TCU 21, SMU 7

TCU prevailed Saturday against SMU in a contest that was unlike the Frogs' loss to Air Force last week except for one critical area: turnovers. TCU twice fumbled away the ball within a few yards of a score. In every other way, the game was as opposite its predecessor as possible: Andy Dalton struggled; the defense played progressively better throughout the game; Marcus Jackson shone in the game's longest drive; Aaron Brown played, and except for a fumble at the Mustangs' 3 yard line, played brilliantly; the Frogs didn't give up big plays-- but lost yards consistently in 5s and 10s.

But they won, and have the Iron Skillet back in their pantry.

Colorado State comes to Fort Worth, hoping to reverse a 10-game losing streak. The Rams have never beaten Gary Patterson's Frogs.

First Quarter: MWC analysis

A few thoughts on the MWC, one quarter of the way through the season.
One everybody's tongue: Air Force. The academy opened with arguably the scariest conference, and season, stretch: Utah, BYU and TCU in the first four games. Utah and TCU have both fallen to the academy, but BYU gets the Zoomies at home. Neither of the upsets came easily-- but the Falcons boast the conference's only 3-0 record, and appear to have positioned themselves as this year's surprise contender for the title.

Quarterbacks. Simply put, the MWC is loaded under center. Max Hall and Andy Dalton have exceeded expectations as freshmen; Karsten Sween and Donovan Porterie have not lost their respective freshmen magic; Travis Dixon and Tommy Grady have burst on the scene with solid performances. Kevin O'Connell is no longer a liability in sunny San Diego; Shaun Carney and Caleb Hanie are turning in solid senior years. Who's missing from this list? Brian Johnson, at Utah. Tommy Grady's outstanding performance against UCLA might keep Johnson in rehab longer than planned, however.

Out of Conference Play: the MWC has finally turned in a solid season out of conference. Utah State (twice), Baylor, Virginia, Arizona (twice), New Mexico State, and UCLA have all suffered losses against the MWC. A few surprises: BYU couldn't outpace Tulsa in a 1,000-yard, 100-point shootout in Oklahoma; Colorado State nearly topped Colorado and California; UNLV almost stopped Wisconsin's winning streak; New Mexico, in a strange game, lost to UTEP to open the season; the conference's victor against UCLA? Not BYU, but their sorely depleted rivals up I-15-- Utah. This was Tommy Grady's breakout party, and will be talked about on The Hill for years to come.

Dangerous sleeper: well, Air Force isn't a sleeper any longer, so the award goes to New Mexico, who boasts the league's best tandem at wide receiver to date, and a QB who has excelled in getting them the ball. Marcus Smith and Travis Brown will be household names for the conference before too long. Combine them with the nationally-underappreciated ground play by Rodney Furgeson, and New Mexico might have what it takes to threaten the conference's power structure, and finally win a bowl game for Rocky Long.

Re-loaded: BYU's offense, and TCU's defense. The classes of the league, each unit, appear to have lost none of their lustre. BYU has experienced almost no dropoff from last year's incredible production, despite losing its three top playmakers. TCU's defense finally coalesced against Air Force, holding the Falcon's tricky attack to just 3 points before a bizarre 17-point finale in the game's final minutes and overtime. The Frogs' defense has had to stifle opposing teams without the aid of a productive running offense, and a litany of turnovers in the red zone. The unit has performed admirably, and will be under much less pressure to produce near shut-outs as the Frogs heal and mature on the other side of the ball.

Disappointments: some of the league's marquee matchups turned into marquee routs. Oregon State stuffed Utah to open the season, and TCU's high hopes for a best-in-Texas claim were crushed a bad second half in Austin.

Air Force 20, TCU 17

How does a team rack up 320 passing yards, throw for 15 first downs, lead almost the whole game, hold its opponent to 17 points in regulation, and lose?

TCU showed the way, turning the ball over four times in the red zone, and generating almost no running game to speak of.

Air Force showed the way, capitalizing on every Frog mistake after halftime, including blocking a field goal that would have given the Frogs the lead with less than two minutes to play.

Notwithstanding the loss, TCU has much to look forward to for the remainder of the season. Aaron Brown and Joe Turner did not play, but Tommy Blake did, and did well, as did the defense generally. Dalton was poised, consistent and productive, and made some terrific throws. The receiving corps had a stellar game, hauling in pass after pass-- Massey, Brock, Moore and Dickerson were as sharp as ever. The team has eight days to heal and prepare for SMU and then the remainder of conference play.

