Baylor is going to need a lot of help.
If the Bears have any hope of jumping into the BCS title game, two of the “Big Three” in the BCS standings -- Alabama (.9797), Florida State (.9525) or Oregon (.9435) -- will likely need to lose and the Bears will have to continue to look dominant and impressive. The Bears (.7745) face a sizable gap between themselves and the other four unbeaten squads from major conferences but could pass Ohio State (.8720), the other unbeaten, with impressive performances during the rest of the season.
Fortunately for Baylor, it can start on Thursday when No. 10 Oklahoma invades Floyd Casey Stadium. A dominant win over the Sooners could give the Bears momentum and help push their BCS average closer to the four unbeatens above them. And with No. 14 Oklahoma State and No. 25 Texas Tech still remaining on the Bears' schedule, the opportunity to improve their computer ranking -- they are currently ranked No. 9 by the computers -- is within reach.
Several things need to happen to help the Bears' cause. First off, Baylor must win the rest of its games, preferably in the same dominant fashion it has on the way to a 7-0 start. Secondly, the ranked teams remaining on its schedule cannot suffer upset loses. For example, Texas Tech losing to Kansas State or Oklahoma State losing to Kansas. Those losses would hurt Baylor’s chance of moving up and potentially passing an Ohio State squad that is looking more and more impressive each week.
The bottom line for the Bears is they will need to continue to win impressively ... then hope the college football landscape falls in their favor.