2013 BCS AQ Conference Profiles: Big 12

BCS Know How is taking you through the six automatic-qualifying BCS conferences in preparation for the 2013 season. Our easy-to-digest previews continue with the Big 12. Scroll down to see our profiles of the other conferences.

Conference: Big 12 Conference (Big 12)

Active Since: 1996

Current Member Schools: Iowa State Cyclones, Kansas State Wildcats, Kansas Jayhawks, West Virginia Mountaineers, Baylor Bears, Oklahoma State Cowboys, TCU Horned Frogs, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns. (10)

2013 Bowl Affiliations and Tie-Ins: Fiesta Bowl (BCS), Texas Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Cotton Bowl (7)

2012 Results:
Conference Champion — Kansas State
Conference Runner-up — Oklahoma Sooners
BCS Bowl Results: 2013 Fiesta Bowl — Oregon 35 vs. Kansas State 17
Overall Bowl Record: 4-5

2013 Heisman Hopefuls: Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk, Oklahoma QB Blake Bell

BCS Know How’s 2013 Predictions:
Conference Champion — Oklahoma State Cowboys
Conference Runner-up — TCU Horned Frogs
BCS bids: Oklahoma State — Fiesta Bowl; TCU — Sugar Bowl
Heisman Finalists — None

Post-Season BCS Rankings Simulation: Alabama A Non-Unanimous Choice For No. 1

Alabama claimed the BCS national title, but was not a unanimous choice among the components of BCS system and the AP poll.

To see just how the bevy of season’s end rankings played out, we’ve set out to simulate a set of BCS rankings, using the AP poll in place of the Harris poll. What we get is a good aggregate of all of the final rankings, and the equivalent of a year-end, final BCS rankings.

We also used the six BCS computers, not all of which declared Alabama as the top team in the nation. In fact, both Oklahoma State and LSU claimed the top spot in one computer ranking.

Mostly, this is just for fun, a good look at what the BCS standings would look like if they were released after the end of the season. The formula is exactly the same as the BCS utilizes during the regular season, except the AP poll is subbed in for the Harris Interactive Poll, which does not release a post-season edition.

Unsurprisingly, Alabama leads the way, despite its non-unanimous support. LSU and Oklahoma State finish in their expected No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.

Arkansas and Oregon see the completion of strong regular seasons and impressive bowl victories to both finish in the top five.

A little further down, we get a surprising sixth-place finish from South Carolina, who are chased closely by Boise State, where the Broncos finish just .0003 behind the Gamecocks. For fun, we placed USC in the mix, as they are named in all six computers and in the AP. We just replicated the portion the No. 9 Trojans got in the AP for the Coaches’ and used the computers as per usual.

Other surprises include No. 10 Baylor, who completes a fantastic season led by Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III and the non-AQ No. 16 Houston and No. 17 TCU, both of which had shots at BCS bowl bids but were shut out on the last weekend — a Houston loss and TCU finishing outside of the top-16.

Here’s BCS Know How’s simulated post-season BCS rankings:

Simulated Post-Season BCS Rankings

Rank	Team	BCS Score
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	.9922
2	LSU Tigers	.9540
3	Oklahoma State Cowboys	.9298
4	Oregon Ducks	.8260
5	Arkansas Razorbacks	.8214
6	South Carolina Gamecocks	.7267
7	Boise State Broncos	.7264
8	Stanford Cardinal	.7193
9	USC Trojans	.6981
10	Baylor Bears	.5718
11	Michigan Wolverines	.5688
12	Wisconsin Badgers	.5337
13	Oklahoma Sooners	.5250
14	Michigan State Spartans	.5234
15	Kansas State Wildcats	.5040
16	Houston Cougars	.4305
17	TCU Horned Frogs	.4156
18	West Virginia Mountaineers	.3068
19	Georgia Bulldogs	.2689
20	Virginia Tech Hokies	.2483

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Final 2011 BlogPoll Ballot: Alabama At The Top

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BCS Know How Ballot – Week 16

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	—
2	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	—
3	LSU Tigers	—
4	Arkansas Razorbacks	—
5	Oregon Ducks	—
6	Stanford Cardinal	—
7	USC Trojans	—
8	Boise St. Broncos	—
9	South Carolina Gamecocks	—
10	Wisconsin Badgers	—
11	Oklahoma Sooners	—
12	Michigan St. Spartans	—
13	Michigan Wolverines	—
14	Baylor Bears	—
15	Kansas St. Wildcats	—
16	TCU Horned Frogs	—
17	Houston Cougars	—
18	Georgia Bulldogs	—
19	West Virginia Mountaineers	—
20	Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	—
21	Clemson Tigers	—
22	Virginia Tech Hokies	—
23	Nebraska Cornhuskers	—
24	Northern Illinois Huskies	—
25	Cincinnati Bearcats	—

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

Oklahoma State Captures Thrilling 41-38 Victory Over Stanford in Fiesta Bowl

A Fiesta Bowl littered with NFL prospects on both ends was turned in Oklahoma State’s favor late Monday night by a combination of Stanford’s missed field goals and gritty play by its 28-year-old senior quarterback and star wide receiver as the Cowboys topped Stanford 41-38.

A field goal by Oklahoma State kicker Quinn Sharp in the first overtime period clinched victory for the Cowboys after Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson missed two straight opportunities to add three points, the first of which would have given the Cardinal a victory.

A catch from Cowboy wide receiver Colton Chelf set Sharp up for the game-winning kick after Stanford failed to score on its first possession in overtime. It was not until Sharp nailed the kick to win the game that the Cowboys led the 2012 Fiesta Bowl, as Stanford moved the ball up and down the field for 590 total yards.

