The teams were identified during a second teleconference in as many weeks among the 11 I-A conference commissioners, the Notre Dame athletics director, and representatives from the FedEx Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl, as well as Fox and ABC. The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the final BCS standings will meet in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
The champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conferences automatically qualify for a BCS game. In addition, there are four at-large berths available. One conference champion from among Conference USA, the Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt or Western Athletic Conference earns a guaranteed berth in one of the BCS games should that champion be ranked 12th or better in the final BCS standings or be ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls. Notre Dame earns an automatic at-large berth if it finishes in the top eight in the final BCS standings.
Other than as set forth above, to be eligible for at-large selection, a team must have nine regular-season victories and be ranked in the top 14 of the final BCS standings on December 3.
Ohio State and Southern California have clinched berths in the BCS. The Buckeyes are champions of the Big Ten Conference and the Trojans are at least the Pac-10 co-champion and hold the conference tie-breaker should it need to be applied.
The champions from the four other conferences which receive automatic spots in the BCS games have not been determined. The following is a list of teams still contending for their conferences’ automatic berths in the BCS:
ACC: Georgia Tech, Wake Forest Big East: Louisville, Rutgers, West Virginia Big 12: Nebraska, Oklahoma SEC: Arkansas, Florida
In addition to those eleven teams previously identified, the pool of teams remaining under consideration includes (in alphabetical order):
Auburn, Boise State, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame
Following is the schedule of the BCS games (Television Network in parenthesis):
January 1 – Rose Bowl, 5 p.m., ET (ABC Sports) January 1 – Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, 8:45 p.m., ET (Fox Sports) January 2 – FedEx Orange Bowl, 8:25 p.m., ET (Fox Sports) January 3 – Allstate Sugar Bowl, 8:25 p.m. ET (Fox Sports) January 8 – Tostitos BCS National Championship Game, 8:25 p.m. ET (Fox Sports)
For more information on the Bowl Championship Series, please log on to www.bcsfootball.org.