FSU Still Has BCS Hopes
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – When the bowl season rolls around in college football, Florida State fans may be angry at West Virginia University, even though the two schools didn't play each other this season.
Florida State is ranked 14th in the initial Bowl Championship Series rankings thanks in large part to a loss to North Carolina State. But, even with a loss, a team can sometimes creep back up the rankings to become a player on the national championship scene.
That's not likely to happen with the Seminoles.
West Virginia cancelled a home-and-home set of games with Florida State before the season, leaving the Seminoles hard-pressed to find an opponent on short-notice. FSU already had one game scheduled against a Football Championship Subdivision team, but had to schedule a second when WVU backed out.
The pair of games against lower-division teams plays a two-fold part in the Seminoles' bowl plans.
First, the Seminoles have to win seven games instead of the typical six games needed to become bowl-eligible. Second, the Seminoles' strength-of-schedule takes a major hit in the eyes of the poll voters.
Add in the fact that Florida State has just one victory over a team with a winning record, a 49-37 victory over Clemson, and the Noles' BCS championship hopes are quite dim. But, that doesn't mean the Seminoles are out of the BCS.
If Florida State can win the Atlantic Coast Conference, it will earn an automatic bid to play in the Orange Bowl in Miami. While it wouldn't be the Miami-based game the Seminoles were hoping for, it would still carry the big pay day the BCS brings with it.
