WVU Likely Headed To BCS Bowl After Cincinnati Win Over UConn

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Cincinnati's win forced a three-way tie atop the Big East that appears likely to send WVU to the Orange Bowl.

Dec 3, 2011 - After Cincinnati's 35-27 defeat of UConn Saturday, it appears West Virginia will represent the Big East in a BCS bowl.

West Virginia needed Cincinnati to win the game. Without a Cincinnati win, West Virginia and Louisville would have been tied atop the Big East with 5-2 records, and Louisville would have won the tiebreaker after beating WVU earlier this season.

But Cincinnati's win over UConn also puts the Bearcats at 5-2, meaning three teams are tied atop the conference. In that circumstance, the next tiebreaker is how the teams played against one another, and since WVU beat Cincinnati and Cincinnati beat Louisville, all three teams are 1-1. The next tiebreaker after that is BCS ranking. That's not official yet, but WVU was ahead of either Louisville or Cincinnati even before beating Pitt last week and South Florida this week, so they'll probably be the Big East's BCS representative.

WVU's most likely bowl destination is the Orange Bowl on January 4 in Miami, where they would play the ACC champion. The ACC championship game will be held Saturday night between Virginia Tech and Clemson. The Sugar Bowl is also possible.

For more on West Virginia University football, check out the Smoking Musket.