So... without further ado... my updated bowl game projections for games played through November 8, 2008.

Click here for the complete 2008-2009 College Football Bowl Game Schedule

New Mexico Bowl - San Jose State vs Colorado State

St. Petersburg Bowl - South Florida vs Houston

Pioneer Las Vegas - TCU vs Oregon

Eagle Bank Bowl - Virginia vs Navy

R+L Carriers New Orleans - Memphis vs Troy

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia - BYU vs Nevada

Sheraton Hawaii - Hawaii vs Stanford

Motor City - Central Michigan vs Illinois

Meineke Car Care - Cincinnati vs Maryland

Champs Sports - Virginia Tech vs Wisconsin

Emerald - Arizona vs Miami

Independence - Akron vs Florida International

PapaJohns.com - West Virginia vs. Florida Atlantic

Valero Alamo - Minnesota vs. Oklahoma State

Roady's Humanitarian - Boise State vs Boston College

Texas - Rutgers vs. Louisiana Tech

Pacific Life Holiday - Cal vs. Missouri

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces - Air Force vs Rice

Brut Sun - Oregon State vs. Nebraska

Gaylord Hotels Music City - Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky

Insight - Kansas vs. Northwestern

Chick-fil-A - Ole Miss vs North Carolina

Outback - Iowa vs South Carolina

Capital One - Georgia vs. Michigan State

Konica Minolta Gator - Wake Forest vs Notre Dame

AT&T Cotton - Oklahoma vs LSU

AutoZone Liberty - Tulsa vs. Vanderbilt

International - Connecticut vs. Western Michigan

GMAC - East Carolina vs. Ball State

Rose Bowl - Penn State vs. USC

FedEx Orange - Florida State vs. Utah

Allstate Sugar - Alabama vs. Pittsburgh

Tostitos Fiesta - Texas vs. Ohio State

BCS National Championship Game - Texas Tech vs. Florida

Bowl Eligible Teams through 11-8-2008

ACC - 8 teams eligible
FSU, Wake Forest, Maryland, Boston College, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Miami, Georgia Tech

Big 12 - 7 teams eligible
Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Big East - 5 teams eligible
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Connecticut, West Virginia, South Florida

Big 10 -6 teams eligible
Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa

Conference USA - 3 teams eligible
East Carolina, Tulsa, Rice

Independents - 1 team eligible
Navy

MAC - 3 teams eligible
Ball State, Central Michigan, Western Michigan

MWC - 4 teams eligible
BYU, Utah, TCU, Air Force

Pac10 - 5 teams eligible
USC, Arizona, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State

SEC - 6 teams eligible
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, LSU

Sun Belt - 1 team eligible
Troy

WAC - 2 teams eligible
Boise State, San Jose State

For a complete list of bowl game matchups by conference, dates, times, and television coverage, check our 2008 bowl game schedule.

The Graduation Success Rate measures how many players earned a four-year degree within a six-year window, accounting for both transfers into the footabll program as well as transfers out of the football program.

So how do the BCS schools stack up against one another? I'm glad you asked.

2008 NCAA Graduation Success Rate for BCS Football Programs

1. Notre Dame 94%
2. Stanford 93
T3. BC 92
T3. Duke 92
T3. Northwestern 92
6. Vanderbilt 91
7. Wake Forest 83
8. Texas Tech 79
T9. Baylor 78
T9. Nebraska 78
T9. UNC 78
T9. Penn State 78
T13. UConn 77
T13. Indiana 77
T15. Colorado 75
T15. Iowa 75
T15. Syracuse 75
T15. Virginia Tech 75
19. Cincinnati 73
T20. Illinois 70
T20. Michigan 70
T20. Miami 70
T20. Rutgers 70
24. Florida State 69
T25. Clemson 68
T25. Florida 68
T25. Maryland 68
T25. Wash State 68
.........................................
T29. Kansas State 67
T29. Pitt 67
31. Virginia 66
T32. South Carolina 65
T32. Washington 65
T34. Oregon State 64
T34. Ole Miss 63
T34. Miss State 63
T34. Purdue 63
T34. West Virginia 63
T34. Wisconsin 63
T40. Okla State 62
T40. UCLA 62
42. Arizona State 60
T43. N.C. State 59
T43. Missouri 59
45. Louisville 58
46. Auburn 57
T47. Kentucky 56
T47. Texas A&M 56
T47. South Florida 56
T50. Alabama 55
T50. Iowa State 55
T52. LSU 54
T52. Tennessee 54
T52. USC 54
T55. Cal 53
T55. Oregon 53
T55. Kansas 53
58. Ohio State 52
T58. Arkansas 52
T60. Minnesota 51
T60. Michigan State 51
62. Texas 50
T63. Georgia 48
T63. Georgia Tech 48
65. Oklahoma 46
66. Arizona 41

I wasn't surprised to see some of the finest academic institutions grabbing the top spots, but I was SHOCKED to see Texas Tech at #8. Kudos to the Red Raiders!

