By beating Nebraska 13-12 in the Big 12 Championship Game, the Texas Longhorns have clinched the Big 12 crown and a berth in the National Title Game.

The Longhorns will face the Alabama Crimson Tide on January 7th for the BCS National Title Game.

Colt McCoy and the Longhorn offense struggled all night, but did just enough to complete Texas’s undefeated run through the Big 12 season.

We’ve been waiting all year for this weekend, and finally after thirteen compelling weeks of college football action, its finally here.

Four games will decide conference champions, and many others will be important in bowl positioning for a variety of teams.

Obviously most important is the matchup that’s been anticipated basically since day one of the college football season, Alabama vs. Florida for the SEC Championship.

The winner of this game not only gets an automatic bid to the BCS as the SEC Champion, will also get a bid to the national title game. The loser won’t fare all that bad, as they will likely receive one of the at-large BCS bids to the Sugar Bowl.

Three other games will decide conference champions.

The ACC Championship Game will feature Georgia Tech and Clemson. Depending on who might or might not lose in the rest of the country on Saturday, this is likely the decider for the only BCS bid the ACC will receive.

The Big 12 Championship Game will feature Nebraska and Texas. Texas has spent the entire season with the knowledge that a perfect season would mean a berth in the national title game, and they are one win from that. A Cornhusker victory would open up a huge can of worms, but the Longhorns would likely receive an at-large bid if Nebraska shocks them.

A de facto Big East Championship will take place on Saturday between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Its also likely that a loss for either team would relegate them to non-BCS land, but a Bearcat victory combined with a Longhorn loss would make things a little interesting.

Cincinnati has crept very close to No. 4 TCU in weeks past, and if Texas loses, there is a possibility that a team that finishes its BCS conference schedule undefeated could jump the idle Horned Frogs.

Even less likely, but still possible, is the idea that the BCS National Title Game could be an SEC Championship Game rematch. This would require Pittsburgh and Nebraska to win, and the human polls to show absolutely no confidence in the Horned Frogs, keeping the Tide/Gators ahead of TCU in the polls and the BCS.

Undefeated No. 6 Boise State is likely to feel disappointed after this weekend if they can complete a perfect schedule with a victory over New Mexico State. Even a huge victory over the Lobos (3-9) would not equal a national title berth for the Broncos, but they need to win to hold hope for a BCS bowl bid, for which TCU virtually locked in for.

With Oregon and Ohio State already sitting pretty with BCS bowl bids clinched, this weekend will be all about matching the Ducks and Buckeyes, and is sure to be exciting throughout.

The BCS rankings and bowl matchups will be released Sunday at 8 PM eastern and will make everything official. Until that time stay tuned to BCS Know How for all the latest BCS news.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Conference Leaders: Clemson (Atlantic Division; 8-4, 6-2) and Georgia Tech (Coastal Division; 10-2, 7-1) have both clinched their respective divisions and will meet for the ACC Championship Game and the ACC’s BCS bowl bid.

Game of Last Week: NC State 28 vs. UNC 27. A blocked field goal secured victory for the Wolfpack and let NC State fans rejoice even though their team will not be making a bowl this season

Game of Next Week: Georgia Tech vs. Clemson. The ACC Championship Game will be between two teams coming off tough losses to rivals, and will be looking to cap off good seasons with a BCS bowl bid.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Boston College Golden Eagles, Miami Hurricanes, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Virginia Tech Hokies, North Carolina Tar Heels, Florida State Seminoles, Clemson Tigers.

Pac-10

Conference Leader: Oregon (9-2, 7-1)

Lurking: Oregon State (8-3, 6-2)

Game of Last Week: Arizona 20 vs. Arizona State 17. After painting the huge “A” on the hillside at Arizona State in Wildcat red, the Wildcats took a victory in this western rivalry game on a last second field goal.

Game of Next Week: Oregon vs. Oregon State. Another de facto conference championship game – on a Thursday – the winner likely heading to the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10′s BCS bid receiving team.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans, California Bears, Arizona Wildcats, Stanford Cardinal, Oregon State Beavers, UCLA Bruins.

SEC

Conference Leaders: Florida (East Division; 12-0, 8-0) and Alabama (12-0, 8-0) have both clinched their respective divisions and will face off in the SEC Championship Game for a bid in the National Title game and the SEC’s automatic BCS bowl bid.

Game of Last Week: Tennessee 30 vs. Kentucky 24. A game for possible bowl positioning, the Volunteers took a huge game from Montario Hardesty and beat Kentucky for the 25th straight time.

Game of Next Week: Alabama vs. Florida. The SEC Championship Game will be a national semifinal, and the loser will likely still get a bid to a BCS bowl game.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Florida Gators, Alabama Crimson Tide, South Carolina Gamecocks, LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Ole Miss Running Rebels, Kentucky Wildcats, Georgia Bulldogs, Arkansas Razorbacks, Tennessee Volunteers.

It’s a wonder how such huge losses last Saturday could have such little impact on the upcoming weeks of college football.

In this week’s BCS standings, Alabama (as expected) retook the No. 2 ranking from Texas, who fell to third.

Let’s examine how little this actually means:

With their win over LSU on Saturday, Alabama clinched the SEC West crown, punching their ticket to the SEC Championship Game.

If the Tide and the Florida Gators meet undefeated, the winner will play in the BCS National Title game, regardless of where in the losing team falls in the rankings.

The hardest remaining game for Florida is its trip to South Carolina, while Alabama still must play at Auburn, however both of these opponents are unranked.

The undefeated Texas Longhorns should also finish strong against a depleted Big 12, and will likely meet a four-loss underdog in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Win out and Texas is in the BCS National Title game too.

