Utah waits for invite

Barring something totally extraordinary, the Utah football team willbe playing in a BCS bowl game early next year.

The 52-21 victory over BYU Saturday night gave the Utes the perfect 11-0 record they needed to get there. And after the game, Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart opened the door for the Utes to accept a BCS bowl bid in two weeks, by letting the Mountain West Conference champion out of its commitment to that bowl.

Calling it "a bittersweet moment" and with MWC commissioner Craig Thompson standing nearby, Ehrhart announced that the Liberty Bowl was reluctantly allowing Utah to pursue a BCS bowl.

"We would have loved to have two top 10 teams with Louisville and Utah," he said. "But understanding the situation with the BCS, we wanted the opportunity for Utah to succeed at the highest level."

That means the Utes will be playing either Jan. 1 at the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix or the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 3. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena and the Orange Bowl in Miami are longshot possibilities for the Utes.

The outcome of the game left the seven bowl representatives from the Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl wearing huge grins on their faces.

While the four guys in the bright yellow jackets from the Fiesta Bowl were much more noticeable than the three guys in the navy blue blazers from the Sugar Bowl, the Sugar Bowl representatives were more definitive in their desire to have Utah play there.

The two top-ranked teams in the BCS standings are guaranteed slots in the Orange Bowl, which right now would be USC and Oklahoma. It also looks like Cal and Michigan are headed to the Rose Bowl.

The Sugar Bowl has a tie-in with the SEC champion, likely Auburn, while the Fiesta Bowl has a tie-in with the Big 12 champion, likely Oklahoma. Bill Kearney, president of the Sugar Bowl said there are two likely scenarios his bowl is looking at.

"If Oklahoma finishes second, the Fiesta Bowl would have the first pick to replace (Oklahoma) and the thinking is they would take Utah," he said. "Conversely, if Auburn leapfrogs Oklahoma in the BCS standings, we would lose Auburn and we would pick first. And in all probability, we would take Utah."

Auburn gained ground on Oklahoma next week, but may have fallen back with a close win over Alabama Saturday, while the Sooners breezed past Baylor.