Pac-10 Scenarios
USC clinches a berth in the Rose Bowl with a victory next week over crosstown rival UCLA. If USC loses and finishes it a three-way tie with Oregon State and Oregon, the Trojans go to the Holiday Bowl and Oregon State goes to the Rose Bowl.
If 10-2 Ohio State is in the running for a BCS bid, why not 10-2 (God forbid!) USC when the Trojans killed the Bucks? I would send Boise if it happened, but why assume USC would be out?
Wait, somebody explain that. If USC loses, wouldn't there be a three-way tie between Oregon State, Oregon, and USC? I read the tie-breaker rule for the Pac-10, which is almost incomprehensible, but seems to ultimately rely on BCS standings (like the Big-12).
All of this is moot, of course, once USC beats UCLA by 30 next weekend.
Seriously, who wrote clause (2).
(1) When three or more teams are tied in Conference play, if one has defeated all others, it shall be the Rose Bowl representative [No]. If that is not the case, a comparison of the tied teams' records against the other tied teams shall be made and the team having the best record against the other tied teams shall be the Rose Bowl representative [Everybody would be 1-1]. If two or more teams are still tied after this comparison, the appropriate two-team or multiple-team tie-breaking procedures shall be repeated among those teams still under consideration.
(2) If more than two teams are still tied after the process above is completed, each remaining tied team's record against the team occupying the highest position in the final regular season standings shall be compared, with the procedure continuing down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.
When arriving at another group of tied teams while comparing records, each team's collective record against the tied teams as a group shall be used.
If at any point in the process the multiple-team tie is reduced to two teams, the two-team tie-breaking procedure shall be applied.
If more than two teams are still tied after comparing their records all the way through the Conference standings, the team among the tied teams with the highest ranking in the final BCS standings shall be the Rose Bowl representative.
If a tie remains, the teams most recently earning Rose Bowl or Bowl Championship Series automatic selection shall be eliminated.
My interpretation of the aforementioned clause 2 would indicate that it is better to lose to a terrible team than a good team since you go down the standings (in descending order) and since our other loss (cough, cough, kill me now) would be to the cheatin' new-weasels, I would think we would have the advantage (er, disadvantage) and go to the Rose Bowl.
I loved Rey's response to going to a fourth straight Rose Bowl. Did not seem to be the happiest of campers. If SC would have had this exact season last year, we would have been in the National Championship. Unfortunately, if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle, so we're going nowhere.
Oh well, it's nice beating the ever living crap out of the Irish.
Fight on!
OC Register explained it:
"So here’s how the Pac-10 tiebreaker works in case of a three-way tie: Because none of the three beat the other two, the tiebreaker then goes to the teams’ record against the next team in the Pac-10 standings, in this case Cal.
Both USC and Oregon State beat Cal while Oregon lost to the Golden Bears, eliminating the Ducks.
The formula then goes to head-to-head between the remaining teams. The Beavers beat the Trojans, 27-21, Sept. 25. Therefore, Oregon State would go to the Rose Bowl."