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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 12:08 p.m., Wednesday, November 21, 2007

AP picking Boise State to top Hawaii

By RALPH D. RUSSO
Associated Press College Football Writer

The Bowl Championship Series has one spot filled and nine more to go with two weeks left in the season.

Ohio State is in, though where the Buckeyes will be playing is still to be determined. Probably the Rose Bowl. Maybe the national title game.

The rest of the BCS picture clears up some this weekend.

Arizona State hosts Southern California on Thanksgiving night, with the Sun Devils two wins away from locking up a berth in the Rose Bowl and still holding out hope that they can jump into the national title game.

Hawaii and Boise State play Friday night for the Western Athletic Conference title, and possibly a BCS bid. If the winner can reach the top 12 in the final BCS standings — Hawaii is 15th and Boise State is 19th — it'll clinch an automatic bid to the big-money bowl games.

West Virginia and Connecticut play Saturday for the Big East's championship and BCS bid. The Mountaineers, third in the BCS standings, still have designs on playing for a national championship.

Tennessee controls the SEC East race. If the Volunteers win at Kentucky, they'll play LSU in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 1. If the Vols lose, Georgia plays LSU.

Oklahoma can wrap up the Big 12 South with a victory over Oklahoma State. If the Sooners lose and Texas beats Texas A&M, the Longhorns go to San Antonio for the league title game on Dec. 1.

If both the Longhorns and Sooners lose, those two and the Cowboys would all be tied at 5-3 in the conference and none of the tiebreakers would undo the deadlock. The team rated highest in Sunday's BCS standings would win the South and that would most likely be Oklahoma.

The winner of the South plays the winner of Saturday's biggest game. Kansas and Missouri will decide the Big 12 North title in Kansas City, Mo., with the winner staying alive in the national title race.

Virginia and Virginia Tech play for the Coastal Division title of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The winner will play Boston College in Jacksonville, Fla., for the ACC championship on Dec. 1.

The picks:

Thursday

No. 11 Southern California (minus 3) at No. 7 Arizona St.

Weren't Trojans out of Pac-10 race a few weeks ago? ... USC 27-20.

Friday

Arkansas (plus 12) at No. 1 LSU

Razorbacks' Darren McFadden could do wonders for Heisman campaign ... LSU 37-21.

No. 13 Texas (minus 5) at Texas A&M

Could be Coach Fran's last stand for Aggies ... TEXAS 27-23.

No. 17 Boise State (plus 3 1/2) at No. 14 Hawaii

Broncos have won six straight in series ... BOISE STATE 44-37.

Saturday

No. 3 Missouri (plus 2) vs. No. 2 Kansas at Kansas City, Mo.

QBs Chase Daniel, Todd Reesing could bolster Heisman credentials ... MISSOURI 40-37.

No. 20 Connecticut (plus 17) at No. 4 West Virginia

Mountaineers have averaged 38 points in three straight wins against Huskies ... WEST VIRGINIA 40-14.

No. 6 Georgia (minus 3›) at Georgia Tech

Bulldogs have six-game winning streak in rivalry ... GEORGIA 34-21.

No. 8 Virginia Tech (minus 3 1/2) at No. 16 Virginia

Coach Frank Beamer is 11-9 against Cavs, but has won 10 of last 14 ... VIRGINIA 24-21.

No. 9 Oregon (minus 2) at UCLA

Ducks still control Pac-10 race ... UCLA 28-24.

Oklahoma State (plus 11 1/2) at No. 10 Oklahoma

Sooners averaging 53 points per game at home ... OKLAHOMA 34-27.

Florida State (plus 14) at No. 12 Florida

'Noles trash talking as if they're still at Gators' level ... FLORIDA 41-30.

Miami (plus 14 1/2) at No. 15 Boston College

Hurricanes have won 16 straight against Eagles ... BOSTON COLLEGE 31-13.

No. 19 Tennessee (plus 2 1/2) at Kentucky

Vols' 22-game winning streak against 'Cats is longest in major college ... KENTUCKY 34-28.

No. 21 Clemson (minus 3) at South Carolina

Gamecocks snapped four-game losing streak to Tigers last season ... SOUTH CAROLINA 30-23.

Utah (plus 4 1/2) at No. 23 BYU

Nine of last 10 in series have been decided by seven or less ... BYU 28-21.

No. 24 Cincinnati (minus 20) at Syracuse

Bearcats QB Ben Mauk leads Big East in TD passes with 23 ... CINCINNATI 38-14.

Alabama (plus 6) at No. 25 Auburn

Auburn's Tommy Tuberville is 4-0 in Iron Bowl, Tigers have won five straight ... ALABAMA 24-23.

Last week's record: 11-6 (straight); 9-7 (vs. points).

Season: 184-56 (straight); 112-103-6 (vs. points).