Boise State fans have to be thrilled that they got a BCS bid, and the match-up with TCU in the Fiesta Bowl should be very entertaining. That said, I’m sure both schools would prefer to take on an opponent from one of the major conferences. For these schools, apart from the money, the lure of a BCS game is the opportunity to get a shot at the bigger schools.

I’d like to know just how good these teams are. Unfortunately, this game will only tell us so much.

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Despite reports that he could be heading to South Bend to coach at Notre Dame, TCU head coach Gary Patterson signed a contract extension through 2016.

He also talked about the current BCS bowl system (via ESPN.com):

“Is it easier to win one game for a championship? Or to have to win four?” Patterson asked. “If you have a playoff, you practice and get on a plane and play. And if you lose, it’s over. If you go to a bowl game, you’re there seven days and the kids can enjoy a place and get rewarded.”

“Ninety percent of the teams [in the BCS] don’t have an opportunity to win a national championship,” Patterson said. “It’s the same 10 teams. We’ve now gone to a BCS over 80 percent of the Big 12, 80 percent of the SEC, 80 percent of the Big Ten. We’ve achieved something that all those other teams talk about because they are part of a conference that can get there. We’ve now jumped over a hurdle by going to a BCS game.”

Some media outlets are already spinning this by saying Patterson doesn’t want a playoff. But if you read his comments, he isn’t necessarily saying that he wouldn’t want college football to adopt a playoff system, he’s just listing some pros to a bowl structure.

It’s nice to see TCU reward Patterson for his hard work over the last couple years and here’s hoping he doesn’t ditch them for an opportunity to coach at a bigger program. He recognizes that he has a decent shot of competing for a national title right where he is, and that has been proven this year.

I would love to see what TCU could do against Florida, Alabama or Texas. Everyone thought that ‘Bama would run Utah over last year and the Utes pulled off one of the better bowl upsets of the decade. Remember, we’re not talking about a full playoff schedule – we’re talking about one game. The Horned Frogs could definitely hang.

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After Florida, Alabama and Texas all escaped rivals week with victories, the BCS standings remained unchanged this week. The Gators still hold the top spot, while the Crimson Tide are second and the Longhorns are third.

Heading into the final week of the season, here is how everything breaks down for each of the five BCS title contenders:

Florida: Tim Tebow and the Gators play Alabama in the SEC championship on Saturday and with a win, they’ll play in the title game. There’s always an outside chance that even if Florida losses this weekend, they could still play for a national title if Nebraska beats Texas and voters don’t rank an undefeated TCU or Cincinnati team in the No. 2 spot.

Alabama: A win over Florida on Saturday would catapult the Tide into the top spot in the BCS standings, which means they’ll play for a national championship. And just like Florida, ‘Bama still has an outside shot to play in the title game if Texas losses and voters decide to screw TCU or Cincinnati.

Texas: A win over Nebraska in the Big 12 championship would mean that the Longhorns would take on the winner of the SEC title game. A loss to the Cornhuskers would mean Texas has little to no shot of playing for a national title because the loser of the SEC champ game or undefeated TCU or Cincinnati would get the bid.

TCU: It’s now a waiting game for the Horned Frogs after they finished the regular season 12-0. They’ll be rooting for Texas to lose and they wouldn’t mind seeing either Florida or Alabama get blown out in the SEC title game in order to endure themselves to voters. A Cincinnati loss to Pittsburgh wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats might be able to improve their ranking by beating Pittsburgh for the Big East championship on Saturday. With TCU idle, a good showing against a good Panthers team might convince voters that Cincinnati should leap frog over the Horned Frogs if Texas losses. That said, the Bearcats are still hoping for a miracle when it comes to playing in the title game.

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Last week was bitter sweet as I went 4-0 straight up but just 1-3 against the spread. Keep in mind that I try to only pick top 25 games, so they’re much, much harder to predict. Like, much harder. (Or at least that’s my excuse anyway.)

No. 8 LSU at Mississippi, 3:30PM ET
Both of these SEC teams will be looking to finish the 2009 season strong when they square off this Saturday in Oxford. The Rebels snapped a six-game losing streak to the Tigers last season but they haven’t won at home in his series since 1998. The public seems high on Ole Miss after the Rebs hammered Tennessee last Saturday, but keep in mind that the Vols were in the midst of some turmoil after three of their players were arrested for attempted armed robbery last week. Dexter McCluster went off on Tennessee for 282 yards and four touchdowns, but he’ll have a hard time repeating that effort against a stout LSU front seven. Something tells me that Les Miles’ team is still pissed off about what happened two weeks again in Tuscaloosa and will play this week with passion. I see a small upset for the Tigers and an outright win.
Odds: Ole Miss –4.5.
Prediction: LSU 20, Ole Miss 17.