When the Frogs get a playmaker back in the backfield, the Wimple confidently predicts that this offense will to its potential, and win most of its remaining games. And the Fort Worth Bowl (or Armed Forces Bowl, as it's now styled) is already within his scheduled Christmas vacation. Nice.

Texas 34, TCU 13

TCU held the Longhorns scoreless for the first half of Saturday's marquee matchup, but were unable to sustain any offensive drives in the third quarter. After playings defense for more than ten minutes in the third quarter, the Frogs ran out of gas, and were routed.

The Frogs never found their running game, which surprised nobody-- UT's rush defense was one of only two that ranked higher than TCU's own last year, and the Frogs' best tailback was injured last week and unavailable for the game.

TCU faces Air Force's triple-option attack in Colorado Springs on Thursday night.

What TCU takes to (and can bring home from) Austin

The immensity of tomorrow's game in Austin is worth a few words. TCU isn't playing Texas for just a win-- that could be done with less fanfare against almost any other program in the nation. The Frogs have not circled this came on their schedule so that they could bask in the national spotlight, or re-live the glory days of the Southwest Conference.

What's possible tomorrow is both the closing of the door to a painful adolescence, and the re-opening the path to a forgotten throne. When football was young, the Frogs reigned, and purple-clad legends named Baugh, O'Brien, Aldrich, Matthews, Swink and Lilly ruled. Fort Worth's dynasty was toppled by the Longhorns in the '60s, however, and by the time the Southwest Conference dissolved, TCU was accustomed to penury.

The Frogs were ignominiously born again, as it were, in that dissolution. Being orphaned by the state's politically powerful programs in the '90s, TCU grew, and has become surprisingly strong. But, like a fatherless young man who suddenly meets his deadbeat dad only to discover that he is an heir in the kingdom, the Horned Frogs have a chance Saturday to throw off their childhood demons, and live independently, among their grandfather's peers. And all the king's men are watching to see if he will do just that.

This is a tremulous moment-- it can be a coming-of-age for the ages. The whole world is watching, so to speak, for the first time. Some of them paid brief attention when TCU beat a weakened aristocrat in the 1998 Sun Bowl. More still cocked an eye toward Fort Worth's little private school when the Frogs took a 10-game winning streak to Hattiesburg in 2003. After that game they smiled like a parent who dusts off a lost child who's scraped his knee, and sends him home where he belongs-- to the other side of the tracks. More still took a double take, and said politically correct things when the Horny Toads waylaid Oklahoma, a reigning aristocrat on a usurped throne, in 2005-- in Norman, no less. But when the Frogs were destracted by the glad words, and toppled by another scrabbling SWC orphan, the watching world turned away again.

But that world was not the same. The comfortable confines on the rich side of the tracks seemed less safe, when a TCU or a Boise State could raid with so much success among them. Next fell Texas Tech in Fort Worth, and the chattering class began to hedge their bets whenever the Frogs were on the table.

And so tomorrow, amid a torrent of carefully hedged publicity, TCU goes to battle another of college football's ruling elite- the same princely program that ousted the Frogs from their own throne generations ago. It should not surprise us that TCU has everybody's attention now. Their foe is their own grandfather's foe, figuratively speaking; the modern doyen of Texas Football, the Frogs' own crowned brother who watched with secret glee as the Frogs withered, and when finally TCU was powerless to resist, ousted them from the kingdom altogether. Since then UT has crowned itself "State Champions" when it won less games than TCU; it has received the BCS Championship Trophy with the fallacious commendation, "On behalf of the eleven BCS conferences..."; it has countenanced-- nay, spawned-- the outrageous condenscension of TCU's privileged twin in Waco; in sum, UT-- the Frogs' own brother-- has declared the Horned Frogs bastards: illegitimate, irrelevant, underprivileged, ostracized.

And tomorrow, Texas must defend its house.

From forgotten ashes in Fort Worth have risen the heirs to the house that Baugh built. The Lone Star State's very center of gravity is unsettled anew, and the reigning gods of the state cannot find comfort in their Austin tower. Their dirty deeds are shouted from the rooftops by the very syccophants who cheered them: Thy Brother Lives, and Hath Returned!