The average GSR scores of the six BCS conferences:

1. ACC........72.3
2. Big East...67.4
3. Big Ten....66
4. Big 12.....63.2
5. Pac-10.....61.3
6. SEC.........60.5

For all the blustering about the Pac10's high academic standards, I would have expected one of those standards to be.... graduation.

The following are updated through October 27, 2008:

1 BIG 12 (78.18)
2 BIG TEN (77.24)
3 ATLANTIC COAST (76.97)
4 SOUTHEASTERN (76.54)
5 PAC-10 (74.33)
6 BIG EAST (73.44)
7 MOUNTAIN WEST (70.27)
8 I-A INDEPENDENTS (67.33)
9 WESTERN ATHLETIC (65.57)
10 MID-AMERICAN (65.18)
11 CONFERENCE USA (63.31)
12 SUN BELT (61.11)

A find a couple facets of the current rankings rather fascinating:

- The SEC is the fourth best conference, top-to-bottom? Seriously? The SEC is 20-7 out-of-conference against DI-A teams this year. Granted, three of those seven losses are to the ACC, but... the ACC returned the favor in losing three to the SEC. Sagarin has three SEC teams in his top ten, but the ACC gets the slight nod when you contrast the middle and bottom of each conference, which makes sense when you consider that there are... like... forty-seven teams tied for first in the ACC.

- Is another non-BCS blowout in the offing? Cinderella teams from the WAC (Boise State), Mountain West (Utah, TCU), MAC (Ball State), and C-USA (Tulsa) are all looking to qualify into a BCS bowl this year. Sagarin's ratings would seem to indicate that their resumes might be lacking if and when they get to the big stage.

- The BCS conferences are head-and-shoulders above the non-BCS conferences. The separation between the Big East and Mountain West is statically significant, and I don't think we've seen any rankings that dispute that designation in the last four years.

Here's the unofficial BCS rankings, as per BCSGuru.com.

Unofficial BCS Rankings

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma
5. Oklahoma State*
6. USC*
7. Texas Tech*
8. Utah**
9. Georgia**
10. Florida**
11. Ohio State
12. Boise State
13. LSU
14. South Florida
15. TCU

Note: Sam cautions that the two clusters of teams (those with one asterisk and then those with two) may be so closely ranked that the exact positions may fluctuate. In other words, the any of the one asterisk teams could be number five, six or seven)

As you can see, this is going to be VERY interesting poll, with three non-BCS conference teams in the initial top 15. Of course, TCU plays Utah later this year, so one of those two will drop out of contention for an automatic qualifier spot. But, as it stands today, at least one non-BCS conference team would be an automatic qualifier.

Remember, only one non-BCS conference team can be an "automatic qualifier", by virtue of being ranked in the top twelve in the BCS or being ranked higher than a BCS conference champion - such as the ACC or Big East in this unofficial poll. After the first non-BCS team is in, then the selection process is not required to select another non-BCS team.

Another important note of distinction, it would appear that Texas & Alabama control their own destiny. While SEC & Big XII fans have lamented having to play a championship game in the past, the conference championship games appear as if they will give both the Longhorns and the Crimson Tide one final chance to lock up a BCS berth. In other words, it is very possible that Penn State can win all of it's games and still not make it to the BCS National Championship game.

One fun trivia note - of the twenty #1 & #2 teams in the past ten initial BCS polls, statistically at least one of the two has appeared in every National Championship game (10 appearances).

Note: Ben Prather will be posting the official BCS rankings tonight in its own separate thread. Enjoy!

Are the Fighting Irish BCS-bound?

North Carolina will finish no worse than 9-3.

Has the Pac10 missed the boat on expansion?

Arizona (ARIZONA?!?!?!?!) sits atop the Pac10, but the real test lies ahead.

The Razorbacks lack the heart they had when HDN was on the sidelines.

Georgia had better be ready for Tennessee.

Your next SEC East Champs? Vandy.

Where does Auburn turn now that they have lost to Vandy? Maybe it's time for a trip to Cracker Barrel.

The Heisman may come down to an Oklahoma - Missouri matchup. (And if it does, put me in the Bradford camp.)

It's Texas - OU week, and both teams are ranked in the top five. Historically, that has not been a good sign for the Longhorns.

