West Virginia roots for Connecticut to deliver a BCS bid

Two Bowl Championship Series bids have been locked up in the Big Ten and Pac-10, and the Big East could be next with West Virginia in position to clinch the league title this weekend.

The 12th-ranked Mountaineers (9-1, 6-0) beat Pittsburgh 45-13 on Thanksgiving night. Quarterback Pat White ran for 220 yards on 23 carries while setting the Big East single-game rushing record for a quarterback.

With the victory in swirling snow flurries and a 7-degree wind chill, West Virginia clinched at least a tie for the Big East title and avenged a 16-13 loss to Pitt last year in the Backyard Brawl.

A loss by South Florida today at Connecticut would put the Mountaineers in the BCS for the first time.

If the Bulls win, it sets up a conference-deciding game on Dec. 3, when West Virginia visits South Florida.

Penn State (Big Ten) and Southern California (Pac-10) earned their BCS spots last week.

The Southeastern Conference title game is set and the Atlantic Coast Conference title game could be set today.

No. 3 LSU beat Arkansas 19-17 in Baton Rouge, La., Friday to lock up the SEC West and will face Georgia in the conference title game next week.

No. 5 Virginia Tech got some help last week when Georgia Tech upset Miami, so the Hokies can win the Coastal Division by beating North Carolina today.

If the Hokies lose, Miami can slip back into the title game – to face Florida State on Dec. 3 in Jacksonville, Fla. – by beating Virginia in the Orange Bowl today.

The Texas Longhorns are one victory away from playing in the Rose Bowl for the national title. They beat Texas A&M 40-29 on Friday in College Station and head to Houston to play the Big 12 championship against Iowa State or Colorado on Dec. 3.

Notre Dame is playing for big money and a trip to the Bowl Championship Series.

No offense to the Insight or Gator bowls, but the Fighting Irish hope to have more appealing travel plans for the holidays.

And getting by Stanford today certainly seems like a simple enough task considering Walt Harris’ consistently inconsistent squad is coming off an embarrassing 27-3 home loss to archrival California in last week’s Big Game.

No. 6 Notre Dame is seeking its first BCS berth since 2000 and the hefty payout that comes with it.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it,” said quarterback Brady Quinn.”

Starting next year, there won’t be the same kind of financial pressure on the Irish players. The school will be guaranteed a projected $1.3 million from the BCS and would only receive about $4.5 million if Notre Dame makes one of the marquee bowls, compared to at least $14 million the team could make this year.

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