Indeed, the true giants of Texas's football history will not be forgotten, and in the awesome shadow of their descendants does all of Texas shake.

TCU v. Texas-- hype

The Dallas Morning News points out that TCU will be a much tougher win for Texas than Arkansas State was, and the Indians almost upset the 'Horns. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram agrees. One Sports Illustrated columnist even forecasts (through a crystal ball) an upset on September 8. UT's coach is on the bandwagon, saying that TCU would flourish in the Big XII, and that he ranked TCU somewhere near 10th on his post-season coaches' ballot last season. We'd believe that more if we saw it, but the final ballots are, conveniently, not public. A UT fan and writer at Pegasus News is convinced the Frogs will upset the Horns.

Sporting News, SI.com, CBSSports, The Washington Post, and CSTV all have color pieces on the game. The Sporting News has two reprises and a Q&A with Chase Ortiz; ESPN one; the Austin-American Statesman has run dozens of articles about TCU and its tilt with Texas. Here're a few. Stewart Mandel predicts Texas will win by one point.

CFN's team preview for 2007 highlights this game, as does nearly every other pre-season look at the Frogs. Top's Corner at KF.C has been replete with articles focused on September 8 since the middle of the summer. CBS Sports lists the game in its "Key Dates" script on its front page (this won't archive, but it's been posted there for months.) In short, this game is probably the most intensely scrutinized game TCU has played since Davey O'Brien was under center in the 1930s.

TCU 27, Baylor 0

In the 1100th football game TCU has ever played, the Frogs engineered a shutout of their oldest rival, evening the all-time series with the Baylor Bears at 49 wins each (with 7 ties). Red-shirt freshman Andy Dalton commanded the offense with remarkable poise, throwing 18 completions in 30 attempts (60%) for 205 yards. He worked behind a strong performance from the offensive line, and in tandem with his senior receivers. Marcus Brock caught five passes, and four other receivers had two catches, including a twisting, diving touchdown catch by senior Irvin Dickerson.

The Frog defense returned to usual form by about halftime. Baylor moved the ball with some success at first- amassing 204 yards by halftime. The Frogs upped their intensity in the second half, though, holding the Bears to only 78 yards in the third and fourth quarters. The Frogs intercepted Baylor four times.

Highlights here.

Tommy Blake did not play, but has returned to practice and is expected to start against Texas on Saturday. Aaron Brown and Sir Demarcus Bledsoe sustained injuries; Brown will likely return to play in a week or two; Bledsoe may be out longer.

The Roster is set:

FIRST TEAM

Offense

LT 70 Marshall Newhouse 6-3 317 So.
LG 64 Matty Lindner 6-4 298 Sr.
C 75 Blake Schlueter 6-3 272 Jr.
RG 65 Giles Montgomery 6-5 295 Jr.
RT 61 Marcus Cannon 6-5 319 RFr.
TE 86 Shae Reagan 6-4 261 Jr.
FB 47 William Jackson 6-0 235 Sr.
TB 23 Aaron Brown 6-1 196 Jr. 2007
QB 14 Andy Dalton 6-3 210 RFr.
WR (Z) 3 Marcus Brock 6-0 182 Sr.
WR (X) 21 Ervin Dickerson 6-1 200 Sr.
WR (H) 13 Derek Moore 6-3 177 Sr.
WR (Y) 2 Donald Massey 5-11 172 Jr.

Defense
LE 93 Chase Ortiz 6-3 255 Sr.
DT 69 Kelly Griffin 6-1 280 Fr.
NT 56 Cody Moore 6-1 292 Jr.
RE 97 Tommy Blake 6-3 252 Sr.
SLB 46 David Hawthorne 6-0 225 Sr. or 51 Robert Henson 6-1 228 Jr.
MLB 39 Jason Phillips 6-1 234 Jr.
SS 6 Brian Bonner OR 5-11 199 Sr. or 29 Stephen Hodge 6-0 212 Jr.
FS 4 Steven Coleman 6-3 204 Jr.
WS 27 David Roach 6-2 215 Sr.
LCB 20 Nick Sanders 5-10 174 So.
RCB 10 Rafael Priest 5-10 163 So.