Andrew Luck, the assumed first overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, led the way for the Cardinal and finished the night with more than 300 yards passing and two touchdowns. Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon, the Cowboys’ superstar draft prospect, was electric on the night, finishing with 186 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

Just the third overtime game in Fiesta Bowl history was an exciting one, as both offenses were obviously ready to go. Oklahoma State certainly had reason to be disappointed with its place in the Fiesta Bowl, but came out firing despite facing an early 14-0 deficit and matched the Cardinal score for score from there.

BCS Computer Rankings Week Eight: Alabama Gets Just Enough

With the knowledge that Oklahoma State was set to make up ground in the computers after a victory over Oklahoma, Alabama faithful had to hope the damage wasn’t too severe. And it wasn’t.

The Crimson Tide retained a .930 computer share, which was integral to them retaining the No. 2 spot in the final BCS standings.

Oklahoma State’s .950 proved to just not be enough.

Here are the rankings of the six BCS computers:

Six BCS Computer Standings – BCS Week Eight (December 4)

Rank	Anderson	Billingsley	Colley	Massey	Sagarin	Wolfe
1	LSU	LSU	LSU	LSU	LSU	LSU
2	Oklahoma St.	Oklahoma St.	Oklahoma St.	Oklahoma St.	Alabama	Alabama
3	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama	Oklahoma St.	Oklahoma St.
4	Stanford	Stanford	Kansas St.	Kansas St.	Arkansas	Arkansas
5	Kansas St.	Oregon	Stanford	Arkansas	Kansas St.	Kansas St.
6	Oklahoma	Boise St.	Boise St.	Baylor	Oklahoma	Oregon

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And what the aggregate BCS computer rankings were:

BCS Computer Rankings Aggregate – BCS Week Eight (December 4)

Rank	Team	Share of Vote
1	LSU Tigers	1.000
2	Oklahoma State Cowboys	.950
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	.930
4	Kansas State Wildcats	.850
5	Arkansas Razorbacks	.800
5	Stanford Cardinal	.800
7	Oklahoma Sooners	.760
8	Oregon Ducks	.710
9	Boise State Broncos	.680
10	South Carolina Gamecocks	.670
11	Baylor Bears	.660
12	Georgia Bulldogs	.490

Harris Interactive Poll Week 14: Alabama Stays Far Enough Ahead of Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State rises to No. 3, but its not enough to leap Alabama here or in the BCS standings.

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Harris Interactive College Football Poll – December 4

Rank	Team	Votes	Share of Vote
1	LSU Tigers	2875	1.000
2	Alabama Crimson Tide	2723	.947
3	Oklahoma State Cowboys	2654	.923
4	Stanford Cardinal	2504	.871
5	Oregon Ducks	2372	.825
6	Boise State Broncos	2236	.778
7	Arkansas Razorbacks	2163	.752
8	Wisconsin Badgers	2060	.717
9	South Carolina Gamecocks	1833	.638
10	Kansas State Wildcats	1733	.603
11	Virginia Tech Hokies	1498	.521
12	Michigan Wolverines	1447	.503

Final BCS Rankings of 2011: LSU and Alabama Finish an SEC-Dominated Season On Top

The rematch is on.

With the release of the final BCS standings, the Bowl Championship Series has spoken, and we’re headed for the first-ever rematch of a regular season game in the BCS title game.

LSU and Alabama did enough in the eyes of the voters and the computers to do just that, and come Jan. 9, the entire country will be tuned in to see whether LSU’s defense can once again stifle Alabama or if the Crimson Tide can turn the tide on the Tigers.

Oklahoma State lands on the outside looking in, instead headed off to the Fiesta Bowl to take on a very game Stanford team, who finishes in the No. 3 slot.

No. 5 Oregon, boosted on the power of huge leaps in human poll support, is on its way to the Rose Bowl to take on No. 10 Wisconsin, whose Big Ten title game victory over Michigan State brought the Badgers back into the top 10 and ensured one of the best looking matchups among the BCS bowls, at least on paper.

The four teams that follow Oregon were all left out of the BCS picture, as Arkansas, Boise State, Kansas State and South Carolina will have to settle for non-BCS bowls after commendable seasons in three tough conferences.

A surprise berth for No. 11 Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl certainly ruffled some feathers, but the Hokies had an impressive season, and will face off against No. 13 Michigan in New Orleans on Jan. 2.

All in all, the BCS standings once again brought about debate, consternation and excitement until the end. Whether you agree with the decisions the system made, it’s what we’ve got, and we’re not headed for a slate of 35 bowl games — some duds and some spectacular matchups — that will certainly provide for entertainment value throughout December and January. Enjoy.

Here’s the final BCS rankings of 2011:

BCS Standings Week Eight — December 4

Rank	Team	BCS Score
1	LSU Tigers	1.000
2	Alabama Crimson Tide	.9419
3	Oklahoma State Cowboys	.9333
4	Stanford Cardinal	.8476
5	Oregon Ducks	.7901
6	Arkansas Razorbacks	.7687
7	Boise State Broncos	.7408
8	Kansas State Wildcats	.6827
9	South Carolina Gamecocks	.6553
10	Wisconsin Badgers	.6374
11	Virginia Tech Hokies	.5190
12	Baylor Bears	.4977
13	Michigan Wolverines	.4794
14	Oklahoma Sooners	.4603
15	Clemson Tigers	.4218
16	Georgia Bulldogs	.4119

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Some thoughts:

• BCS Know How’s Projected BCSvs. Actual BCS Rankings
  • Well, I think you know.