[Farm93]

It is unlikely, but not without precedent.  That is all I was trying to say.  

When Stanford is #4 in the FINAL BCS Standings then I will be happy.  The Pac-10 has a rich history of having things happen that should not have happened.  And that was with teams with large alumni bases (Oregon, USC, C.a.l).

I am not seeing a ton of love for TCU, and that is problematic.  If Auburn loses, TCU should be in the BCS game.  The only way to "fix" things is to elevate Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State ahead of TCU and Stanford.  BTW - That final vote would be easy to defend.

If Stanford is outside of the "Rule of 4" then it is absolutely possible that the best at-large Big 12 option (Nebraska/Oklahoma & Oklahoma State) would be picked by the Orange/Fiesta bowl instead of 11-1 Stanford.

So the status quo has Stanford in the Orange Bowl if Uconn wins this weekend or in the Fiesta Bowl if Uconn loses.  That stable & predictable situation seems OK.

The Auburn losing path should put Stanford in the Rose Bowl or even the NCG, but it could put Stanford in the Alamo bowl.   In that scenario, the Alamo bowl would still be unlikely, but it could happen.

FWIW - I think if Auburn loses, the easiest way to "fix" things is for the people voters to just put Auburn at #2 because an Auburn loss to South Carolina would not put Auburn below TCU in the computers.

[Farm93]

It is unlikely, but not without precedent.  That is all I was trying to say.  

When Stanford is #4 in the FINAL BCS Standings then I will be happy.  The Pac-10 has a rich history of having things happen that should not have happened.  And that was with teams with large alumni bases (Oregon, USC, C.a.l).

I am not seeing a ton of love for TCU, and that is problematic.  If Auburn loses, TCU should be in the BCS game.  The only way to "fix" things is to elevate Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State ahead of TCU and Stanford.  BTW - That final vote would be easy to defend.

If Stanford is outside of the "Rule of 4" then it is absolutely possible that the best at-large Big 12 option (Nebraska/Oklahoma & Oklahoma State) would be picked by the Orange/Fiesta bowl instead of 11-1 Stanford.

So the status quo has Stanford in the Orange Bowl if Uconn wins this weekend or in the Fiesta Bowl if Uconn loses.  That stable & predictable situation seems OK.

The Auburn losing path should put Stanford in the Rose Bowl or even the NCG, but it could put Stanford in the Alamo bowl.   In that scenario, the Alamo bowl would still be unlikely, but it could happen.

FWIW - I think if Auburn loses, the easiest way to "fix" things is for the people voters to just put Auburn at #2 because an Auburn loss to South Carolina would not put Auburn below TCU in the computers.