No. 25 California at No. 17 Stanford, 7:30PM ET
Stanford is playing as well as anyone in the nation right now. The Cardinal have scored 106 points combined against Oregon and USC the past two weeks and senior running back Toby Gerhart has almost been unstoppable. Without running back Jahvid Best, Cal squeaked by Arizona last week, 24-16. With Best sidelined again this Saturday, many expect Stanford to roll but don’t forget that Cal has the 19th best run defense in the nation and is capable of containing Gerhart and keeping things close. Quarterback Kevin Riley might be able to take advantage of a Stanford secondary that has been inconsistent this season, although without the threat of a running game the Bears’ offense might become too one-dimensional in the second half. I think Stanford will pull out the victory but this game will be closer than people think.
Odds: Stanford –7.5.
Prediction: Stanford 35, Cal 31.

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SI.com’s Stewart Mandel compiled his projections for all 34 bowl matchups and this is how things shook out in the BCS Bowls:

BCS Championship: Alabama vs. Texas
Orange: Georgia Tech vs. TCU
Fiesta: Iowa vs. Boise State
Sugar: Florida vs. Pittsburgh
Rose: Ohio State vs. Oregon

Is it just me or are those some pretty lousy matchups outside of the BCS title game (Colt McCoy vs. ‘Bama’s defense is intriguing, I don’t care what anyone says)? I’m not saying that those teams aren’t deserving of those bowls, but I’m not entirely sure I’d like to see Iowa play Boise in one of the “big” bowls.

That said, a Georgia Tech-TCU matchup would be intriguing because I would love to see the Horned Frogs try and defense the Jackets’ potent triple-option. TCU has one of the fastest and most aggressive defenses in the nation and it would be a thrill to watch them try and contain Jonathan Dwyer for four quarters.

Something tells me an Ohio State-Oregon matchup wouldn’t be that bad either outside of the fact that the Buckeyes always lay duds in bowl games. OSU has a solid defense, although Jeremiah Masoli and company might tear them to pieces.

Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from Mandel’s projections (outside of the fact that he has ‘Bama beating Florida in the SEC Championship Game, that is) is that he predicts Pittsburgh to beat Cincinnati in two weeks. The Bearcats can light up a scoreboard, but teams that can run straight at their defense have had success and the Panthers might be able to do that when the two teams square off next Saturday for the top spot in the Big East.’

For those of you who are like me that would rather see a playoff system determine the champion in college football, check out John Paulsen’s breakdown of how a postseason would look like this season.

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In his past two games against Utah, TCU quarterback Andy Dalton has zero touchdown passes and six interceptions. Both of those games resulted in losses for the Horned Frogs, including last year’s 13-10 defeat in Salt Lake City.

But Dalton has played with more confidence during the past month than he has at any point in his career and the TCU offense is starting to match the play of its outstanding defense. The Frogs rank eighth in total offense, sixth in scoring offense and also have the sixth best running game in the nation.

That said, the Utes’ defense has served as kryptonite for Dalton in previous years, so can he put those struggles behind him and keep TCU’s BCS bowl bid hopes alive?

Utah ranks 18th in total defense and 13th in pass defense, but they haven’t played an offense even remotely as potent as TCU. And for as good as the Utes’ defense has been this season, they’re susceptible against the run and that’s the Frogs’ bread and butter.

With so much on the line in this matchup, both teams need to take the pressure off their quarterbacks and run the football. But what will be interesting to watch unfold is which defense will stop their opponents’ running game first and force either Dalton or true freshman Jordan Wynn to beat them through the air.

This has the makings of a great game.

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The TCU Horned Frogs have leapt into the top 5 in the BCS standings according to ESPN.com.

TCU took over fourth place in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday behind Florida, Alabama and Texas. It’s the highest BCS ranking ever for a team from a conference without an automatic bid to the big-money bowl games. No potential BCS buster had ever done better than sixth in the BCS standings.

Florida is first for the fourth straight week, and Alabama and Texas switched spots for the second week in a row.

The Gators and Crimson Tide have clinched their respective divisions in the Southeastern Conference and will meet Dec. 5 in the league championship game. One of them is all but guaranteed a spot in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., if they can get through the next month without a loss.

The same goes for Texas, which has three regular-season games and possibly the Big 12 championship remaining.

The other undefeated teams — TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State — need the top three to stumble to have any shot of reaching the title game.

Some complain about TCU’s schedule, but at least they crush their opponents on a weekly basis. Clemson and Air Force are the only two teams that have given the Frogs a game this season and TCU played both of those contests on the road. And the fact that they’re willing to play non-conference foes like Clemson and Virginia should count for something.

The Frogs have one of the fastest, most aggressive defenses in the nation and I’d love to see what they could do in a BCS bowl. Of course, they have to get by Utah first, whom they play next Saturday.

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