Michigan can get cancelled by USC

Michigan was impressive enough in a 42-39 loss to the Buckeyes to retain second place in the Bowl Championship Series standings released Sunday. But their margin is so slim that it’ll be tough for them to get another shot at Ohio State in the national title game if the Trojans keep winning.

Michigan’s BCS average was .926. while the Trojans, who have two games left, were at .919.

“I’m not surprised,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said of Michigan retaining second place. “The pollsters had to be impressed with the way (Michigan) has played.”

“It’ll be interesting to see how it comes out,” he told Fox television.

Ohio State is a unanimous No. 1 in the polls and the best team in the country, according to the BCS computer ratings.

Michigan’s regular season is complete, so they can do nothing but watch what happens to USC Trojans and the other contenders over the next two weeks.

The Trojans on the other hand, beat California 23-9 on Saturday to lock up the Pac-10’s automatic BCS bid, passed Michigan and moved up to No. 2 in both the coaches’ poll and the Harris Interactive poll. The polls count for two-thirds of a team’s BCS average. Michigan remained second in the computer ratings that account for the other third of the BCS average.

USC Trojans is third in the computers. A USC Trojans loss would help Michigan, but it could also give the SEC champion a chance to pass Michigan if either the Gators or Razorbacks win their final two games.

But if Michigan doesn’t get into the championship game, the Wolverines are a lock to at least get into the BCS as an at-large team. The Rose Bowl would seem to be the Wolverines likely fallback, but there’s no guarantee.