NEW YORK — Iowa and Penn State ended their seasons eligible for an at-large BCS bid, and Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech are also in position to be eligible for invites to the four big-money bowl games even though they have no shot to win their conferences.
The top seven teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings released Sunday were unchanged from last week, with Florida, Alabama and Texas still in control of the national championship race.
Barring any major upsets over the next two weeks, the winner of the Florida-Alabama Southeastern Conference title game will face Texas in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
With fourth-place TCU a victory away from securing an automatic BCS bid and the loser of Florida-Alabama essentially a lock to be selected, only two at-large berths would remain.
To be eligible for an at-large BCS bid, a team must finish 14th or better in the final standings, which are released Dec. 6.
Iowa is 11th after completing its regular season Saturday with a 10-2 record, while Big Ten counterpart Penn State is 13th after also finishing 10-2.
The Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions will likely be vying for an at-large bid with sixth-place Boise State, which is two victories away from a 13-0 regular season but would be unable to gain an automatic bid if it finishes behind TCU.
ESPN.com
11/16/9
