaii, the only undefeated team in I-A (Bowl Subdivision). The Western Athletic Conference does not have an automatic berth in the BCS, but the Warriors' No. 10 position in the final standings guaranteed them the invitation to the big-money game. The payout is $18 million, of which Hawaii will keep around $4 million.
West Virginia missed out on the national championship but will represent the Big East in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma.
Rounding out the majors is Virginia Tech, which claimed its first Atlantic Coast Conference title Saturday, in the Orange Bowl against Kansas, which received an at-large BCS bid after its school record 11-win campaign.
Kansas, No. 8, was taken ahead of No. 6 Missouri, which defeated the Jayhawks in the regular season. But Kansas has only one defeat while Missouri has two, including that 21-point loss to Oklahoma Saturday.
Source: USA Today
Ohio State and LSU will square off in the Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans. The Buckeyes will be in the finale for the third time overall and second in succession since the inception of the BCS in 1998, while the Tigers will be making their second championship game appearance. Their first was also in New Orleans in which they won the 2003 national title.
The match-up of the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference champions seemed unlikely before Saturday's slate of games, with Missouri and West Virginia needing only one more win to cement a place in the top two in the final BCS standings. But Missouri's loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 final combined with the Mountaineers' home setback against archrival Pittsburgh opened the door for the Buckeyes and Tigers, who had each occupied the No. 1 ranking during the course of the season.
The USA TODAY coaches poll provided an early glimpse of the championship pairing Sunday when Ohio State returned to the No. 1 spot and LSU was elevated to second. The coaches poll comprises a third of the BCS standings along with the Harris Interactive poll and an average of six computer formulas. The Harris voters agreed, boosting LSU and Oklahoma ahead of idle Georgia.
Along with the championship showdown, the four major bowls of the BCS also announced their selections Sunday night. The Rose Bowl, which traditionally pairs the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Conference champs, lost one of its anchor teams when Ohio State moved into the BCS title contest. But the bowl committee upheld its league ties by choosing Illinois to replace the Buckeyes. The Fighting Illini, which handed Ohio State its only loss of the season, will play Southern California in Pasadena. The Trojans locked up their third consecutive Rose Bowl appearance with Saturday's victory against UCLA. The selection was a bit of a surprise since Illinois is 13th in the BCS standings. The Rose bypassed, among others, No. 5 Georgia.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: NEW ORLEANS | Ohio State | Missouri | SEC | Big Ten | BCS | Bowl | Buckeyes | Bowl Championship Series | Rose Bowl | PASADENA | Standings
But that allowed the Sugar Bowl to maintain its SEC roots by picking the Bulldogs, who finished fifth in the final BCS rankings, to replace LSU. The Bulldogs' will face Hawaii, the only undefeated team in I-A (Bowl Subdivision). The Western Athletic Conference does not have an automatic berth in the BCS, but the Warriors' No. 10 position in the final standings guaranteed them the invitation to the big-money game. The payout is $18 million, of which Hawaii will keep around $4 million.
West Virginia missed out on the national championship but will represent the Big East in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma.
Rounding out the majors is Virginia Tech, which claimed its first Atlantic Coast Conference title Saturday, in the Orange Bowl against Kansas, which received an at-large BCS bid after its school record 11-win campaign.
Kansas, No. 8, was taken ahead of No. 6 Missouri, which defeated the Jayhawks in the regular season. But Kansas has only one defeat while Missouri has two, including that 21-point loss to Oklahoma Saturday.
Source: USA Today