The Mad Bomber

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Bryan Rosenbaum

What everybody was made to believe was that, if the Pacific 10 Conference and Big Ten Conference champions finished No. 1 or 2, the second-placed teams would take their spots in the Rose Bowl. This way, a real national champion could be crowned while the bowl system and Rose Bowl tradition remained.

Wrong.

Thanks to Stanford nearly upsetting UCLA this weekend, the whole picture was thrown out of whack.

The Bruins, previously No. 1 in the BCS poll, dropped to No. 3 behind Ohio State and Tennessee. If the Bruins continue to go undefeated and stay out of the top two, they'll be spending New Year's in their own stadium, while Arizona could be left to play in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

Add Notre Dame, which qualifies for a BCS game if it finishes in the top eight, and Arizona might get screwed either way. The Irish want to play in the Rose Bowl, something they should never be allowed to do since they never joined a conference. With no conference affiliation, Notre Dame doesn't have to share any part of an enormous bowl payout and plays a weak schedule. They nearly lost to Purdue and Army, and got blown away by Michigan State.

Left on Notre Dame's schedule is Navy, LSU and Southern Cal. The Golden Domers get everything their way, no matter who's more qualified.

Who's more qualified? Right now, Arizona is, by a long shot.

So, who does an Arizona fan root for as the season gears up for the final stretch?

UCLA - Like it or not, the Bruins dictate where Arizona goes. Either they drop a couple of games (at Washington, at home versus USC and at Miami), or win their remaining games, and win big. In a perfect world, UCLA would finish first or second in the BCS poll or second or below in the Pac-10.

Michigan - Michigan's schedule for the next three weeks: No. 9 Penn State, No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 1 Ohio State. Though it would be asking way too much for the Wolverines to win all three, especially given their inefficient offense, one win out of those games can help Arizona out a lot. If Michigan's defense stops Ron Dayne, they stop Wisconsin. And then, of course, there's that curse over the Buckeyes.

Nebraska - Now that the Huskers are out of the picture with two losses (and aren't you loving that?), Nebraska needs to burst Kansas State's bubble Nov. 14. This way, K-State drops out of the Fiesta Bowl picture, but still wins the Big 12 Conference North Division. The winners of the South Division, No. 7 Texas A&M, could then be disposed of by the angry impostor-Wildcats, and knocked out of the top eight.

Arkansas - The Razorbacks are, amazingly, undefeated and Tennessee's likely opponent in the Southeastern Conference championship game. For Arizona's sake, it would be best if Arkansas lost a game or two. That could happen, since the Hogs and Vols go head-to-head on Nov. 14. Let's hope they split the two-game series.

Louisiana State - The Tigers had such high hopes this season, but have not lived up to their expectations. LSU does play two key road games this month: Notre Dame and Arkansas. Notre Dame must lose one more game so they miss out on the BCS, and LSU's ground attack has to do something big against the Irish.

Arizona - Of course, all this is meaningless if Arizona doesn't win its three remaining games. Games at home against Washington State and ASU, plus the road game against California, should see the Wildcats win out. As it is, somebody ahead of Arizona in the BCS poll is certain to lose, meaning Arizona moves up into the top eight. This doesn't necessarily mean Rose Bowl, but it may mean the Sugar or Orange Bowl. Then again, it could mean a Holiday Bowl matchup with Nebraska. The bottom line - go out and support the Arizona Wildcats.

Bryan Rosenbaum is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He can be reached via e-mail at Bryan.Rosenbaum@wildcat.arizona.edu.