Scout.com > College Football News BCS Rankings & Analayis - Ohio State vs. USC? Story URL: http://cfn.scout.com/2/592446.html Pete Fiutak CollegeFootballNews.com Nov 19, 2006 Michigan is second and USC third in the latest BCS rankings, but the gap is so narrow that just two computers need to flip-flop the Wolverines and Trojans, which will happen if John David Booty beats Notre Dame and UCLA, and it'll be a Big Ten vs. Pac 10 showdown for the national title. Check out the BCS analysis and the rankings. BCS Rankings | Computer Rankings Here's the deal to make this as easy as possible. Ohio State is in the national title game. USC, currently third, will play the Buckeyes with wins over Notre Dame and USC. Right now, five of the six computers have Michigan number two, and five of the six have USC number three, but both human polls have the Trojans second. If just two computers flip and put USC two and Michigan three, it's Trojans vs. Buckeyes. Don’t forget that the BCS takes the entire season into account, so there will be wild changes from the computers as the year goes on, but once again, the two polls will be the biggest factors. The Big Winners: USC (gap narrowed between the 2 and 3 spots), Virginia Tech (21st to 17th), Arizona (out of top 40 to 33rd), The Big Losers: Michigan (gap narrowed between the 2 and 3 spots), Rutgers (6th to 14th), California (15th to 19th), Wake Forest (16th to 21st), Oregon (24th to 31st) 1. Ohio State   Last Week's BCS Ranking: 1 Done. Over. Ohio State is in the big show in Glendale. The Buckeyes have a perfect score with all computers and both human polls ranking them on top. predicted bowl: BCS Championship Game 2. Michigan   Last Week's BCS Ranking: 2 Still second even after the loss to Ohio State, the margin has now narrowed from 0.103 to 0.007. It's this simple: if USC wins out, the computers will boost up the Trojans into the national title. A USC loss likely puts the Wolverines in. predicted bowl: Rose Bowl 3. USC   Last Week's BCS Ranking: 3 The Trojans are right where they need to be with the slimmest of margins separating them from the number two spot. Already No. 2 in both human polls, the computers will come around with wins over Notre Dame and UCLA. Win two, go to Glendale to face the Buckeyes. predicted wins: Notre Dame, at UCLA predicted losses: None predicted record: 11-1 predicted bowl: BCS Championship 4. Florida    Last Week's BCS Ranking: 4 Florida is the interesting wild card. On a bit of an island in the fourth spot, the Gators will move up to three if they beat Florida State and win the SEC championship, but they need Arkansas to beat LSU and they must stomp on the Noles and Hogs to get beauty points from the humans. Essentially, they have to look so good that no one will want to see a Wolverine-Buckeye rematch. They're high enough now that they should be in the BCS somewhere with an at-large spot no matter what. predicted wins: at Florida State predicted losses: SEC Championship predicted record: 11-2 predicted bowl: Rose Bowl 5. Notre Dame   Last Week's BCS Ranking: 5 The Irish needed a Michigan win over Ohio State to have any reasonable shot at getting into the title game. The ceiling is likely going to be the No. 2 spot in the final polls with wins over USC and in the BCS game, but it'll take a major miracle to get to Glendale to face the Buckeyes. They can make it extremely interesting with an impressive performance against USC. predicted wins: None predicted losses: at USC predicted record: 10-2 predicted bowl: Sugar Bowl 6. Arkansas   Last Week's BCS Ranking: 7 The Hogs are a bit too far out of the mix to get into the national title, but they can come extremely close if they blowout LSU and Florida and if USC loses to Notre Dame or UCLA. They need to be so good on a national stage that the voters all but demand to see a Hog vs. Buckeye national title. predicted wins: SEC Championship predicted losses: LSU predicted record: 10-2 predicted bowl: Sugar Bowl 7. West Virginia   Last Week's BCS Ranking: 8 Here's the $14 million question: would the BCS, more specifically, the Rose Bowl, take a one-loss Louisville team over a two-loss Florida or Arkansas? Early indications are that the SEC championship loser would be in before the Mountaineers, but a top five overall finish is possible by winning out. The Rutgers loss to Cincinnati kills any reasonable dream scenario of getting into the national championship, but even with two home wins, the Mountaineers need a Louisville loss to get into the BCS. predicted wins: South Florida, Rutgers predicted losses: None predicted record: 11-1 predicted bowl: Orange Bowl 8. Wisconsin   Last Week's BCS Ranking: 9 The Badgers might end up being the best team not to go to a BCS bowl. With Ohio State and Michigan certain to go somewhere in the big money games, Bret Bielema's 11-1 club will be Capital One bound. predicted bowl: Capital One Bowl 9. Louisville  Last Week's BCS Ranking: 10 Louisville just needs to win out and it’ll win the Big East spot in the BCS unless Rutgers beats West Virginia. If West Virginia and Louisville win out, the Cardinals are in. predicted wins: Connecticut, at Pitt predicted losses: None predicted record: 11-1 predicted bowl: Gator Bowl 10. LSU  Last Week's BCS Ranking: 11 The Tigers need to obliterate Arkansas this week to have any hope of climbing up the human polls and possibly sneak into a BCS at-large spot. The respect is more than there from the human polls, and win over the Hogs would get the love from the computers. predicted wins: at Arkansas predicted losses: None predicted record: 10-2 predicted bowl: Outback Bowl In Range 11. Boise State 12. Auburn 13. Texas 14. Rutgers 15. Oklahoma 16. Georgia Tech 17. Virginia Tech 18. Boston College 19. California 20. Tennessee    Copyright © Scout.com and CollegeFootballNews.com