Mizzou best bet to help Kansas

By Ryan Wood     Dec 1, 2007

For the sake of comfort, Kansas University’s football fans are going to have do something quite uncomfortable today.

Root for Missouri.

It’s an awful solution for some. But in many ways, rooting for the Jayhawks today directly coincides with rooting for the Tigers.

So grin and bear it.

A Missouri victory against Oklahoma in today’s Big 12 championship game (7 p.m. on ABC) paves the Jayhawks’ clearest path to getting a prestigious BCS bowl invitation extended to them Sunday. If the Tigers win, they will go to the BCS National Championship Game, and Kansas probably will be picked by the Fiesta Bowl.

If Oklahoma wins? It becomes a maze rather than a straight shot, although the Jayhawks (11-1) still could wind up in the Fiesta.

To have a drama-less Sunday, Kansas needs Missouri to win. Period.

There are other games around college football that could have an impact on KU’s bowl destination, though none quite as direct as No. 1 Missouri vs. No. 9 Oklahoma.

Here are a look at a few others (with BCS rankings ahead of the team names):

¢ Arizona at No. 13 Arizona State (7 p.m., ESPN2): Kansas fans should root hard for Arizona, a seven-point underdog. A loss by Arizona State would drop the Sun Devils to 9-3 and possibly knock them out of the top 14 of the BCS standings, making them ineligible to be picked. If that happens, it’s one less obstacle in KU’s way.

¢ UCLA at No. 8 Southern Cal (3:30 p.m., ABC): KU fans should root for the Trojans, who are 20-point favorites over UCLA. If the Trojans win, they take the Pac-10 title and go to the Rose Bowl. If the Trojans lose, they might stay in the top 14 and become an at-large candidate while Arizona State goes to the Rose Bowl. That’s a battle Kansas doesn’t want.

¢ Washington at No. 12 Hawaii (10:30 p.m., ESPN2): Hawaii is a 14-point favorite, and a victory likely would give them an automatic berth in the BCS. A Washington victory would knock Hawaii out of the BCS picture completely, and opens up one more possibility for the Jayhawks.

¢ Pittsburgh at No. 2 West Virginia (6:45 p.m., ESPN): The Mountaineers are 28-point favorites, and a win would qualify them for the BCS National Championship Game. A loss, and they would need to go somewhere else in the BCS, as they already have the Big East title wrapped up. This doesn’t eliminate competition for Kansas as much as it just shuffles it around.

Other games across today’s schedule – like LSU vs. Tennessee or Virginia Tech vs. Boston College – could have an indirect influence, though not a major one.

If Oklahoma defeats Missouri, the Sooners will get an automatic berth in the Fiesta Bowl, and things get hairy for Kansas. The Jayhawks still could go to the Fiesta to play Oklahoma, though other BCS bowls picking teams before the Fiesta could disrupt that possibility.

If Kansas is left out of the BCS picture, either the Cotton Bowl (Jan. 1 in Dallas), the Holiday Bowl (Dec. 27 in San Diego) or the Gator Bowl (Jan. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla.) will take the Jayhawks.

It’s a nice consolation prize. But for KU fans to have any sort of confidence in getting the best possible bid after tonight’s games, one team’s landmark victory today can help make it happen: The Missouri Tigers.

To some fans, it will be like swallowing cough syrup: Awful going down, but beneficial in the long run.

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