If the Houston Cougars hope to reach a Bowl Championship Series game, the path they must travel has been set.
The Cougars debuted at No. 19 in the first BCS rankings of the 2011 season, which were released Sunday.
UH (6-0, 2-0 Conference USA) is one of 10 remaining undefeated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Cougars are one of only two teams in the BCS top 25 that doesn't come from an automatic qualifying BCS conference. Boise State (6-0), at No. 5, is the other.
"It's a good thing when you see your program represented in the BCS standings, and it certainly helps with visibility for our university, but as a football team, it doesn't change our approach," UH coach Kevin Sumlin said. "Again, it just means we have played well to be one of 10 remaining unbeaten programs, and it means we have a lot of opportunity ahead if we continue to prepare and play at a top level."
In order to be eligible for one of the five BCS bowl games, a non-AQ conference team must finish in the top 12 of the BCS rankings. It can also be eligible if it finishes in the top 16 and is ahead of the champion of one of the six AQ conferences in the rankings.
UH likely would need to finish the regular season undefeated and win the C-USA Championship Game to have a chance at one of the four at-large BCS bowl berths. If Boise State remains unbeaten and earns a berth, it could affect UH's chances at earning one. The Broncos likely control their own destiny by debuting at No. 5 in the rankings.
Only once in the history of the BCS have two non-AQ conference teams competed in BCS bowls. After the 2009 season, Boise State and TCU met in the Fiesta Bowl, which Boise State won 17-10. At the time, Boise State was in the Western Athletic Conference, and TCU was in the Mountain West. Of the 10 BCS bowl berths available, six go to the AQ conference champions.
Sunday marked the Cougars' first ranking in the BCS standings since 2009. That season, the Cougars got as high as No. 15 in the BCS poll.
LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State hold the top four spots in the first BCS standings, setting up two potentially huge conference games that could determine which teams play for the national title. LSU and Alabama meet Nov. 5; Oklahoma and Oklahoma State play Dec. 3.
Texas A&M (4-2), which is coming off a 55-28 win over Baylor on Saturday, debuted in the BCS rankings at No. 17. Despite dropping out of the two human polls and suffering its second consecutive loss, Texas (4-2) debuted at No. 24.
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