Rumors are spreading at Penn State after JoPa spent another game in the press box and appeared to have trouble with his balance in his press conference. Showing up in unmatched shoes didn't help his case, either.

FSU has three sophomores and two true freshman starting on the offensive line - and they won the game for the Noles against Miami.

Finally, Army no longer holds the nation's longest losing streak.

Bennett's argument is that conferences (in general) are better off when there is not a single dominating team (or two) at the top. With WVU falling back to the pack, the Big East will be more competitive and offer up new opportunities within the conference.

Still, another Mountaineers championship might just reinforce the notion that the conference has one great program and a bunch of stiffs. Long term, the Big East would be better off if someone like South Florida, Connecticut or Cincinnati goes to the BCS this year. That team could then build off the exposure and experience to gain stature. (Assuming, of course, it plays well in the bowl game. I don't think Pittsburgh got much of a bump from losing 35-7 to Utah in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl).

Leagues are healthier when they have more giants. Look at the Big Ten, which was ridiculed as the Big Two in recent years because Ohio State and Michigan were so much better than everyone else. Or see the Pac-10 this year, which appears to be USC and a bunch of ugly ducklings.

Add in the fact that some of the Big East programs are young (South Florida, UConn) or haven't done much in decades (Cincinnati, Rutgers). For half the league teams, a BCS game would stand as the biggest moment in their football history.

Having West Virginia regroup and win the league won't hurt the Big East. But having someone else finish on top might help the conference much more.

While it's a fair argument to say that if WVU falls then another Big East team will win the conference (duh), I'm not as certain that conferences fair better when there is no one dominant team. Sure UConn would love to represent in a BCS bowl, but does that mean the Big East is *stronger*? I'm not sold.

For example, when the ACC was FSU and the nine ducklings in the 90s... any team that rose up and bit the big dog got instant street cred nationwide. Virginia knocked off FSU and ended up in the Top 25, despite a rather lackluster season otherwise. Ditto for NC State in the late 90s. But those events happened in the vacuum of the Noles owning the national stage. Those same wins in 2007 would not have meant anything, because of the diminished reputation of FSU and -- in turn -- the gradual fall of the ACC.

If you look at the SEC as being more top heavy with 5+ top twenty teams per year, then perhaps you can conclude that the lack of a single dominant team is the reason. However, you only have to go back to Auburn's undefeated season to see how quickly poll voters can mitigate a conference that lacks a single stud-horse.

Maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't think the fall of WVU (if that's what this season represents) is good for the Big East. I still believe the more beasts you have, the better off you are as a conference.

What say you??

The results were determined by evaluating each team's regular-season, nonconference schedule against BCS opponents from the time the BCS was formed (1998) through 2007. Since teams don't get to chose their bowl opponents, those games are excluded.

1. Florida State 70.3%

No. of nonconf. gms.	Rec. vs. BCS	Rec. vs. I-A non-BCS	Rec. vs. I-AA	Pct. of gms. vs. BCS
37	16-10 (.615)	9-1 (.900)	1-0 (1.000)	.703

The Seminoles have begun playing softer nonconference schedules in recent seasons, including -- gasp! -- Division I-AA Citadel in 2005. Nevertheless, over the past decade, no other program has been willing to play the big boys more often out of conference. Of course, Florida State's annual matchup against Miami became conference fare when the Hurricanes joined the ACC in 2004. Notably, FSU is 5-5 in its past 10 meetings with rival Florida, but 0-4 since 2004. We wonder whether Bobby Bowden's crew, coming off back-to-back 7-6 seasons, will continue to scale back schedule difficulty in the coming years. The Seminoles will play more I-AA teams (two) in 2008 than they did in the previous 12 years combined (one).

2. USC 64.9%
3. Georgia Tech 57.1%

< Click here for teams 4-8 >

9. Clemson , Duke , Penn State , Stanford , Syracuse , Virginia 50%

No surprise at the top, really. FSU lived the "any one, anywhere, any time" mantra for the better part of the last two decades.

What is surprising to me is just how dominant the ACC is in the list. Of the top 14 teams, 7 are from the ACC. The Big10 and Pac10 both check in with three teams each. The Big East checks in with one team. How many from the SEC? Try zero. How many from the Big 12? Nada. What's up with that? Look I'm not saying the ACC is better - it clearly isn't this year and hasn't been for several seasons.

But... when it comes to strapping it on against anybody, the ACC leads the pack.

The Indy Star contacted FBS schools in an attempt to determine what percentage of football players (and scholarship atheletes, in general) were admitted despite falling below a university's minimum academic standards.

The results? Shocking.