Specialists
PK 44 Chris Manfredini 5-9 165 Sr.
KO 58 Drew Combs 6-3 225 So.
H 13 Derek Moore 6-3 177 Sr.
P 11 Derek Wash 6-4 177 Sr.
SN 54 Clint Gresham 6-3 225 So.
KR 23 Aaron Brown or 2 Donald Massey
PR 6 Brian Bonner or 3 Marcus Brock

SECOND TEAM

Offense
LT 79 Nic Richmond 6-8 298 So.
LG 60 Preston Phillips 6-6 293 Jr.
C 74 Tony Savino 6-2 277 Sr. or 76 Jake Kirkpatrick 6-3 273 RFr.
RG 73 Josh Karlin 6-4 280 So.
RT 63 Heath Raetz 6-5 315 Jr.
TE 89 Quinton Cunigan 6-3 237 Sr.
FB 36 Chris Smith 5-11 231 So.
TB 32 Justin Watts 5-10 195 Jr.
QB 11 Marcus Jackson 6-1 216 So.
WR (Z) 1 Walter Bryant 6-4 206 Jr.
WR (X) 88 Jimmy Young 6-1 200 RFr.
WR (H) 30 William Cage 6-4 202 Jr. or 6 Bart Johnson 6-1 190 RFr.
WR (Y) 85 Jeremy Kerley 5-10 185 Fr.

Defense
LE 98 Jerry Hughes 6-2 248 So.
DT 57 Cory Grant 6-2 303 RFr.
NT 90 John Fonua 5-10 270 Jr. (JUCO transfer from L.A. Valley College)
RE 42 Matt Panfil 6-2 232 Jr.
SLB 46 David Hawthorne 6-0 225 Sr. or 51 Robert Henson 6-1 228 Jr.
MLB 41 Daryl Washington 6-3 228 So.
SS 29 Stephen Hodge 6-0 212 Jr.
FS 40 Tejay Johnson 6-1 195 Fr.
WS 6 Brian Bonner 5-11 199 Sr.
LCB 9 Alex Ibiloye 6-0 170 RFr.
RCB 15 Torrey Stewart 5-11 175 Sr.

Specialists
P 38 Anson Kelton 6-4 260 Fr.

Pre-season hype for the Frogs

• ESPN predicts TCU will end the season in the top 10, and lauds the Frogs' defense.
• Kevin Sherrington focuses on many TCU players' small-town roots;
• Randy Galloway can't say enough about Tommy Blake, neither can ESPN's McShay and Ivan Maisel.
• Sports Illustrated calls TCU v. Texas one of the best 20 games to watch this season.
• MSNBC's Celizic points to TCU as a potential national-title contender and BCS headache.
• AP highlights the Frogs' BCS-busting potential.

TCU notes from the Star-Telegram

August 24 - One Armed Kicker
August 23 - Frogs Push Hard
August 22 - Dalton Interview; Vess to Practice, but not Play
August 21 - Vess Out for the Season, Blake Returns
August 20 - Frogs Have Their Man Under Center
August 19 - Blake Returning to Practice
August 18 - Panfil Makes an End Run
August 18 - Sisk Injured
August 17 - Tommy Blake's Absence
August 15 - Frogs Work from the Inside Out
August 14 - Defense on Track; Offense Coming Along
August 11 - Frogs Seeking Elite Opponents
August 10 - Defense Stout in Scrimmage
August 9 - Practice Gets Hot for Fighting Frogs
August 8 - Frogs Set for First of Two-a-Day Tests
August 7 - Newcomers are Making Impact
August 6 - School Starts Early for TCU Hopefuls
August 5 - Frogs Looking to Find Right Catch
August 4 - Offensive Guard Duo Return from Injuries
August 2 - No Controversy, but QB Question is #1

A survey of pre-season rankings

TCU comes in 17th, and is predicted to win the MWC by every listed ranking service.

