[Husker] So were we this bad after the A&M game ?

[Mike Nolan]

> Right now Mark Schlabach and Brad Edwards at ESPN are both predicting that 
> Notre Dame will go to the Rose Bowl to play Nebraska:

Not all that long ago one of them was predicting the Huskers
against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.  

They have to be assuming that there will be no other Pac-12 team in the 
top 14.  As I understand it, the Rose Bowl is morally if not 
contractually obligated to take a Pac-12 team if the Pac-12 champion 
goes to the NC game and there is another Pac-12 team in the top 14.

At the moment, Stanford is #13, Oregon State #16, UCLA #17 and
USC #18.

USC already has 3 losses and has to play UCLA and Notre Dame,   
UCLA (USC and Stanford remaining), Stanford (Oregon and UCLA remaining) 
and Oregon State (Cal, Oregon and Nicholls State remaining) all have 2 losses, 

If Stanford loses ugly to Oregon on Saturday, that probably drops
them out of the top 14.  Stanford also has to play UCLA, so
that game will likely knock the loser out of the top 14, at
least temporarily.

The loser of the USC-UCLA game probably drops out of the running,
I think the winner will go on to the Pac-12 championship game.

If Notre Dame beats USC in two weeks, that also probably knocks 
USC out of the running.

Oregon State still has to play Oregon.  But if there's a way for
Oregon State to get to the title game on Nov 30th, what happens
to their Nicholls State game on Decmber 1st.

All of this is predicated on Oregon remaining undefeated, with games
remaining against Stanford, Oregon State and the winner of the
USC-UCLA game in the Pac-12 Championship Game, that's not
guaranteed, but seems likely to me.

If USC defeats UCLA and Notre Dame but loses to Oregon,
would a 4-loss team still be in the top 14?  I think it's possible.
--
Mike Nolan