At Cal, 95% of the football players admitted during the 2004-2005 year were special admissions. Georgia ('99-'00) and Texas A&M ('04-'05) both had 94% special admissions. On the opposite end of the spectrum, sixteen of the fifty-five responding schools -- including several of the nation's elite football schools -- did not have any special admits at all (Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Purdue, Texas Tech, Connecticut, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Ohio State).

Here's a rundown of the schools with special admits that did comply with the request:

Alabama - 21%
Arizona - 33%
Auburn - 12%
Cal - 95%
Floirda - 18%
Florida State - 65%
Georgia - 94%
Georgia Tech - 9%
Indiana - 42%
Iowa - 41%
Iowa State - 21%
Kentucky - 64%
LSU - 82%
Louisville - 38%
Missouri - 61%
NC State - 25%
Oklahoma - 81%
Texas A&M - 94%
Washington - 48%
Washington State - 60%
West Virginia - 23%

Schools with zero special admissions reported in the football department:
Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Purdue, Texas Tech, Connecticut, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Ohio State

I'm impressed that some of the higher ranked academic schools aren't taking any special admits. That's impressive. Then again, there's a time and place for special admits. All, college is about lifting people up right? I don't know where you draw the line, but 95% special admits is insane.

Since the official components of the BCS poll are not available, BCS Guru has substitited the AP Poll rankings for the Harris Poll results, and used a median of 23 football computer polls to substitute for those computer polls which have not been published. With the 2/3 of the data available and the measured correlation between the rankings, the error between his estimate and the actual rankings should be less than .03 BCS points.

1. USC 0.8872

2. Florida 0.8138
3. Georgia 0.8073
4. Olahoma 0.7885

5. Ohio State 0.6847
6. LSU 0.6844

AQ conference leaders include:
19. South Florida
21. Wake Forest

For those watching for Cinderella, there are four in the top 25.
16. East Carolina
17. BYU
20. Utah
23. Fresno State

Check out the full results and the backstory over at BCS Guru!

The story of the season so far is the performance of non-BCS teams. In this week's standings, four teams from three different non-BCS conferences made the top 25. Conference USA's East Carolina, the leading BCS Buster candidate at the moment, is the highest ranked at No. 16. The Pirates' ranking is in fact hurt by their ridiculously low placement in the coaches poll (No. 20) even after their thumping of then-No. 8 West Virginia.

At the very least they are the most impressive team from a BCS non-AQ conference. BYU will likely not move very much after barely beating Washington. Fresno State took the week off after a win over Rutgers to get ready for Wisconsin. Utah might move up a little with the 21 point conference win due mostly to attrition. East Carolina looks better than all of these teams have looked last night. If BYU is the #15 team East Carolina deserves at least that, if not a top 10 seed. Indeed, I would not be surprised to find a computer somewhere that has them #1. (I mean I found one that had Utah #3 last week. There are many to choose from.)

And the hardest part of their schedule is behind them. North Carolina State and Virginia are the only non conference teams left and neither should be like what they faced in the first two weeks. The toughest game they have left may very well be at UCF. The only team left to play that looks able to beat them is themselves.

There will be at least 4 BCS non-AQ teams in the top 25, at least 3 in the top 20 and at least one will be in the top 14. Combined with another difficult outing for the ACC and Big East and it is another good week for the little guys.

East Carolina has earned the focus of the BCS buster spot light.

1. USC
2. Ohio State
3. Florida
4. Georgia
5. LSU

50. Central Florida

Since the official components of the BCS poll are not available, BCS Guru has substitited the AP Poll rankings for the Harris Poll results, and used a median of 23 football computer polls to substitute for those computer polls which have not been published. All in all, it's an outcome that would likely be remarkable similar to the actual poll, were it available.

For those watching for Cinderella, look no further than #15 BYU. The Cougars get more love from the computers than the human polls, which could indicate some room for BYU to move up closer to the BCS top ten if they can impress more voters in advance of the first official results. Utah (#20) and Fresno State (#24) finish out the top twenty-five for the non-BCS teams.

Check out the full results and the backstory over at BCS Guru!

Utah and Fresno State put up impressive wins but several people expected these to be close. I called these games. I was not bold enough to call Bowling Green, but did question it. I must admit I missed on Memphis and Miami (OH).

No one expected Arkansas State or Louisiana Tech to win. They don't get this spot because Texas A&M and Mississippi State are not expected to be in the running for a BCS Bowl. These may be greater upsets but they do not put these teams in the BCS radar just yet.

The win by a non BCS team over the best opponent goes to East Carolina. Fresno State prides themselves on though scheduling but East Carolina has outdone even them. East Carolina has West Virginia next week. A win here and no non BCS team can catch them.

