TCU retains hope for bowl position

   (KRT) College football’s version of the Final Four will emerge in the newest Bowl Championship Series poll.
   After wild weekends of games, the road to the Sugar Bowl and the national championship game looks like it’s down to No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Southern California, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Louisiana State.
   Those will be the top four teams when the newest BCS rankings are released, according to BCS expert Jerry Palm. Barring an unforeseen collapse at the top, two of the teams in that mix will square off in New Orleans on Jan. 4 for the national championship.
   Recently viewers saw former BCS No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Miami and No. 6 Virginia Tech exit the title race as upset victims.    The Seminoles were knocked off 26-10 by Clemson; the Hurricanes lost 10-6 to Tennessee, and Virginia Tech was defeated 31-28 by Pittsburgh.
   That trio’s exodus from the once-beaten ranks opened the door for the newest BCS poll’s most stunning development.
   TCU (9-0), which joins Oklahoma (10-0) as the only undefeated teams remaining in Division I-A, is expected to jump four spots to No. 5 in the BCS.
   Because of TCU’s weak strength-of-schedule component and low spot in the AP media and USA Today/ESPN coaches polls, the Horned Frogs will need all three of the one-loss teams in front them to lose to have a shot at the national title game. TCU’s victory over Cincinnati this past weekend keeps them undefeated for the season (10-0).
   Palm said it’s possible two-loss teams like Michigan, Texas and Tennessee could move up to shut TCU out of the title game.
   "TCU cracking the top six will give people plenty to talk about," Palm said.
   TCU’s rise is notable because if the Horned Frogs can hold position among the top six in the final poll, the Horned Frogs will be guaranteed a spot in one of the four major BCS bowls (Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar).
   That would mark the first time that a non-BCS team has done so since the BCS began matching up teams in 1998.
   TCU’s rise is bound to make major bowl executives nervous.
   The Horned Frogs aren’t the kind of marquee team that appeals to ticket-selling, TV-ratings-conscious bowl execs.