Boise State's BCS chances improve after Ohio, Wisconsin lose

Who wins when Ohio and Wisconsin lose? Specifically, that would be Miami (Ohio) and Michigan State – 23-20 against the Broncos and 16-13 against the Badgers, respectively.

But in the big picture, the big winner when Ohio and Wisconsin lose is Boise State, which is looking for some help as it fights for an at-large BCS bowl bid.

The Broncos are not undefeated, true. Boise State lost to Michigan State in the season opener before embarking on a seven-game win streak, which continued in Saturday's 45-14 win against Wyoming.

But the Broncos are still very much in the BCS mix. According to the BCS selection procedures, Boise State can earn an automatic BCS bowl berth if it is ranked in the top 16 of the final standings and has a ranking that is "higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls."

So that's where Wisconsin's loss comes into play. The Badgers are a lock to represent the Leaders Division in the Big Ten championship game. If Wisconsin wins, earning an automatic BCS bid, it should not be ranked higher than No. 16 in the final BCS rankings.

As for Ohio, the Broncos no longer have to worry about another non-BCS conference program sweeping in and stealing their thunder. (Though the numbers stated that Ohio would have had a hard time passing Boise State in the BCS standings even had the Bobcats remained undefeated.)

So who's happy right now? Boise State just beat Wyoming to move to 7-1 and watched two BCS rivals lose. Few teams have had a better day.