East Carolina is the hottest non BCS team in the nation right now. The Big East (and ACC) took some serious losses this week. East Carolina has the opportunity to drive the nails in the Big East's coffin for this year. What would that do to conference expansion conversations?

Here are the 15 must-have internet resources to prepare you for the 2008 college football season:

Every Season Preview - Check out the outstanding paperless preview project with almost every online preview for each and every FBS team - all 120 of 'em!

Injuries - Check College Injury Report for the latest injury reports for your team and your opponents.

Statistics - From the official NCAA statistics to past seasons stats to offical football records to the team history database... we want it, you got it.

Gear - Check out the NCAA Fan Store at Amazon for all the hats, shirts, and tail gating gear your could ever want. (And if you want the best portable grill out there, check this out. Just got this one this summer and it's fantastic! Plus free 2 day delivery if you enroll in Amazon Prime!)

BCS Polls - BCS Poll, Harris Poll, Coaches Poll, Computers (Jeff Sagarin, Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Dr. Peter Wolfe) and FCS Top 25 Poll.

Get Online with Fans - Check out a free 7-day subscription to Rivals.com. If you join directly on your team's page, you'll get premium access to your private team message boards.

Team Spirit - Digital team logos, animated team flags, and online fight songs (here and here).

Taunt-ology - Need a joke about your rivals? Check out RivalJokes.

Gamers - Get your copy of EA NCAA Football 2009 and play your team's season. Or simulate games to find your opponents strengths/weaknesses.

Away Games - Check out hotels, restaurants, and tailgating spots for any stadium with MapGameDay or check out video reviews from stadiums across the country. And know before you go, here's the weather forecasts for all college football games.

Bowls - The 2008-2009 college football bowl schedule, complete with TV listings

Helmet-ology - Check out the Helmet Project for a list of all the new helmets in the 2008 season.

Schedules - 2008 college football schedules for all 120 FBS teams and the FBS teams (plus future year schedules) and the ultimate football helmet schedule resource.

Television Guides - The ultimate college football television guide listings, plus ESPN GamePlan schedules, and HD broadcasts.

Fanblogs to Go - Take Fanblogs with you by following us at Twitter, FriendFeed, and RSS feeds. Or... listen to Fanblogs on your iPhone or on the web!

Surprise #1? Ten of the top 14 travel distances belong to BCS teams.
Surprise #2? Nineteen of the bottom 22 are BCS teams.

Note: These are DRIVING DISTANCES, so Hawaii is not included.
Note: Because there is no bridge to Hawaii. Seriously.

Which college football teams travel the most miles for games in 2008?

1. Fresno State 18,190 miles
2. UTEP 15,016
3. Florida International 14,692
4. Florida Atlantic 14,534
5. Louisiana Tech 13,648
6. Notre Dame 13,348
7. Oregon State 13,278
8. San Diego State 13,134
9. Stanford 12,984
10. Idaho 12,798

Again, no big surprise that the most geographically diverse conferences are leading the top spots. After all, the longest roundtrip for a WAC conference game is 4,348 miles. (Idaho at Louisiana Tech)

The one standout is Notre Dame. The Irish go from sea to shining sea with games at Washington, at Boston College, and at USC.

I know what you're thinking and the answer is YES - college football players can accrue frequent flier miles for their travel. (NCAA Bylaws § 16.12.1.11(b))

Which college football teams travel the fewest miles for games in 2008?

110. Virginia 3,060 miles
111. Nebraska 3,050
112. Mississippi State 3,036
113. Indiana 3,018
114. Duke 2,922
115. Miami (Ohio) 2,874
116. Central Michigan 2,599
117. Ball State 2,464
118. Purdue 2,280
119. N.C. State 1,734

Again, it's not that shocking that the least geographically diverse conferences primarily make up the bottom of the list. The Pack play two games (@ UNC and @ Duke) where the total roundtrip is less than 100 miles... combined! I don't know that it's right to "criticize" the Wolfpack for After all, NC State was ranked as the #60 most difficult pre-season schedule. The fact that they never cross more than one state line when traveling... bonus.

Which BCS teams lead their conference in miles traveled for games in 2008?

Pac10 - Oregon State (7th) 13,278
ACC - Miami (21st) 9,952
Big XII - Colorado (22nd) 9,166
Big East - South Florida (42nd) 7,462
Big 10 - Ohio State (46th) 7,364
SEC - Georgia (47th) 7,264

Check out the whole thing over at Rivals. There's some interesting details on the longest & shortest road trips as well as the complete list of how many miles each team travels this year.