CFN's weekly favorite MWC games

Week 1 - Utah at Oregon State: A battle between two of the better under-the-radar, top 25-caliber teams around, this will be Ute QB Brian Johnson’s first game back after missing all of last year with a knee injury.
Week 2 - TCU at Texas: It’s dream shot time. TCU should have the Mountain West’s best team and should roll through the rest of its schedule. Don’t laugh; a win here might start legitimate national title talk.
Week 3 - UCLA at Utah: Utah had a chance to make a statement last year in L.A. and got blasted. This year, UCLA will be among the 10-to-15 best teams in America and the Utes get the game in Salt Lake City.
Week 4 - Air Force at BYU: The best in a bad week of games, this ends the murderer’s row of Mountain West games with a trip to Utah and a battle with TCU before the date in Provo.
Week 5 - BYU at New Mexico: The Lobos can’t afford to give away home games and might need to win its opening conference game with three road trips in the following four games.
Week 6 - Utah at Louisville: A terrific Friday night showdown, the Utes will get a chance to see just how good they really are against a legitimate national title contender.
Week 7 - New Mexico at Wyoming: Air Force at Colorado State will be interesting, but the Lobos and Cowboys should put on the better show with two of the league’s best young quarterbacks, UNM’s Donovan Porterie and UW’s Karsten Sween.
Week 8 - Utah at TCU: The first installment of the Mountain West title battle trilogy between the three superpowers, Utah can’t afford a loss with its date with BYU on the road.
Week 9 - Utah at Colorado State: Will Utah be flying high or down in the dumps after the date with TCU? This ends a nasty stretch of three road games in four weeks. BYU at San Diego State has the potential to be more interesting.
Week 10 - New Mexico at TCU: BYU at Wyoming will be a good enough game to go out of your way to watch, but this could be more important as TCU’s letdown sandwich game between Utah and BYU.
Week 11 - TCU at BYU:
Each team will only have four days to prepare for the Thursday night showdown. If TCU beats Utah on October 18th, it should effectively be able to wrap up the title with a win over the Cougars.
Week 12 - New Mexico at Utah: Utah can’t be looking ahead to BYU while New Mexico could close out the year on a run with UNLV at home to finish.
Week 13 - Utah at BYU: Even if TCU has the title won, this will still be worth watching if only to hope it’s half as good as last year’s last-second thriller. This might be the nation’s best unnoticed rivalry.

Feisty's take on personnel

KF.C's FeistyFrog analyses TCU's defensive and offensive rosters.

Analyzing the '07 schedule, predicting the outcomes.

9/1 BAYLOR- the Bears will bring a hungry, but sadly under-talented, under-experienced team to Fort Worth for the season opener. Coach Patterson's game-plan will feature running, short passes, and more running, as he breaks Marcus Jackson into the starting role under center, and Andy Dalton takes his first college snaps; Coach P won't want to give anything away for Texas's scout team, either- not that anyone is sure TCU's new QBs could handle difficult plays, anyway. TCU's marquee defense will stifle Baylor; Frogs win with a low score.
9/8 at Texas- Not since Texas Tech came to town early last year has an opponent fired the competitive juices in Fort Worth like the Longhorns. TCU will turn in a tremendous defensive performance, and might pull off an upset. A Frog win would be just that, however: an upset. More likely, Colt McCoy will find just enough room to lead a balanced attack, and will win a close game. Horns win with a close, and probably low, score.
9/13 at Air Force- On four days' rest, the Frogs begin conference play at Colorado Springs, facing their second veteran quarterback of the season, Shawn Carney. Air Force's rebuilt offense won't find any traction against the Frogs' defense, however, which will have Carney on his back time and time again. Either Jackson will cement his starting role with a solid performance, or lose it to Dalton, who will have pressured Jackson in every game so far. In the first case, Frogs will easily. In the second case, Frogs win in another low scoring tilt.
9/22 SMU- As Tech learned last year, nothing motivates TCU like revenge, and the Frogs' kitchen has embarassingly been short one iron skillet for two years too many. SMU will bring a good crowd, but they'll have nothing to cheer about. TCU blasts SMU relentlessly.
9/29 COLORADO STATE- If winning generates momentum, TCU will have plenty of it by now. Sonny Lubick's Rams will come to Amon Carter Stadium for their second time, and their second slaughter in Cowtown. TCU wins in style.
10/6 at Wyoming- TCU will fly to Laramie ranked again, and Wyoming either will be ranked also, or flirting with the polls, having upset Boise State a few weeks earlier. The Frogs win this one, but barely. Jeff Ballard's toughest game as a new starter came in Wyoming; Jackson or Dalton's toughest as a newbie under center will be there, too.
10/13 at Stanford- The bottom-feeder of the PAC 10 will consider breaking its contract for a second game with TCU before this one's over; TCU will decimate the Cardinals.
10/18 UTAH- On a short week, Utah and TCU will square off in a battle to each others' strengths: the Utes will bring a national top-five offense to Fort Worth, facing the Frogs' national top-five defense. If Utah has won two or three of its non-conference games, this will be a clash of titans. The Frogs are likely to win in a close, hard-fought game.
11/3 NEW MEXICO- Like Wyoming, New Mexico may surprise in the Mountain West this year, especially after their re-tooled offense and offensive line gels. They won't be able to surprise the Horned Frogs, however, who will be well rested, and will turn in their first complete game against the a bowl team, winning by a large margin.
11/8 at Brigham Young- The Cougars are in a similar position as TCU and Utah: if they can win most of their non-conference matches, they'll garner a great deal of media attention. If BYU and TCU bring significant winning streaks to this game, the match-up may be the most anticipated game in MWC history. If the game features two unbeaten teams, then a BCS berth, and unbelieving discussion about a national title will echo from the Wasatch Front. Both teams will boast first-season, but very experienced quarterbacks, strong lines, and budding stars. Expect an emotional triumph, but don't expect a score prediction from me this far out from the contest.
11/17 UNLV- TCU wins this one easily, and Mike Sanford's seat begins to get warmer than its Las Vegas surroundings...
11/24 at San Diego State- TCU finishes the regular season with another win, although it may be more difficult to come by than last season's record-setting demolition of the Aztecs.
BOWL- TCU, if 10-2, will tie for first place in the conference, and likely play in the Armed Forced Bowl against Arizona, UCLA, or Oregon. The Frogs will win, and finish the season ranked between 14 and 21.