So three top 10 teams lose on Saturday, and the national title picture hasn’t changed in the slightest.

The interesting part of the BCS actually starts at No. 4.

This week TCU jumped up to claim that spot from Iowa, giving them a good shot at an at-large BCS bowl bid.

No. 5 Cincinnati needed a near-perfect performance from QB Zach Collaros to stay undefeated, and is now the top-ranked team from a BCS conference outside of the Big 12 and the SEC.

No. 6 Boise State should be thanking its lucky stars that No. 10 Iowa lost on Saturday.

Now it’s unlikely that the Big 10 will get more than one BCS bowl bid, which opens the door for non-BCS conference teams like the Broncos.

No. 7 Georgia Tech gained the most from the weekend losses by jumping up three spots. The Yellow Jackets should be Orange Bowl-bound.

There is a huge gap between No. 7 and No. 8, but after their loss, LSU should be pleasantly surprised.

The No. 9 USC Trojans find themselves back in the BCS top 10 this weekend, after just one week outside, but have no chance at a national title.

No. 11 Ohio State and No. 12 Pittsburgh round out the top 12, with the Panthers giving the Big East two top-12 teams for the first time this season.

BCS Rankings – November 8th

The final college football Saturday in October just so happens to fall on Halloween this year, and in that spirit, here’s your weekend college football preview, as guided by the Halloween classic, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.

“It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark”

No reason not to start from the beginning.

After this weekend, just five weeks will remain before the final BCS standings are released. And for teams that need losses for them to even have a shot of competing for a national title, the clock creeps ever closer towards midnight, sealing them out of the BCS National Title Game.

That evil lurking is the possibility that some of those teams, like TCU, Boise State, Cincinnati and Iowa are in danger of finishing unbeaten, and still missing out on the national title game. They will all have to start putting on a show for the nation, and soon, if any of them hope to be playing on January 7^th.

“Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah. All through the night I’ll save you from the terror on the screen”

Alabama and Florida are like a happy couple atop the BCS standings right now; seemingly nothing can be done to break them up. They can cuddle as close together as they’d like, without threatening what will likely be their final date, December 5^th at the Georgia Dome for the SEC Championship.

It might be tough for either team to save the other from that “terror on the screen,” the remaining SEC schedule for both teams, but all signs point to a messy breakup just before Christmas-time.

“Creatures crawl in search of blood, to terrorize y’alls neighborhood”

Creatures, in this case in-conference opponents with bad records, with axes to grind and noise to make, could make this Halloween weekend a scary time for in the neighborhoods of the BCS’s top teams.

Indiana (4-4, 1-3 Big 10) comes into Iowa City to face off against the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes, in search of blood, and a victory. The Hawkeyes are already injured (although probably not yet bleeding), as they lost top running back Adam Robinson last week for the season.

Both No. 6 TCU and No. 7 Boise State also welcome opponents with uninspiring records into their neighborhoods, afraid of what a shocking loss might mean.

“And grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom”

Teams resting on the idea that they’ve secured something in this topsy-turvy college football season beware. Here are two chances for the top of the BCS to topple, against tough, ghoulish-like opponents closing in to seal a terrible fate.

No. 5 USC heads up to Eugene, Oregon to take on the equally scary No. 10 Oregon Ducks, who could not only knock the Trojans out of the “one or two mistakes and we’re in!” seat, and claim it for their own.

No. 3 Texas – set up to take advantage of that messy breakup between Alabama and Florida – could see some scare tactics from No. 14 Oklahoma State, and fall victim to their toughest remaining opponent before their schedule gets a little less intimidating.

“Thriller, thriller night.”

All told, this may just be one of the most thrilling college football nights of the season, the fact that it happens to be on Halloween makes it that much better, for no mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller. (Insert creepy Vincent Price laughter)

Enjoy.

Note: The Week 3 (November 1st) BCS standings will be released during FOX’s “The OT” post-NFL wrap up show at around 7:30 PM EST. You can see a full schedule for the releases at the BCS Guru.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Ohio State (5-1, 3-0)

Lurking: Iowa (6-0, 2-0)

Game of Last Week: Ohio State 31 vs. Wisconsin 13, a match up of two Big 10 unbeaten teams turned instead into a rout and likely reaffirmed some voter’s confidence in Ohio State, who may still have a shot at the BCS National Title game if enough pieces fall into place.

Game of Next Week: Wisconsin vs. Iowa, Wisconsin will again get a shot at a Big 10 unbeaten, hoping this time to knock off the team with the second longest winning streak in the nation.

Bowl Eligible Teams: None yet.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Kansas (North Division; 5-0, 1-0) Texas (South Division; 5-0, 2-0)

Lurking: Nebraska (North Division; 4-1, 1-0)

Game of Last Week: Nebraska 27 vs. Missouri 12, a Thursday night game that featured one of the three match ups between ranked teams turned into a national coming out party for the Cornhuskers, now a legitimate contender for the Big 12 crown.

Game of Next Week: Texas vs. Oklahoma. Red River Shootout, need we say more?

Bowl Eligible Teams: None yet.

Big East

Conference Leader: Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-0)

Lurking: Cincinnati (5-0, 1-0)

Game of Last Week: Pittsburgh 24 vs. Connecticut 21. A match up of two one-loss Big East teams at the time, this close match up was among the best of the weekend, ending on a late 18-yard field goal to give the Panthers the win, and the conference lead.

Game of Next Week: Cincinnati vs. South Florida. A ranked match up in the Big East is unusual these days, so this Thursday night match up between two 5-0 teams will likely be these teams only chance to impress until bowl season.