The Boise State football team — incredibly — is back in the hunt for a lucrative Bowl Championship Series berth.
The seven teams ranked immediately in front of the No. 22 Broncos in the BCS Standings lost during this past week. Boise State might not jump all of them, but they are set to make a major move when the latest standings are released Sunday (6:30 p.m., ESPN).
The Broncos (9-2), who were idle this week, can earn an automatic BCS berth if they beat Nevada on Saturday in Reno to claim a share of the Mountain West title and finish in the top 16 in the BCS Standings.
They also must finish ahead of a BCS-conference champion, but that is a virtual lock after losses by Louisville and Rutgers of the Big East on Saturday.
Fresno State and San Diego State earned shares of the Mountain West championship with wins Saturday. Because Boise State, Fresno State and San Diego State went 1-1 against each other, the champion for BCS purposes if there’s a three-way tie would be the highest-ranked team in the BCS Standings.
But there’s one other requirement — Boise State must finish ahead of the champion of the Mid-American Conference. Kent State (11-1) is No. 23 and Northern Illinois (11-1) unofficially is No. 26; they play Friday in the MAC title game, which could boost the winner ahead of the Broncos andinto a BCS bowl.
No team from a non-automatic qualifying conference has ever reached a BCS bowl game with one or two losses.
• RENO TIME: The BSU-Nevada game will start at 1:30 p.m. MST Saturday and will air on ABC regional.