'07 early honors and watch-lists

Athlon lists TCU's defensive front seven the pre-season's best;
O-lineman Matty Lindner is on the Outland Trophy watchlist;
DEs Chase Ortiz and Tommy Blake are listed on the Nagurski, Hendricks, and Bednarik watchlists;
Tommy Blake is Dave Campbell's Texas Football defensive player of the year, and is on the Lott and Lombardi watchlists.
Blake, Ortiz, Brian Bonner, Jason Phillips, Matty Lindner and Chris Manfredini made DCTF's first-team all-Texas college team, and David Hawthorne made the second team. Bonner made the second special team as well.

the freshmen check in

Today is the day for freshmen to report for summer drills. Of a handful of signees whose prospective enrollment is questionable, Tekerrein Cuba, is confirmed on campus today, as well as the all-star recruit in 2007, Jerome Kerley. The presence of a highly anticipated signee for the interior of the defensive line, Braylon Broughton, has been confirmed.

Rank the '07 opponents

Two KF.C regulars rank TCU's 2007 opponents.
Lindy's views them in this order:

5 Texas, 44 BYU, 45 Utah, 65 SMU, 69 Wyoming, 72 New Mexico, 75 Baylor, 79 Stanford, 83 Colorado State, 93 Air Force, 9 San Diego State, 102 UNLV.

Like KillerFrog-in-the-Kitchen-Sink, it seems odd to the Wimple to rank SMU-- at home!-- higher than Wyoming and San Diego State. Both are road games, and in '05 when they were last road games, both teams played TCU very tough.

Sorting the MWC: Kings of the Mountain

The usual suspects will vye for supremacy in the Mountain West next season: TCU, BYU, and Utah. The Horned Frogs and Cougars both bring new quarterbacks to play behind seasoned lines (Max Hall at BYU, either Marcus Jackson or Andy Dalton at TCU). TCU returns nine starters in its leage-best defense, and will be the only one of the three to start the season ranked. Brian Johnson returns under center for the Utes, who will probably boast one of the nation's best offenses.

None of these teams play each other before Columbus Day. Utah must travel to Fort Worth and Provo. BYU hosts both TCU and Utah. Each of these games will be tremendous contests.

Utah has the toughest OOC schedule, playing Washington State, UCLA, Louisville. While the Utes can win them all, they'll more likely split them. BYU gets rising Pac-10 challengers UCLA and Arizona in its schedule, and will likely split those as well- but two wins is not out of the question. TCU faces Texas in early September- a win in Austin would be a memorable upset.

Most likely these three conference giants will all end up 10-2 or so. However, if any one of them has only one loss, they may win a BCS berth. If any one of them goes undefeated, a BCS bowl is certain.