Three Non-BCS Teams in the BCS?

I totally didn't notice this was going on, but the highest ranking ACC team in the BCS is Florida State at #15.

They just lost to Georgia Tech.

The highest ranking Big East team in the BCS is South Florida at #23.

They lost 24-10 to Cincinnati.

Now, in the BCS selection guidelines, it says this:

3. The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:


A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

At this writing, Utah ranks 10th. Boise State is up 28-0 and ranked 11th. TCU is up 14-0 and ranked 13th. Ball State is 16th.

That puts two schools inside the auto-bid top 12 range. Four in the top 16, and with FSU losing they will likely be ahead of not one but TWO BCS champs (if they win out). Now, Utah and TCU can't both go, but that would still put THREE! (3!!!) non-BCS schools in BCS games this year. Which is good or bad depending on how you look at it, but it's absolutely hilarious any way you look at it.

Now, I believe every conference champ from the BCS gets an auto-bid regardless of any other stuff. I know at at-large team has to win at least nine games, and it's possible the Big East and ACC champs won't have nine wins (Georgia Tech has eight with two or three games to go, WVU, Cincy, Pitt and UConn all have 6 left with three or four to go), but I don't think that will matter.

So, you could have three non-BCS schools and two awful BCS schools playing, and that leaves you just one auto-bid for whoever doesn't win their conference out of Alabama, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and maybe Georgia.

How interesting. . .


UPDATE: I missed a bit of wording.

No more than one such team from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference shall earn an automatic berth in any year. If two or more teams from those conferences satisfy the provisions for an automatic berth, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS Standings will receive the automatic berth, and the remaining team or teams will be in the pool of teams eligible for selection by the bowls as at-large teams.

So, nevermind. There probably won't be three teams. There is still a chance for it, though, and a decent shot at two.