Notre Dame, Stony Brook among big winners

WINNERS

Notre Dame (12-0): This is a no-brainer. The Fighting Irish will be playing for the National Championship in Miami on January 7. It’s a win for Brian Kelly, because he’s the coach. It’s a win for the program, because you can all but put to rest the talk of Notre Dame football joining a conference. Remember that? Is Notre Dame irrelevant, can they compete with the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, etc… The answer to that is a resounding yes!!

Alabama (11-1, 7-1 SEC), Georgia (11-1, 7-1): Also a no-brainer because the winner of the SEC championship game will face Notre Dame for the National Championship. It also proves the SEC is still the king of the college football jungle.

Florida State (10-2, 7-1 ACC): It turns out Jimbo Fisher was worth the wait. The Seminoles will play Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game on Saturday. The winner goes to the Orange Bowl. Ok, everything that glitters isn’t gold for the Seminoles, who lost to Florida, 37-26, on Saturday.

Kansas State (10-1, 7-1 Big 12): Wildacts coach Bill Snyder man of the year? You better believe it. Snyder took over a program that was dead in the water under Ron Prince in 2009. Four years later the Wildcats will be representing the Big 12 in a BCS bowl.

Stony Brook (10-2): Kudos to the Seawolves for their 20-10 win over Villanova in a FCS first-round playoff game. Stony Brook plays at Montana State in a second-round game on December 1.

Syracuse (7-5, 5-2 Big East): Kudos to the Orange for being bowl eligible for the second time in nine years. Doug Marrone has the program headed in the right direction.

Kent State (11-1, 8-0 MAC), Northern Illinois (11-1, 8-0 MAC): These two teams deserve mention for finishing up 11-1. Imagine if both could’ve went undefeated during the regular season.

LOSERS

Florida (11-1, 7-1 SEC): The Gators had a great regular season and topped it off with a 37-26 win at Florida State. Unfortunately, the Gators will have to settle for an at-large BCS bid and no shot at the national title. With no games left, there’s no way the Gators can jump either Alabama or Georgia.

Ohio State (12-0, 8-0 Big Ten): An undefeated season and nothing to show for it. The Buckeyes were punished by the sins of their forefathers.

Oregon (11-1, 8-1 PAC-12): The Ducks won at Oregon State, but like Florida, they’ll be shut out of the national title game. Oregon needed UCLA to beat Stanford to get to the PAC-12 championship game. No dice. Stanford crushed the Bruins, who they will meet in the PAC-12 title game.

INCOMPLETE

Rutgers (9-2, 5-1 Big East): Rutgers had a golden opportunity to capture its first Big East championship and BCS bowl berth, but the Scarlet Knights laid an egg in a 27-6 loss to Pittsburgh. But they still have a shot at the Big East title. All they have to do is beat Louisville in Piscataway on Thursday night. If they can’t win that one, it will be another missed opportunity.

BCS STANDINGS

1. Notre Dame (12-0) .9979

2. Alabama (11-1) .9236

3. Georgia (11-1) .8911

4. Florida (11-1) .8882

5. Oregon (11-1) .8626

6. Kansas State (10-1) .7735

7. LSU (10-2) .7357

8. Stanford (10-2) .7299

9. Texas A&M (10-2) .6861

10. South Carolina (10-2) .6689

11. Oklahoma (9-2) .6129

12. Nebraska (10-2) .5393

13. Florida State (10-2) .4645

14. Clemson (10-2) .4570

15. Oregon State (8-3) .3790

16. UCLA (9-3) .3304

17. Kent State (11-1) .2512

18. Texas (8-3) .2492

19. Michigan (8-4) .2094

20. Boise State (9-2) .2030

21. Northern Illinois (11-1) .1936

22. Northwestern (9-3) .1865

23. Oklahoma State (7-4) .1646

24. Utah State (10-2) .1171

25. San Jose State (10-2) .0974